Weekend: Bratislava's Christmas tree erected in downtown

From travel stories to the new definition of love and foreigners' experiences with the immigration system.


After 40 years in garden, spruce will light up Bratislava square

Bratislava had its Christmas tree erected on the Main Square in midweek.

A 12-metre-tall spruce comes from one of Bratislava boroughs, Karlova Ves, and is 40 years old. The tree, which had grown outside a family house, was cut down because it no longer had room to grow and pushed out the wall.

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The tree will be decorated shortly before the start of Christmas markets, which start on November 24 on two squares, Františkánske and Hlavné. The spruce will be lit up the next day. Christmas markets will end on December 22.

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Related: Trnava will erect its Christmas tree on November 11. The 15-metre-tall spruce has grown outside a primary school in Modranka, a Trnava borough, for 25 years. Christmas markets will open on November 23.


Safe haven for mountain lovers

A new shelter with high-quality architecture, Sláviček, opened to the public in Muránska Planina National Park. With six beds and one oven, it is the perfect refuge for tired hikers.

OTHER TRAVEL NEWS:

  • The construction of the Poloniny Trail cycling circuit is about to begin in eastern Slovakia.
  • In spring, the renovated section of the Historic Forest Headland Railway in northern Slovakia will be put into operation.
  • The renovated single-seater cable car leading from the village of Dedinky in the Rožňava District to the Geravy Plateau in the southern part of the Slovak Paradise will be put into operation in late spring. The two-kilometre-long cable car has been out of service since 2012. (TASR)
  • Hiking trails in the Tatras National Park are closed until June 14. Hikers can still access trails leading to mountain huts, except for the trail leading to the Chata Pod Rysmi hut.
  • A water reservoir near Lučenec has a new attraction: a boathouse.

Foreigners on ins and outs of Slovak immigration system

How do migrants navigate the process of legal immigration through setbacks, surprises and frightening uncertainty? Listen to the podcast.

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Everyone can find themselves in this definition of love

The new definition of the word láska (love) in the Dictionary of the Contemporary Slovak Language no longer mentions opposite sexes, thus reflecting the reality of how people use the word.

The institute's lexicographer Bronislava Chocholová and sociolinguist Lucia Molnár Satinská talk about why the change took place in the week after the terrorist attack on the Zámocká Street in Bratislava leaving two LGBT+ people dead and what impact the new definition may have on the society.

OTHER WEEKEND READS:


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

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