Slovakia with a Two-and-a-Half-Year-Old, Part 1

So, we've gone to Slovakia again. I know, I know - I was emphatic in my posts about last year's trip (in 2018) that taking a toddler on a trans-Atlantic long-haul flight to a time zone that's nine hours ahead is a terrible idea, and I vowed never to do it again until our son, Simon, is at least five years old. But several months after the 2018 trip, Terezia started making some noise about going again, and soon started eyeing airfare, and before I knew it, plans for another trip were taking shape. Terezia said she and Simon would go with or without me, but there was no way I could let her take Simon alone – that would be intensely cruel. It's difficult enough dealing with a two-year-old on such a trip with the two of us, and forcing Terezia to make the trip without my help would cause her to have a complete mental breakdown. 

Fortunately, this flight to Slovakia went a little smoother than the last one. The first advantage this time around was that Simon had his own seat. Last time, we very stupidly wanted to take advantage of the kids under two fly free deal that many airlines offer, which was a HUGE mistake, because at 18 months, he was already too tall and too active to spend the flight in our laps. On that 2018 flight, Simon slept about two hours at the end of the flight, making the preceding seven hours an absolute nightmare. This time, however, Simon slept for about six of the nine hours, which was a colossal relief/improvement. Simon was sprawled out in the middle seat, with his head on my lap and his feet on Terezia's lap, while Terezia got to doze for a bit and I got to watch three (!) in-flight movies. 

But things were at times pretty rough for those first three hours when he was awake. He really hated having his seat belt on, and there was a fair amount of intermittent crying and mini tantrums, but we eventually got him to settle down with a small travel-sized kit of Play-Doh and some other new toys, as well as some videos and Peek-a-Boo Barn on an iPad.

Sleeping like a baby on the flight from Copenhagen to Budapest.

Then came the 3.5-hour layover in Copenhagen, during which Simon spent an inordinate amount of time taking one of our carry-on suitcases up and down these three steps next to where we were sitting while waiting for the gate number for our next/final flight (to Budapest) to be announced. Fortunately, Simon slept for the majority of that 1.5-hour flight to Budapest in the window seat. Unfortunately, the smaller plane dropped us off so far away from an actual gate that we had to walk outdoors for what felt like three miles to reach the airport building. After then waiting for what felt like the time it takes to read Moby Dick for our checked luggage to arrive on the baggage carousel, we high-tailed it out of there to where Terezia's mom and the cab driver from Lučenec were waiting for us. We reached Terezia's parents' place in Slovakia two hours later, just around midnight.

Norwegian Air Kind of Sucks

We flew Norwegian Air this time, a newer airline that's been offering reasonably priced flights from the west coast to Europe - and not just that, but from Oakland airport (!!!) rather than big, dreadful, out-of-the-way SFO. But I have to say, the only advantage of flying Norwegian turned out to be the convenience of only having to go to Oakland airport.

The flight experience was definitely subpar: the selection of in-flight movies was extremely limited, and you had to buy earbuds from them if you didn't have your own; the flight attendants were snippier than usual; they had no WI-FI; the food was worse than usual for economy; anything like food, drinks, luggage (carry-on or checked) is considered an add-on and costs more; their restrooms had no fucking diaper changing tables, nor those flimsy wax-paper toilet seat covers; they charged extra for any between-meal snacks and beverages; and they had no milk and they were really snitty about telling us that when we asked (airlines that we'd taken Simon on previously, like KLM, had milk which the flight attendants were happy to bring for Simon).

So, while Norwegian tends to offer reasonable deals and some nice direct flights, I would think long and hard about using them, especially if you have small kids, because the overall experience was pretty lacking compared to other airlines. They're basically taking a budget Ryanair approach to long-haul flights, and I don't think that's a good thing.

Jet Lag Redux

Then, of course, we had to deal with Simon's jet lag. As I mentioned in 2018, this is hugely challenging because two-year-olds don't understand that they need to stay in bed and try to fall back to sleep when they wake up at odd hours of the night from being nine hours ahead. They just wake up and they're ready to play, and this makes it that much harder for you, the parents, to adjust. So, like last time, we kept all activities to our bed with the light off, and we watched old cartoons (this time episodes of Krtko) on the laptop until Simon fell asleep. On the night we arrived, Simon had gotten so much sleep on the planes and the two-hour cab ride to Terezia's parents' place that he no longer wanted to sleep by the time we were going to bed. That meant we didn't get to sleep until around 5:00 AM that first night, and we woke up shortly after 11:00 AM.

Sleep Deprived and Taking It Slow

For the first several days we did very little, partly out of exhaustion/jet lag, but also because there's just not a lot of serious traveling or sightseeing that you can do with a two and a half year old. 

Like last time, Simon spent a lot of time in Terezia's parents' backyard since there's so much space for him to run around. He loves picking the sweet, dark purple grapes off the vine and eating them, and chasing (and feeding) the cats that live in the yard. He also liked "helping" Terezia's mom rake leaves and doing other garden-related chores, as well as taking buckets of sand from the sandbox and dumping them at random spots around the yard.

We did make it into nearby Lučenec several times to do some errands and to take Simon to the playground and the great ice cream place, Záhradná. We also checked out Lučenec's train station, because Simon likes trains, and we got there just in time to see the Bratislava-Košice line make its stop.

Sometimes Terezia and I forget how seemingly everyone in Slovakia over the age of 50 has this permanent facial expression that looks like someone crapped in their lunch. It's like this perma-scowl that they wear as naturally as a hat or a jacket. When sitting at Záhradná's outdoor patio with our ice cream, several tables were occupied by older people who sat there frowning or scowling while licking their ice cream cones, which was kind of hilarious. One such couple at the table next to ours eventually let their guard down after Simon kept smiling at them. The woman allowed herself to smile, while the man temporarily broke out of his perma-scowl and started trying to talk to Simon in basic English phrases like "Good afternoon" and "How are you?". 

No trip to Podrečany is complete without a little excursion to the castle/hotel in Halič, and this time was no exception. On this outing, we actually went down the back of the hill to a sort of park/duck pond at the bottom. It's a nice park, but it's tricky to access from the hotel, as you have to descend a steep, narrow, and twisty dirt path to the bottom of the hill, and it's much easier to get there from an unmarked and gated dirt road that runs off a side street below. Not something hotel guests would be wont to do unless they brought a decent pair of hiking shoes. Once you're down at the pond, things are well maintained and it's easy to get around, and there's ample shade from all the trees. We were hoping to see some ducks or swans for Simon's sake, but there were no waterfowl of any kind down there on this particular morning.

 

Entering Podrečany.

I love the big sky and sense of wide-open space when you're out in the country.

Piddling around the shore of Lake Ružiná.

Celebrating Terezia's mom's 70th birthday at a restaurant in Lučenec.

Short Trip to Banská Bystrica

We took a short morning trip to Banská Bystrica. I've written about the place here. It's kind of known for being the heartland of Slovakia, since it's right in the center of the country, but it was also the epicenter of the Slovak National Uprising (known as the SNP), which was the short-lived armed resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. We hadn't been there since 2014, so we thought it was time for a revisit.

As I mentioned in the previous blog post, it's a pretty nice town, but I actually think Banská Štiavnica, Levoča, and Košice all have slightly more attractive/visually interesting historic town centers. As historic centers go, Banská Bystrica's is pretty compact; while the main thoroughfare and lenticular main square are fairly big and consistently nice/old, the old architecture doesn't really extend much beyond it. Go a block in any direction away from the main square and you're surrounded by dingy 20th-century buildings. But Banská Bystrica is still a lot nicer than Zvolen, so I'll give it that.

When we got there, a big gathering of mostly young people was underway in the main square as part of the global climate strike that was happening that Friday.

Like the previous year's quick day trip to Banská Štiavnica, we didn't do a whole lot because we were with Simon, obviously, but we piddled around the picturesque main square for a bit. Simon was especially drawn to the big water fountain in the main part of the square. After ambling around and then eating lunch at a place on the square with outdoor seating while being bombarded by persistent and curious yellow jackets, we walked to the SNP museum where Simon got to see the WWII-era trains, tanks, and airplane out front, the latter of which you can board for 50 euro cents. Of course, immediately after we paid the 50 cents and got on the plane, Simon told me he'd made a poo-poo, so we had to abruptly rush out of there and deal with that.

The SNP Museum - one of Slovakia's coolest examples of modern, communist-era architecture.

All in all, this first week was pretty uneventful. Terezia and I felt like the jet lag hit us harder than it has before, and it's taken us even longer to adjust, and it hasn't been any easier for Simon. As a result, we really didn't do much the first week, and I don't have much to report.

VILLAGE LIFE

CBA: Rest in Peace

I'm sad to report that Terezia's parents' village, Podrečany, has lost its only store, the CBA. CBA is/was a chain of small convenience stores that exists around Slovakia in both urban and rural areas, and they sell a variety of food products. They're a quick, convenient alternative to the big grocery stores like Tesco or Billa, and in rural towns and villages, they're often the only place that's walking distance to grab some milk, beer, bread, eggs, Kofola, etc. I was told CBA came under new ownership a few years ago and they've recently been shuttering stores all over the country.

Podrečany's "Old" Pub on the left with the now-shuttered CBA (RIP) on the right.

For folks in villages like Podrečany, this means they no longer have a store they can just skip down to to grab whatever they need. They now have to drive to the nearest village, Lovinobaňa, to get to a CBA equivalent, which is a few miles away, and just a little too far to walk or bike to for most folks who live in the village. That means you have to drive there, and - importantly, for Slovaks - that means you have to do it before you start drinking. Or, you can take the train, but that means planning your day around the erratic schedule of the local train.

We always used to send Terezia's dad down the street to the CBA to get some milk or whatever we'd run out of, and he always liked going because it was something to do, as well as an excuse to stop by the village pub that was right next to the store.

I suppose it's possible that another convenience store chain could move into the space, but not having one at all really sucks, and it does make life for the villagers more difficult.

(Edit: Since posting this I've gotten a few more details about the situation. A few years ago, the CBA chain was bought by a Polish company. That company actually changed the name from CBA to Kačka, but they went bankrupt this year and they have been abruptly closing all of their locations. The last I heard, something like 1,800 employees have suddenly lost their jobs as a result.)

The Old Hunting Lodge Is Falling Down

In other sad local news, one of Podrečany's oldest remaining buildings continues to fall apart. Each time we come back, a bigger portion of this building's roof has collapsed. I mentioned in this blog post that a local once told us that this building dates from the 1700s and that it was the hunting lodge of some bigwig general in the Hungarian army of Francis Rákóczi. The people who currently own it reportedly only use the patch of land in front for growing potatoes, and apparently have no money to deal with the problem. The building is so far gone that reconstructing it would likely be exorbitant, requiring the kind of money that few villagers in this region have. It occupies a nice plot of land right smack in the middle of the village on the main drag, but I reckon if the owners put it up for sale, the real estate listing would describe it as a "tear down."

The hunting lodge in May, 2013. Back then the roof was mostly intact, but you can see a small hole on the left that may have been where the collapse started.

The hunting lodge in December, 2017.

The sad state of the lodge in September, 2019.

The village likely doesn't have the money or desire to step in and help either, nor would I expect any help to come from the regional level. Tourists would obviously have no reason to ever come to villages like Podrečany, so there's just no incentive for anyone to preserve and maintain centuries-old buildings like this unless it's something really unique, like the village's old manor house.

I don't know if there are any local or federal laws that dictate what you can and can't do with old structures like this one, nor do I know if there's some kind of funding the owners or village could tap into to save the building, but it would likely come with conditions that would limit how the building could be used, and require a certain level of upkeep that just might not be worth it for whoever owns it.

The side of the lodge that faces the main road, as seen in May, 2013.

The same side of the lodge in September, 2019.

Nevertheless, it's sad to see a piece of history go neglected.

Podrečany Gets a Sidewalk!

In happier news, Podrečany finally ponied up the money to install its first ever sidewalk along the main drag. Prior to this, Podrečany had no sidewalks of any kind, which is not unusual for a rural village of roughly 500 inhabitants. In such a small, quiet village, this is not usually a problem, but cars do go through the main drag fast enough to keep you looking over your shoulder when walking along the edge of the road. The new sidewalk runs along only one side of the road, starting across the street from where the village's bus stop is and ending by the bridge that you cross just before hitting the train station. Notably, the sidewalk connects the village's two pubs, so this will hopefully mean fewer drunk people stumbling about in the street. I like it because I don't have to worry about getting hit by a car when doing my daily village stroll with my iPod. Amusingly, a number of the locals stubbornly continue to walk on the other side of the street where there is no sidewalk.

  
See all the photos from this trip here. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our trip to Slovakia!