A short recap in case we have been out of touch...We left Oregon on September 9 and flew to Vienna, then travelled by bus to Bratislava. George's sister, Anni, lives about 20 minutes outside of the city in a kind of suburb called Dunajska Luzna. We spent several days staying near her and her family and catching up with them. They were gracious enough to loan us their second vehicle so we could get around, as public transportation in their area is not quite as great as it is in most places in Slovakia. Driving in Slovakia is quite an adventure. I will need to designate an entire blog to it to explain the intricacies. Let's just say, we survived and enjoyed our time with Anni's side of the family, including dinner out in Bratislava.
Next, it was a train ride to Kosice. It takes about 5.5 to 6.5 hours for this journey, depending on which train you choose and how many villages it stops in. Regardless, it is always a beautiful trip, with rolling hills, trees, water, castles, and perhaps mountains, depending on the route. Train travel is another fun aspect of living here (most of the time) with its own etiquette and peculiarities. People here travel this way a lot and the quality of the trains varies greatly, we have discovered over the years.
In Kosice, the city where George was born, we are staying at a flat which belongs to one of his oldest and dearest friends, Piki (everyone seems to have nicknames here- I think it may be because there are really very few given names, so it's a way to differentiate and personalize). We are living in the typical Slovak style in a "litisko", which literally means "settlement." However, these are no outposts in the wild west, but rather groups of the panel-construction flats dreamed up during the communist utopia. Sorry, is my sarcasm showing? Now, people are stuck with them. They are a world all their own, at least to me. The place we live is quite similar to the one George lived in from the time his family home was taken by the government and replaced by a brewery. And, while I might have chosen something more fresh and modern, it's a good way to be a "real" Slovak!
We are about a 10 minute tram ride from the beautiful city center. George's brother, Ocsi (/oo-chee/ is the closest I can get to explaining the pronunciation), and his wife Blazena live near the center of town. We are enjoying getting to see them often. We always have Sunday "dinner" there, which is more like a very large lunch, and often one to two other days per week. There is lots of activity going on in the city. In 2013, Kosice is one of the European Union's Cities of Culture (there are two per year across the EU). This is great because they are doing lots of beautification of parks, buildings, etc. Last weekend was the Kosice Peace Marathon, which is the oldest in Europe. It was fun to see the whole city turn out and impressive to watch both the men and the women set course records.
In other news, we are still navigating the labyrinth of paperwork to become legitimate to stay here beyond 90 days. George has got his temporary residency, which means he can work (good news), but no one will give him a cell phone or internet account without the national identity card (even though he's a Slovak citizen). He can't get this unless he claims permanent residency, which he can't do because of his US status- complicated. I am still legal on my 90 day stay without a residency permit, but have a long way to go to completing all of the required bureaucracy. Waiting on the FBI background check and Monday I survived the medical testing at a rather Orewellian building. You would think for the approximately $285 they charged me for this service, they could splurge on some soap and towels in the hospital bathroom...I'm just sayin'!
We have had two great day trips to Hungary with our friend Piki. It's fun to go because both he and George speak Hungarian (it's actually George's first language), the food is amazing and cheap and Piki knows all the great places to go. Last Saturday, we went to two beautiful castles. The first one, near the town of Fuzer, sits way on top of a hill. It was quite a climb and the views were breathtaking. After a great lunch, we went to another castle/palace in the town of Sarospatok, also a beautiful experience. We topped off the day with absolutely amazing pastries for about 1Euro ($1.30) a piece. They would have probably been 8 or 9 times that in Vienna!
On Friday, we are headed to Krakow, Poland with our other good friend Kongos for a long weekend. Kongos is a great guy, as well, and we enjoy spending time with him whenever we get together. We hear from everyone how beautiful the city is and Kongos can show us around. We plan to see what we can of the beautiful sites, and also to visit Auschwitz. While I can't say I am "excited" about visiting Auschwitz, I think it is important to do.
We are enjoying good food and drinks, both of which are quite cheap here. We can eat out once a day on the cheap "daily menus" (specials) which most restaurants have for lunch. Items tend to be just over $4.00 a piece or so for a good portion. Then, we supplement with snacks at home (this is when I try to get in my fruits and veggies). Meals here traditionally start with light soup, which I actually like. It fills you up and is a nice start to the meal. Beer is very cheap, which is nice also! A large beer on tap can be around $1.00 or so, depending on where you go. Shots of alcohol (should you be interested) are also quite cheap and it's common to order them or to have them at the start of a meal at someone's home as a toast. It does seem to me that the indulgence in hard alcohol has toned down a bit since our first visit in 1991, but maybe it's just because we (and our friends) are getting older! Piki owns a small, cozy pub in the ground floor of one of the litiskos near where he lives, so we pop over there from time to time, as well. Food from the grocery store (as well as the store itself) is a whole other story- more later!
I went today to talk to a lady who has a language school and she is looking for a native English speaker to go a group activity/class once a week with 5-year-olds who are enrolled in the school. This would be to supplement their small group instruction earlier in the week. It can be on anything I want and there is not really a curriculum, so I will just make it up! I think it will be fun and maybe it could lead to something a little more regular down the road, if I ever get my residency established. This will be sort of an informal, under the table arrangement. The school pays its language teachers about $8.00/hour, but they are offering me $13.00, which kind of makes me feel bad, but I guess I have earned it! So, I will work 4 hours a month and earn $52.00 per month! Woo hoo!
That's all for this post. I hope to update all of you a little more often, now that things have settled down a bit. Hope all is well at home. I love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to drop me an email!
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