Bratislava airport to Parnica

  Párnica, Žilinský, Slovakia
Monday, August 17, 2009

The plane ride was fine, once at Bratislava airport, bike and luggage in hand I set about inflating the tyres the airline company had forced me to deflate.  This was great fun with my six inch, half broken pump...got bored and frustrated and decided tp cycle towards Bratislava with half-flat tyres  Luckily I came across a Slovak-kwikfit-styly place where they helped me out... my miming action was not only wonderful but carefully chosen.  

Caught the train up to Parnica in the north and to the beginning of my cycle mission.  The bike was laden onto the train and stripped of all my belongings so I could struggle down the corridor and knock into people. No seat, so I occupied the corridor and stared out of the window with that intent curiosity which befalls you in new places. Iˇd estimated the space left for people to pass to be more than sufficient, however, the succession of VERY large grandmothers which struggled passed me, virtually squeezing me through the cracks of the train carriage proved me wrong.

Slovakia has a population of 5.5 million and you notice it, the capital Bratislava was without much traffic and small. The train journey cost me and the mechanical horse 10 euro, not bad at all to travel from one end of the country to the other! A pint of beer costs 80 cents and fruit and vegetables are equally cheap, though I have to admit I am yet to try the latter.  I should point out at this point that Slovakia is cheap for non-Slovakians, the average wage here is 300 euro for an office or factory worker.

After an hour or so of gazing out of the window at the vast fields of maize and err.... other crops, which sprout up endlessly without hedges, trees, spinneys or woods, I procured myself a seat.  I nodded hello to my carriage companions and helped a middle-aged woman put her goat and sack of potatoes up into the suitcase rack, she was much obliged and the other co-carriagers were equally impressed with my chivalry, so much so as to launch into conversation........it was rather one-sided.   I smiled and said "English, Italiano".. after a few seconds a woman handed me a telephone....apprehensively I took said telephone and spoke to a newly awoken man who spoke Italian but had nothing much to say as it was obviously far to early for him. 

After an hour or two of viewing the oceans of crops which, here, as in most other farm-able land on the planet is being grown to feed us directly or the animals that we Will then eat

Rolling hills in Northern Slovakia

, the hills began, beautiful rolling hills with lots of pine trees.   Ryan has bought a house in this area, in a village called Parnica.  Parnica is 100 years-old, as is his house, well the bottom half anyway, the top half is new.

Ryan"s house