Bratislava, Slovakia

As I mentioned above, we didnt spend the second day in Vienna, but took a one day trip to Bratislava instead....since they had shopping on the agenda...and the thought of it makes me cringe....and we could have just wandered around Vienna again, but the thought of going to Bratislava was much more appealing :)

                                

Well Vienna and Bratislava are like the two capital cities with the shortest distance between them and there is a train every hour going from Vienna to Bratislava, and the trip takes like an hour, so just really feasible...and off we went...not really a high-speed train, I still haven't been on one of those but it is a train!! There was the option to go by boat/ship whatever...but I told my friends they can go by boat if they want, I am going by train and we will meet in Bratislava, no negotiations there...and of course we all went by train in the end :P

and there it is, the Central Station in Bratislava welcoming you :)

Bratislava is one of those places where you have this Old Part of the town, which IS the touristy spot and worth seeing...and the new part of town that you can see from above and that is just not so appealing...unfortunately most of the Bratislava pictures are with my friend...and I still havent gotten those, so ....

On our way to the castle....oh boy...while we were walking up this street, at the distance, I noticed this cute little cat...and I started calling 'mac mac mac - which is the Macedonian version for 'kitty kitty kitty'....and just when we got closer I realized it was a dog...with its owner...thank God the owner didn't understand Macedonian..or at least I hope :)  (and my t-shirt here is about cats too btw :))))

I think that everyone takes pictures with this fella :)))

the Old Town of Bratislava is really worth seeing and a few hours are more than enough...quite a lot of tourists though...and after all that walking we wanted something to eat an chose something that was supposed to be Traditional Slovak Cuisine at a place called Slovak House...I don't remember the name of this thing I ordered.... but this was simply tasteless...and actually what my friends ordered as well and from what I could try, it was all just tasteless...that is even what I've written on my own card - awful cuisine..awful! :)

they say they have the best beer though, and my friends could confirm that...I am one of those people that just HATE beer :)

and here we were waiting for our train back to Vienna at the Central Station...yep, not one of the most impressive Train Stations...but a cool one...and you have this kind of 'ding-dong' prior to each announcement that we kept laughing about...I don't know why...

Cultural Heritage of Slovakia issued in 2009

Košice, Slovakia

mmmm, been a while since I've posted a Slovakian card, so here comes one...

I was supposed to go to an SOL seminar in Slovakia at the beginning of August...but obviously I didn't...giving myself a number of excuses...and now when I look back, none of them seems relevant...then a friend and I wanted to make a trip to Bratislava...but that failed as well...so for now, Slovakia and I are still not meant to meet...

the card isn't about Bratislava though, but it shows the Chess Square in Košice, the biggest town in eastern Slovakia...and I love it! And if I'm not mistaken, this is my only card from Košice so far so that makes me extra happy :D
Funny though, finding information on it was like a mission-impossible...to the point where I started wondering if the card really is from Košice, or I'm seeing things wrongly...and I still doubt the correct answer.....

the stamp got a bit torn during its journey...it is a definitive from a set of 11 stamps issued in 2009, representing the Cultural Heritage of Slovakia...if I got it right, this one shows the Premonstratensian Monastery of Virgin Mary in Bina.

Malokarpatská vínna cesta, Slovakia

A card Janek sent me from his trip to Bratislava....

which got me to realize that I have no card from Bratislava in my collection...uhmm, so I am working on changing that....hopefully it will work out :)

This cute map card here says to be showing the Wine Route of the Small Carpathians....so a really nice card for all the wine lovers out there....you know who you are ;)
This route has been established to promote the small and medium size wineries from Bratislava to Trnava, which actually covers the southwestern wine region of the country.

Twice a year, in November and May, all winemakers along the route open their cellar doors to members of the public, who can learn more about the craft and sample the best wines from the previous season. (The May event gets its name from St. Urban, the patron of vineyard workers, whose feast day is May 25.) There are around 80 wineries participating in the wine route.

That is a lot of wine on the overall :) I am no wine expert but I like wine festivals....the last one I attended to some months ago was really fun...but of course, not only coz of the wine, but also coz of the fantastic company I had :)

Janek used the 2009 Europa stamp regarding astronomy.

thanks a lot Janek!

And wishing you all a great week ahead! Hopefully will see you again in a few days :)

Driny, Slovakia

Well, as I had promised at the beginning of this year, that I would try to cover older postcards as well, after the 2009 Mexican one, here we have one from Slovakia, received in 2008.

the card shows the Driny limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. Its entrance altitude is 399 m. The first attempt to enter the cave was made by Prussian soldiers, who were camping nearby during the Austro-Prussian War. It was finally explored in 1929, and in 1934 the first 175 meter route was opened. In 1950 other parts of the cave were explored and in 1959, the cave was reopened. The cave was declared a nature monument in 1968 and became part of the newly designated Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area in 1976.
Today, from the total explored length of 636 m, 550 m are open to the public.

Rather interesting place....and ive been having this desire for a long while to visit Bratislava....so I guess I should try and embed this in my route too, coz it definitely seems as more than worth seeing it.

Well, thank you all for reading again and I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all celebrating it this weekend....here we had Mother's Day on 8 March....

Slovakia

last card for today is another one of many Janek's surprises, a lovely map card of Slovakia.

the back of the card says, Despite its rather small size, Slovakia offers great diversity of landscapes, untouched nature, numerous magic castles and charming historic towns.

Ive been having this desire to visit Bratislava...coz everyone is talking about Prague...and im usually drawn to those less commercialized and less popular places...

a short picturesque presentation of the country....with some Slovakian music in the background :)

The EUROPA stamp from 2009...and I dont understand what's said in the cancellation :)

Slovakia

Another FANTASTIC surprise here, this time from dear Janek, who knows I love flag cards and sent me this lovely one from Slovakia!

The current form of the flag of Slovakia was adopted by Slovakia's Constitution, which came into force on 3 September 1992. The flag, in common with other Slavic nations, uses the white, blue and red colours. Slovakia's flag in its current form (but with another coat of arms on it or without any arms) can be dated back to the revolutionary year 1848. . It was also used semi-officially in Czechoslovakia before World War II, by the Slovak Republic during WWII, and finally adopted (without the coat of arms) on 1 March 1990 as the flag of the Slovak Republic within Czechoslovakia. Since the Slovak flag without the coat of arms is identical to that of the modern flag of Russia and it can also be compared to the modern flag of Slovenia, the Constitution of Slovakia added the national coat of arms in September 1992.

The stamp is a EUROPA one, from the 2009 Astronomy series.

Thank you so much Janek! I just LOVE this card!

Rožňava, Slovakia

Last card for today comes from Milos in Slovakia, who sent it to me inside this cover.

The card shows Rožňava, a Slovakian town which is a popular tourist attraction with a beautiful historic town centre. The town is an episcopal seat. It has above all food, textile and remnants of mining industries.
Well, all I know is that the top left picture represents the Town Tower...and there is also a statue of Kossuth Lajos, a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Governor President of Hungary in 1849.

well, even though the card was sent in a cover, Milos still decorated it with one nice small stamp from the 2005 Christmas issue.

Mala Fatra, Slovakia

Seems like a beautiful Slovakian National Park...

National Park of Malá Fatra is situated in the westernmost Slovak high mountains Malá Fatra. Gorges rock peaks and an attractive ridge tour are among its attractions.The Krivánska part of the Malá Fatra Mts. was designated the Protected Landscape Area in 1967 for unusual abundance of its natural assets and the plant and animal species it contains. It was re-classified in 1988 to National Park Malá Fatra. It spreads on an area of 226 square kilometres. The area of its protective zone is 233 square kilometres.

The main subject of protection is the territory with varied geological history and dissected relief forms, rare and precious biocenoses, flora and fauna, and the exceptional value of forest and mountain compounds with precious dwarf pinewoods,Verdrapacious animals such as the wolf, lynx or bear.

nice....reminds me i want to get out of here...

Trenčin, Slovakia

Here comes a card from Slovakia...i think its been a while since i had posted one...

Trenčin is a city in Western Slovakia, near the border with the Czech Republic. The site of Trenčín has been inhabited since time immemorial. Trenčín Castle, a typical medieval fortified castle is situated high on a rock above the city. Trenčín is best known for a Roman inscription on the rock below the Trenčin castle, dating from 179 AD, the era of the Macromannic Wars. The castle is the third-largest castle in Slovakia. And you can actually see the castle on the card. From what i could comprehend from the back of the card, on the bottom line, the two small pictures in the middle show, the Hotel Tatra (the left picture) and a Synagogue(the picture on the right).

this is one of the cards i received time ago with many others in an envelope, so now i can actually show you the stamps that are on the envelope.
The stamp in the middle is from 2008, from a series called "Personalities", showing Eugen Suchon.who was a Slovak composer, pedagogue and theorist,one of the most notable members of the founding generation of the Slovak ‘modernist’ movement in music.
The stamp on the left is from 2007, called, Museum's Treasury - The Gospel Book of Nitra.
As for the two small stamps on the left....they are definitives from 1993, called Dubnica nad Vahom.

Yay! I managed the update today!!

Slovakia

I got this card thanks to Milan....it really feels nice when people know the kind of cards you like and they pay attention to it and try to send you something according to your wishlist...but i also like it when i know how to pay back ;-))))))

I think ive already talked of Slovakia more than once, which now leaves me thinking what should i rant about this time...except that i love this card coz it has a Slovakian map on it...

Have i told you that yesterday i had a real crisis about mail? After being deprived from it for almost a week, yesterday i just had to get my dosage of it, but the postman just wasnt and wasnt coming....i think im definitely addicted, which aint good...eventually when i opened the mailbox it was full and i just had this 'ahhhhhhh' relief expression on my face....the day before that i stalked the postman...i saw him while going home and instead of stopping him, i rushed home...and i was waiting at the kitchen window for him to pass by coz i was convinced he has something for me...boy, was i wrong!  No mail today again...but thanks  to yesterday its still keeps me going...im helpless :|

Slovakia

I dont have some particular like/dislike attitude about a multi view card with many pictures (this one in particular has 16) but there is one thing i totally love about this card, and thats its vibrant colours...every single colour on this feels sooo lively! The skies, the mountains, the grass, the fields, the houses, the flowers...gives you some touch of reality with it all...i really really love it!!

This reminded me though of a card i have from Venice i think, with 100 small pictures...its an interesting one

here is a part of an interesting FAQ about Slovakia i came across:

Q: What is Slovakia like?
A: Slovakia is modern European country mixed with a deep rural tradition. Geographically, it is primarily a mountainous country with numerous winter activities. It has a continental European climate with moderate winters and warm summers. Most infrastructure and many of the tourist facilities are on par or near Western European standards.

Q: Who are the Slovaks?
A: The 5 million Slovaks are Slavic people, having a common cultural, historic and linguistic heritage with their fellow Slavs. Slavs number over 300 million and are the largest European ethnic and linguistic body. The group includes these nationalities: Belorussians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Macedonians, Montenegrians, Poles, Russians, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes and Ukrainians. Other ethnic Slavs such us Ruthenians, Sorbs and Wends do not have national homelands. The Slavic peoples are divided into three linguistic groups, West, East and South. Slovaks are part of the Western group that also includes Czechs and Poles

Slovakia

Here is a multiview from Slovakia, showing numerous different castles...

I only have had 2 Slovakian cards before receiving this one...now i have 9 :) (this one came along with 6 other beautiful Slovakian cards...you'll get to see them one at a time..)

More than 300 castles – many only evocative ruins dot the landscape throughout Slovakia. These fortified places that often sheltered entire towns from rapacious invaders are poignant reminders of the perils of times past.
It’s not surprising, then, that there are so many castles in Slovakia, which stands at the crossroads of cultures, religions and conquerors
There are two words for castle in Slovak: "hrad", which connotes defensive, fortified structures, and "zamok’, signifying palaces, chateaux or manor houses, built in more peaceful times by nobles and royals as luxurious homes or hunting lodges in place of the cold, drafty castles of yore
This is interesting, coz the Macedonian word for 'a castle' is also 'zamok'...its always fun to see how words in one language have the same meaning in another one...well, having in mind these are both Slavic languages, it aint a surprise..but still :)

Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia/Poland

Here is another one of the forwarded cards (along with the one from Romania above)

I absolutely love the blue tone that dominates this one...
it was sent by a former Belgian pen friend, Tine Bouckhyt from a visit to Slovakia
Vysoké Tatry, or High Tatras, are a mountain range on the borders between Slovakia and Poland (so again, double label...). They are part of the Eastern Tatras Mountains.
The major part and all the highest peaks of the mountains are situated in Slovakia. The highest peak is 2655m. Many rare and endemic animals and plant species are native to the High Tatras. Large predators, such as the bear, Eurasian lynx, marten, wolf and fox, live there.
The first European cross-border national park was founded here Tatranský národný park in Slovakia in 1948 and Tatrzański Park Narodowy in Poland in 1954.

  

Orava, Slovakia