Picto Diary - 13 May 2016 - Bratislava

Above: TIMDT (in black facing camera to left of statue). Novy Most (bridge) in the background. Bratislava, Slovakia. 13 May 2016.

The sacred (statue) and the profane (bridge)?

Locals refer to the bridge as "UFO bridge" because of the saucer like structure atop the bridge's one pylon. The "UFO" houses a restaurant and an observation deck.

The bridge, over the Danube, was constructed in 1972 during the Communist period. It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane. Locals refer to the bridge as the UFO Bridge after the restaurant called "UFO" in the bridge tower top.

The bridge is the one of the few features of Bratislava I remember from Rudy Jr.'s and my visit to Bratislava (as part of a driving trip through Hungary, Austria, and (then) Czechoslovakia in the mid 1980's.

Rudy Jr. and I stayed in a hostel outside of the old city. We were up all night because of a rock concert going on just outside our room window. On awakening one morning, our rental car had been broken into and driven some distance, before it was returned to a spot near where we had left it the night before.

Above: TIMDT observes St. Michael's Gate. Bratislava, Slovakia. 12 May 2016.

St. Michael's gate is the last remaining of four like gates in the old city.

No cars are allowed in old town Bratislava. I wondered why Park City didn't turn its main street into a mall. Malls are happening places which attract people. it seems to me to be a no brainer for a Park City main street business to want a mall outside their door.

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, and with a population of 450K, the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the Danube river and the left bank of the river Morava.

Bratislava is home to several universities, museums, theaters, galleries and other important cultural and educational institutions.

The history of the city has been strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions, namely by Austrians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks.

The city was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, a part of the larger Habsburg Monarch territories, from 1536 to 1783, and has been home to many Slovak, Hungarian and German historical figures.

Slovakia is "on a roll" compared with the rest of Europe. 1MM cars a year are manufactured here which makes the country have the highest per capita manufacturer of cars in the world. Unemployment is only 3%. Slovakia has a 19% flat tax with around 3% economic growth... much better than the rest of Europe.

Above: The Bishop observes a plaque in Old Town, Bratislava.

Plaque purports that Mozart played a concert in this building when he was six years old.

Above: Local Guide, Emil. Bratislava, Slovakia. 13 May 2016.

This fellow, highly English fluent like the rest of our guides, had a drole sense of humor. Some of his remarks:

Two people never to trust: A politician and a tour guide.

Here in our town square are the embassies of some of the richest countries in the world.... France, Japan and Greece.

The Jesuits... the most talented and the richest of Catholic orders.... but... ahhhh.... the Inquisition!

Describing the disputes over how many stars to put on the flag of the European Union: Ahhh.... the EU... where no one is satisfied! I love it! (The flag has 12 stars).

Describing the regular intermarrying of royalty: Incest is a game for the whole family!

Emil was quick to lambaste the Communist rule his country experienced in the aftermath of WWII through the so-called "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, when communism gave way to democracy. It was gratifying to hear Emil talk about the evils of totalitarianism, particularly when so many of America's millennials seem to want to embrace it.

Emil:

Communists love uniformity.

Under communism, no one asks you for your opinion.

Communism. Repeat a lie often enough and everyone begins to believe it.

If only American millennials could listen to this Slovak millennial, Emil. I have suggested that America's big-government-enforced-outcome-equality-seeking-millennials be offered a free, one way ticket to Havana where they can live out their chosen ideology real time. To compensate, the US would open the H1B floodgates to qualified people with a work ethic. Only then would my social security payment be guaranteed (cough).

Above: "Cumil". Sculpture of Viktor Hulik. Old Town. Bratislava, Slovakia. 13 May 2016.

Cumil (the peeper) is either resting after cleaning the sewer or is looking under women's skirts.

Above: Replica of Hungarian royal crown atop St. Martin's Church. Bratislava, Slovakia. 13 May 2016.

St. Martin's Church, a 14th century gothic construction, is known most for being the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830.

Maria Theresa of Austria was crowned at this church in June 1741.

The crown at the tower top is a gold-plated replica of the Crown of St. Stephen. It was placed in 1847 following restoration of the damaged tower, to commemorate the cathedral's importance as a coronation church. It weighs 350 pounds, measures 3.3 feet in diameter, and rests on a four foot by four foot gold-plated pillow. The pillow and the crown contain a total of 18 pounds of gold and were restored in August 2010.

Above: Book Cover. "The English Spy" by Daniel Silva. 13 May 2016. Bratislava, Slovakia.

I completed this book today, my umpteenth Daniel Silva novel featuring the character of Gabriel Allon, crack Israeli spy/assassin and soon to be head of Israel's spy agency.

This novel features Christopher Keller, a one time British special forces soldier, believed dead, but now a paid assassin in the hire of a Corsican olive grower.

Keller and Allon follow the track of a former IRA "big" who has been contracted by the Russian president to kill them as they were the agents (in a former novel, "The English Girl,") who disrupted the Russian scheme to get control of North Sea oil.

As with Lee Child's novels featuring Jack Reacher, the plots fade over time but the characters remain vivid. Gabriel Allon is a walker. He has a place on The Lizard, in Cornwall, where, if he had his druthers, he would be living, spending his time as an art restorer and a frequent walker, rain or shine, along the cliffs of the Lizard . Allon has been an inspiration to me in his love for solitary, contemplative walking.

TIMDT and Mwah (sic) walked on the Lizard during a visit to Cornwall in the late 80's.

Addendum:

Nonsense.

It was plain unvarnished anti-Semitism.

Jack Aroon,
Mahwah, NJ