Kite runners by the Zemplínska Šírava reservoir in eastern Slovakia. (source: TASR - Roman Hanc)
Packet French soup inventor dies
Darina Matyášová, a Slovak who invented a packet French soup, has died at the age of 79.
Matyášová’s story is reminiscent of the careers of successful people. Not only did she discover her product, but she was also responsible for introducing it into production.
She spent her life working for the Carpathia company in Prievidza, which later became part of the food giant Nestlé.
In 1971, a nearly thirty-year-old woman, a mother of two children, faced the task of making a soup that could be prepared quickly and that everyone would like. The assignment was straightforward: a clear vegetable broth soup.
Darina Matyášová. (source: TASR - Alexandra Moštková)
“For us, only chicken and beef were then clear soups,” she said in 2015. “So, we thought about a version that would be something between onion but not too oniony and beef but not too beefy. And we came up with this, French leek soup.”
The Albanians supplied the dried leek. The machines for making shell-shaped pasta had to be bought in Italy, the Pravda daily wrote. It took about three years to get the soup into production.
According to Matyášová, leeks are very important in French soups, and instead of classic noodles, pasta in the shape of shells makes the soup stand out. That is why the popular soup is named after France.
Restaurants:
McDonald’s opened its second restaurant next to the D1 highway between Bratislava and Senec in late September.
The Planetka restaurant in Bratislava-Ružinov was supposed to close due to rising energy prices, but it remains open after all.
Texan’s rodeo trip brings back memories
Arriving at the Nemšová ranch, I stepped into another world and time. Ranch 13 is primarily a hotel and destination for weddings and other events, but the entire facility is built to resemble an old western village.
It may seem gimmicky to some, but the attention to detail is impeccable.
Rodeo in Nemšová. (source: Jeremy Hill)
The start of the rodeo show was surprisingly bombastic, with riders racing around the arena waving flags. The American national anthem was proudly played. All riders and audience members stood, removed their hats and placed them over their hearts. The introduction concluded with a prayer (again, very American) with all participants down on one knee.
From that point on, I was fully immersed in excitement and nostalgia.
Travel news in short:
BBC documentarist Nick Thorpe now knows how to say blueberry in Slovak. Do you?
Hnúšťa has opened its mining museum with underground tours.
Top 10 events in Bratislava
Bratislava Jazz Days will kick off on October 21. See more Bratislava events. Click on the picture above. (source: TASR - Dano Veselský)
Slovakia’s star of visual arts at Tate Modern
Until now neither no one in the world nor at home knew about her.
Maria Bartuszová did not expect to be appreciated one day. She only had three exhibitions during her life. However, twenty-six years after her death there is a solo exhibition of her work at the Tate Modern, which no other Slovak has been able to achieve.
The sculptor knew how to attribute a fascinating meaning to her thoughts and give them a symbolic artistic form, and she easily overcame all the limitations, both physical and ideological, which fate imposed on her.
For the Tate Modern she is no Iron Curtain curiosity. She is simply a sculptor who has a natural place in London because she is a star of the visual arts.
Sculptor Maria Bartuszová in her studio. (source: Tate Modern)
Other developments:
Animation: During this year’s Biennial of Animation Bratislava, Yamamura was awarded the Prix Klingsor for his lifetime work focused on children. The Japanese animator creates unique films that are, he says, depressing most of the time. On the other hand, Yamamura makes people think. “Dozens of Norths” is the latest example of such an animated film.
Archaeology: The remains of five individuals, probably convicts, were found during an archaeological survey of a brick gallows.
Animal: In Slovakia, near the village of Mikušovce near Lučenec, a new species of bird has been observed - the Richard's Pipit.
Bratislava opens its first reuse centre
People at Bratislava's first reuse centre. (source: Courtesy of OLO)
The Bratislava city authorities and the municipal waste-management organisation Odvoz a Likvidácia Odpadu (OLO) opened Kolo, the first local reuse centre, on the rented premises of the Korzo shopping centre on Pestovatelská Street, near the Avion and Ikea shopping malls on the outskirts of Bratislava.
Six days a week, visitors can obtain second-hand, but still functional, items for symbolic sums or bring things they no longer need, but fully functional and usable.
“Bratislava has become a city offering sustainable alternatives to standard shopping, giving used items another chance,” said Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo during the centre’s opening.
Such centres already operate in Prague and Vienna.
That’s it for this week. Have a restful weekend. - Peter
Do you have any tips? You can reach Peter at peter.dlhopolec@spectator.sk
