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.
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- ‘Appeasement emboldens dictators’: Ukraine’s ambassador on Russia, memory and war
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovak property prices rise at fastest pace since 2022 as cities lead recovery
- Fico to meet Putin in Moscow, defying EU’s united front on Ukraine
- Escape from the Slovak depression: Is housing in Austria worthwhile?
- Slovakia set to clash with Sweden on Ice Hockey World Championship first day
- Wayside shrines of Slovakia
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- Slovak property prices rise at fastest pace since 2022 as cities lead recovery
- Fico to meet Putin in Moscow, defying EU’s united front on Ukraine
- Escape from the Slovak depression: Is housing in Austria worthwhile?
- Slovakia set to clash with Sweden on Ice Hockey World Championship first day
- Forget the 1997 Titanic movie. This is a real love story and a woman from Slovakia plays the main part
- ‘Appeasement emboldens dictators’: Ukraine’s ambassador on Russia, memory and war
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- 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
- News digest: Anti-fascist celebration in Piešťany comes with free train rides — if you know the words
- Escape from the Slovak depression: Is housing in Austria worthwhile?
- Pay to play?
- Slovakia set to clash with Sweden on Ice Hockey World Championship first day
- News digest: President Pellegrini to face tough decision on holding contentious referendum
- He thought his family died in the Holocaust. Then a phone call changed everything.
- Dialects: You say potatoes, I say grule...or švábky?
- Coming home to a place you’ve never been
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- Nothing happened here for centuries. Until they started digging
- Slovakia misses out on key VW electric car investment
- Fico to meet Putin in Moscow, defying EU’s united front on Ukraine
- What do you see in a Nazi bunker? Juraj Somolányi saw possibility Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- ‘Appeasement emboldens dictators’: Ukraine’s ambassador on Russia, memory and war
- Bratislava looks to rental plans amid affordable housing squeeze
- News digest: PM Fico seeks alternative route to Moscow after Baltic states deny airspace access
- From hijacked planes to hidden ponds, Turiec has plenty to discover
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia set to clash with Sweden on Ice Hockey World Championship first day
- Politician’s incitement case thrown out as prosecutors condemn police handling More articles ›
