Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Young Brit fell in love with Slovak food
Zoe shares her love for selected Slovak delicacies. (source: Reprophotography of TikTok)
Traditional Slovak soups and dumplings, but also various pastries, drinks and snacks. A young British woman named Zoe, who goes by the name Zoeineurope on social networks, recently published a video on TikTok that features her top picks from Slovak cuisine and local delicacies.
It has so far attracted some 115,000 views.
“Slovakia, thank you for blessing my British taste buds,” reads the caption of the video, in which the young woman, who hails from London and Southampton but has spent some of the last three years living and working in Slovakia, admits that Slovak food has changed her life.
Among her top picks are traditional kapustnica (sauerkraut soup) and cesnačka (garlic soup), bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings sprinkled with tangy sheep’s cheese and bacon), strapačky (potato dumplings with sauerkraut and bacon), Kofola (a cola-like non-alcoholic beverage), borovička (a spirit drink), and pastries like coconut balls and veterník. She also loves fried cheese, traditional potato salad and snacks like cream-and-onion flavour crisps and Mila chocolate wafers.
One of her biggest favourites were rožky (bread rolls), but unfortunately she can no longer eat them.
“I’ve been grieving since I was diagnosed celiac,” she admits.
A unique heart surgery performed in Košice
The recording from the unique heart surgery. (source: TASR)
Heart surgeons in Košice can boast a world first.
Two teams of surgeons performed a unique surgery at the East Slovak Institute of Heart Diseases (VÚSCH) at the beginning of October, creating a pulmonary valve from the patient's own tissue, and subsequently replacing the damaged aortic valve with the original pulmonary valve.
“In this case, we were the first in the world to model a new pulmonary valve from the patient’s own pericardium instead of the standardly used so-called homograft from a donor or a biological valve replacement,” said surgeon Adrián Kolesár, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Together with his two Czech colleagues, he modified the already existing Ross procedure, also known as a pulmonary autograft. However, compared to the original, it has several benefits for the patient. For example, it eliminates the need for life-long blood-thinning treatment, while the patient’s own tissue is more resistant to potential infection.
The surgery lasted nearly eight hours, and was performed by two cardiosurgical teams in two operating rooms. The patient was 35-year-old Matej Pavlovič, who has a congenital heart defect. The only similar previous attempt took place in Japan, but the surgeons tried it on a dead pig, not a living person, TASR wrote.
Slovakia has the best street food in Europe
The team from Miki Streetfood. (source: Facebook/Miki Streetfood)
A mobile food vendor from Poprad, in northern Slovakia, has recorded a significant success.
Miki Streetfood, founded by Mikuláš Sisák, beat competitors from across Europe to win the 2024 European Street Food Award, the biggest street food competition in the world. The winner was chosen by a judging panel made up of Germany’s finest Michelin-starred chefs, food bloggers and street food legends.
“In the beginning, the MIKI boyfriend/girlfriend team were known for their smiles – and their ‘lokša s kačkou’ (potato pancake with duck and cabbage),” the organisers wrote on Facebook. “But now – four years later – Mikuláš and Majka are married. They have a baby, two much bigger food trucks – and a taco menu that’s based around Slovak ingredients.”
The team from Miki Streetfood will now represent Slovakia and Europe at the USA Street Food Awards.
“It’s more than a dream,” the Miki Streetfood team wrote on Facebook. “We still can’t believe it.”
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
A recent discovery near Santovka, in southern Slovakia, has revealed gaps in our knowledge about the introduction of pottery into central Europe.
A castle, a military exhibition dedicated to Michael Strank, a distillery, and a spa. Join our colleague and discover hidden gems in and around Stará Ľubovňa.
Bratislava, bordered by the Small Carpathians to the north, offers stunning hikes in the local forests, and scenic views.
Emanuele Preve, CFO of rice producer Riso Gallo, reflects on being part of the sixth generation to lead a family business.
Born to American parents, ice hockey player Alex Tuch carries within him the rich heritage of his Slovak roots. He has a tattoo of Slovakia's double-cross-on-three-hills emblem on his back.
Political meme of the week
The Slovak Anti-Humour Unit (source: SME/Rosie Naive Art)
Caption: “Just stop the laughing now, and it’ll be perfect.”
With this meme, artist Rosie Babicová, whose works can be found on the internet and social networks under the name Rosie Naive Art, alludes to the reactions of the current ruling coalition to the criticism it's been receiving. It features a figure representing Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) and several new "state authorities", such as the National Office for Friendship with Belarus, the National Office for Changing Traffic Lights, the National Office for the Regulation of Bears, the National Office against the Rainbow, and the National Media Authority, each of them a reference to diversionary issues the coalition has lately become embroiled in. The last of these references, to a "National Media Authority", was actually mentioned by Fico at a recent press conference during which he lashed out at journalists, accusing them of being "possessed by the devil" after they questioned the stability of his governing coalition. In addition, there is a state flag displayed on all the depicted buildings, which refers to a widely mocked proposal by Smer's coalition partner, the Slovak National Party (SNS), to require all public buildings to fly the Slovak flag.
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
