The celestial visitor above the High Tatras. (source: Petr Horálek)
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Photographer goes to great lengths to shoot a comet
Czech astrophotographer Petr Horálek, whose pictures have been picked by NASA as the Astronomy Picture of the Day on several occasions, has published a unique picture of the 12P/Pons-Brooks comet that in recent days has been visible over Slovakia.
He chose the High Tatras as his destination, and was able to capture the comet above the iconic Lomnický Štít, the second highest peak in the mountain range. He spent more than 16 days and drove about 3,000 kilometres before successfully taking the shot. The image was taken from Veľká Lomnica, about 11 kilometres away from the summit. The scene is lit by bright moonlight.
“I have been planning this image for a very long time, but despite the precise planning, thousands of kilometres of driving, and good equipment I had always failed due to bad weather,” Horálek wrote on his website. “But on 19 March 2024, I finally succeeded.”
He noted that one of the highest-located astronomical observatories in central Europe is located at the summit of Lomnický Štít.
“Between 1946 and 1959, just in the period when comet Pons-Brooks visited our Solar System last time, several other comets were discovered in this magical mountainous place,” Horálek wrote.
Dogs serve in Slovak hospitals
The psychiatric ward of the University Hospital Bratislava, situated on Antolská Street in the borough of Petržalka, has a new team member. Patients there are being visited by a therapeutic dog called Moon, as part of the pilot canistherapy project.
The hospital says Moon brings much joy to the patients, which has a positive impact on their condition.
“Contact with an animal reduces tension a bit, and the patients can think of something else,” said Petra Nosáľová, a senior doctor in the psychiatric ward, as quoted by the Noviny.sk website.
Meanwhile, the ophthalmology department of the Faculty Hospital and Polyclinic in Nové Zámky, a town in southern Slovakia, has also welcomed a four-legged recruit to one of its surgeries. Brya, a six-month-old female labrador, has been training there to become a guide dog.
“Guide dogs have to undergo a difficult training process, and one of the stages is a stay in hospital,” said Gabriela Gulyásová, the ophthalmologist who is responsible for Brya’s training, as quoted on the hospital’s website. She added that they have received positive feedback from patients.
The spiciest sausage? Head to southern Slovakia
How propably the spiciest sausage in the world is made. (source: Reprophotography TVnoviny.sk)
A grower of chilli from Nové Zámky, in southern Slovakia, has made what he claims is the world's spiciest sausage. It is not for sale, and potential consumers are being advised that they can eat it only and solely at their own risk.
“It hasn’t happened that someone would say they had eaten a spicier sausage, so we can assume it is the spiciest in the world,” said Ladislav Baraňay, who grows various kinds of chilli and came up with the idea of making the special sausage, dubbed Madolla, as quoted by the TVnoviny.sk website. He found inspiration in Mexico.
The basis of the product is a high-quality homemade sausage mixture, to which huge amounts of chilli are added. It is necessary to wear a gas mask, protective clothing and gloves when preparing the sausage, which is has been served at various chilli-eating competitions.
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
The trail to Chata pri Zelenom Plese mountain chalet offers an easy hike for all walkers. Join our colleague, who decided to take the trail during winter.
After escaping their beleaguered home town in eastern Ukraine, Olena Kulish and her family are building a new life in Bratislava. As well as a new home, Olena has found new love in Slovakia.
The dilapidated Calvary in Bratislava is undergoing reconstruction. New stations of the cross made of fine concrete were added last year to the Calvary Hill; their size and shape corresponds to the original Baroque Calvary.
While Slovaks seem to naturally understand Czech, foreigners who have learned Slovak can find the unfamiliar vocabulary, cadences and grammar of Czech incomprehensible.
Recently, the French architecture magazine d'a published an issue dedicated to Slovak architecture, to show how architects of this “young country” deal with the tempestuous history of their region – and respond to new challenges.
Political meme of the week
(source: SME/Rosie Naive Art)
Caption: Don’t you worry, grandkids, I’ll use my common sense when making my choice.
Cartoonist Rosie Naive Art expresses some scepticism about the wisdom of the choices that Slovakia's aging population will make when electing its next president this Saturday, March 23. A total of 10 candidates are running for the post (you can find short profiles of each here). If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the two candidates with the highest support will proceed to a second round run-off, scheduled for April 6.
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
