Nice Driveway!
An occasional column on life in Slovakia by James Thomson.
Pay to play?
Slovakia’s bureaucratic failings are making life almost impossible for many foreign residents – and costing the country dear.
The age of the bully
Trump and his Slovak admirers are growing ever closer.
Postcard from the east
In which your correspondent visits a library, and dodges a wolf.
The age of the bullies, and their enablers
The “heroes” of 1989 will not save Slovakia.
Welcome to the Ozempic economy
Does anyone actually have a plan?
Dangerous words
The SIS says some books pose a threat. But airport paperbacks?
Lord, won't you buy me a... Lamborghini SUV?
Whatever Slovakia's economic prospects, many people here are living well.
But what about the game?
The prime minister is shot. The country moves on.
Speaking clearly
Why Slovakia seems to pathologise "incorrect" speech.
Not the best of times
People in countries that should know better are being treated like serfs, not citizens.
Crash test dummy
Think of it less as the ship of state, and more of a dodgem car.
Back to the future
You know it’s Christmas in Slovakia when everyone on TV is wearing hose and doublets.
In America, we are all still Czechoslovaks
When politics and history collide, the result can be… well, confusing.
When disaster strikes
A rare earthquake reveals family solidarity and institutional weakness.
The devil lurks in the detail
As the dust clears following the September 30 election, some startling facts emerge.
Land of confusion - when winning is losing and shouting better than talking
A month out from the election, little is clear.
Slovakia is busy building cycle paths. Why?
To make urban cycling work, the attitudes of drivers, planners and politicians need to change.
Why do Slovaks sell their votes so cheaply?
Perhaps they're just used to being short-changed.
Big white liars
Some people still believe everything they read on the internet.
The Foreigners’ Police unlearns English
Over the decades, this Slovak institution has proved both durable and obdurate.
- Pay to play?
- Poprad, 'capital' of the High Tatras, named in top European destinations ranking
- Slovakia misses out on key VW electric car investment
- Underground vampires are taking over Slovakia one rave at a time
- Bratislava looks to rental plans amid affordable housing squeeze
- Escape from the Slovak depression: Is housing in Austria worthwhile?
- News digest: 'Dear Kaja' Fico responds dismissively to EU over his Moscow visit
- Wayside shrines of Slovakia
- Pay to play?
- Underground vampires are taking over Slovakia one rave at a time
- Poprad, 'capital' of the High Tatras, named in top European destinations ranking
- News digest: 'Dear Kaja' Fico responds dismissively to EU over his Moscow visit
- Slovakia misses out on key VW electric car investment
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia
- Bratislava looks to rental plans amid affordable housing squeeze
- Pay to play?
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- Underground vampires are taking over Slovakia one rave at a time
- Wayside shrines of Slovakia
- ‘Appeasement emboldens dictators’: Ukraine’s ambassador on Russia, memory and war
- Slovak property prices rise at fastest pace since 2022 as cities lead recovery
- Slovakia set to clash with Sweden on Ice Hockey World Championship first day
- Weekend: Locomotives, concerts, Quidditch and more fun Photo
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- Pay to play?
- He thought his family died in the Holocaust. Then a phone call changed everything.
- Underground vampires are taking over Slovakia one rave at a time
- Coming home to a place you’ve never been
- Slovakia misses out on key VW electric car investment
- Fico to meet Putin in Moscow, defying EU’s united front on Ukraine
- Slovak property prices rise at fastest pace since 2022 as cities lead recovery
- UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia
- News digest: 'Dear Kaja' Fico responds dismissively to EU over his Moscow visit
- Underground vampires are taking over Slovakia one rave at a time
- Former Cardinal Prevost was set to visit Košice and Levoča. Will he come as Pope?
- Poprad, 'capital' of the High Tatras, named in top European destinations ranking
- Weekend: Locomotives, concerts, Quidditch and more fun Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- ‘Appeasement emboldens dictators’: Ukraine’s ambassador on Russia, memory and war More articles ›