Sunshine in Slovakia

The day after the District Conference Gala in Prague (5/18), we packed up our bags to move on to the next phase of our journey - traveling through Slovakia. Leaving the Czech Republic behind and crossing the border into its sister country was uneventful, but little did we know how much Slovakia would capture our hearts. 

Slovakia is simply beautiful. Gorgeous countryside, generous people, delicious wine/beer/food and fantastic weather!

As soon as our team crossed the border into Slovakia, we had sunshine for the first time in days. You can imagine how happy each of us felt to see and feel the sun again… after all, we are Floridians! :)

For a few days, Nitra became our new home. Nitra is one of the oldest towns in Slovakia and the country’s agricultural capital. Upon our arrival, we were greeted very warmly by Sandy, the incoming President of Rotary Club Nitra-Harmony. Our first night kicked-off with some entertainment by Rotarian Mario and his very talented a cappella group, followed by fun times at the local Irish pub – the only one in town.

Every day was packed with enlightening vocational experiences, traditional Slovak meals, much pivo and vino consumption, and even more laughter. We had great team time as we ate breakfast together each morning at MediaHaus, a multipurpose facility that is managed by a local Rotarian. Our vocational time was well spent and very informative; we had many conversations with government officials, attorneys, law professors, and notaries in both Nitra and Bratislava. Additionally, we toured Minitube, a biotech production facility that manufactures plastic products used for artificial insemination of domesticated animals (yes, many jokes were cracked), because a local Rotarian works there as the Director of Sales for Central Europe.

We thoroughly enjoyed presenting to both clubs (Nitra and Nitra-Harmony) and meeting their members - very friendly, personable, hard-working people who were excited to host us and learn about our backgrounds and GSE journey thus far.

Nitra is less than one hour away from the Slovak capital of Bratislava. On Tuesday, May 20, we spent the day enjoying the sights in Slovakia's capital city with some members from District 2240.

Our last full day is one I (Alanna) will always remember fondly. Sandy took us to the tiny township of Oponice where we visited the Château Appony, which holds a magnificent collection of old texts in their beautiful library. The collection was started in 1774 by Count Apponyi and today holds over 17,000 books with over 400 original 1st editions.  We learned a lot about the various events and resulting devastation that occurred in the region over the course of history. Our team was deeply touched and moved after hearing the personal story of our guide who has dedicated his life to the reconstruction and restoration of this truly amazing literary collection.

The later part of the day concluded with a lovely serene experience at Topoľčianky Park. That night, we ate a delicious Italian meal of spaghetti prepared by Sandy’s husband at their lovely home with picturesque views of town. We drank plenty of vino, took pictures, shared laughter and made wonderful memories. It was an amazing night with new friends that we will cherish forever. Shakespeare’s words couldn't be truer about our time in Nitra: Parting is such sweet sorrow.

For a great website that offers a beautiful overview of Slovakia, go to http://slovakia.travel/

You can more about the city of Nitra and the surrounding areas on the city's webpage: http://www.nitra.eu/.  

[Ed. Note: This post is a joint effort by Alanna, Hailey, and Justin.]