An Evening of Bartók

At the historic Slovak National Theatre yesterday, I saw a one-act ballet Wooden Prince with music by Béla Bartók, followed by his only opera, the one-act Count Bluebeard. A Hungarian, he lived for a time in Bratislava and collected Slovak folk tunes for use in his work. Both of these compositions were created in the early 20th-century at the dawning of modernism. The production values and depth of talent in both productions were just astonishing.

This was my view of the stage from the big center box. It doesn’t get much better. I shared the box with a couple from Vienna who were opera buffs and lovers of Bartók -- and American musicals. A family from Toronto, Canada with three young daughters stayed only for the ballet.

Here’s another view of the boxes in the theatre. Although some on the sides were empty, the main orchestra seating appeared to be sold out.

These long steps lead up to the various levels of the boxes.

This is a view of the lobby taken from the first mezzanine.

I love this theater. Next up in a few weeks are performances of Balanchine's Serenade and the Russian classic Raymonda, works very familiar to me from American productions, so I will get a better sense of the capabilities of this company.

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American Ragtime

Today I attended a free concert of Czech musicians performing American Ragtime on Hviezdoslavovo Námestie in Bratislava in honor of a Czech Holiday, Václavská pouť. The event was sponsored by Škoda, the Czech car manufacturer.

Ragtime is a style of jazz -- banned by the Communists and frowned on by the Nazis for its non-Aryan roots in black America. That might explain the very joyous performance today.

On the south side of the plaza is the beautiful Czech Embassy, right by the performing area. I learned a little about the day talking to an Embassy employee out in front enjoying the music.

Here's a clip of their performance of the 1902 Ragtime classic, "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?"

Daily details

I went out for a walk this morning for a few errands in my neighborhood. My top priority was finding a copy shop where I could do some xeroxing for things I need to send back to the U.S. My University department has a machine, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome.

This Kopírovacia has heavy-duty gray steel mesh over the windows, but it is bright and friendly inside, a veritable Kinko’s. Single copies cost $0.10. And if I feel the urge, I can get a California sunless tan right next door!

Thick white stripes in the street signal that pedestrians have the right-of-way in all circumstances. We have this rule in many California cities, too, but I always wonder if all the drivers know about it.

These handy traffic signs let drivers know that parking is available at the Opera House and the New Bridge, but not at the passenger ship port.

This tram sports a city slogan I see everywhere in English: “little big city.” The ticketing system requires you to carry a valid pass or ticket with you and have it available for a surprise inspection. Yesterday was the first time since I arrived that an inspector actually came on board to see our tickets/passes. He dinged a couple of people on my tram with 32 Euro fines (about $45) – ouch! I suppose the gamblers have figured out the odds of getting caught versus the cost of a valid pass.

I also stopped at the meticulously elegant and spotless ticket office of the National Theatre to get a ticket for tomorrow’s performance of the ballet. I paid 280 Koruna ($11.20) for what I consider the best seat in the house, first row of the boxes, center section, on the aisle. No, that is not the same-day-half-price cost. At the Met in New York, standing room at the back costs $20. More later on the performance.

The entrance to the ticket office is on the side of the building. Access for the disabled here is much as it is in London, which is to say, dreadful. At least the doors open out for this office. Many doors in public buildings and stores here open inward, a fire hazard that you never see in the U.S. We learned the hard way from some historic disasters (the Iroquois Theater fire, the Cocoanut Grove fire) that people panicking to get out of a building on fire crush against the doors, making it impossible to open them inward in an emergency.

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Teaching Day

Thursday is my busiest teaching day, with my "Free Speech in Contemporary Democracies" class in the morning. I have 16 students registered in this one.

This is the room for the morning class. Thank goodness the tables and chairs are not bolted to the floor.

This is the Soltésovej building, where I teach my afternoon class on "Increasing Intercultural Awareness in English Language Teaching." It is just around the corner from the Moskovská building. A graduate student in my department said this street and building are named after a much-revered female writer, Elena Maróthy-Šoltésová. (I'm trying to think of streets named after revered female writers in the U.S. -- Susan Sontag? Lillian Hellman? Emily Dickinson?)

This is a huge building, with a beautifully landscaped garden in the center. Smoking is not allowed in the classroom buildings, but you can find plenty of ashtrays in the outdoor areas. (And you thought that was only in California!)

My afternoon class meets in this classroom, with a lovely view of the garden. Thirteen students are registered for this one. I am grateful the tables and chairs are not bolted down in this room either.

My Monday aesthetics class has 15 students registered. All of my classes are much bigger than the 5-7 students I was expecting in each. I know many students have shied away from registering because I lecture in English, but many others have told me they are eager to improve their English with a native speaker.

I set up a simple Web site for my students here: http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/UK/
Students all have excellent Internet access, but the University does not have such luxuries as Blackboard that we use at CSU Long Beach. The web site will be a way for me to disseminate the syllabus, PowerPoint files, and other class materials this fall.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.

Ghosts of the SS

Behind these walls is the elegantly restored building now serving as the Portuguese Embassy, located at the end of the block on Moskovská from my classroom building.

Local legend has it that Hitler’s SS used this building as their Bratislava headquarters during World War II. I don't know how to confirm this, but perhaps the legend has as much power as the reality at this point in time.

Fulbright interviews

Today at the local Fulbright offices, I joined in on interviews of eight finalists for Slovak student Fulbrights to study in the United States. Another Fulbright lecturer, a representative of the U.S. embassy, and two of the Slovak Fulbright Commission staff participated in the interviews.

I finally got a good picture of the entire Slovak Fulbright Commission staff. From left to right: Mária Paniaková, Program and Student Advisor; Viera Zimová, the Finance Officer; and Nora Hložeková, the Executive Director. I am quite sure I speak for all the U.S. Fulbrighters in being extremely grateful for their dedicated, energetic, and conscientious help to all of us in making our stay in Slovakia so worthwhile and pleasant.

It was a fascinating comparison for me with interview teams on which I participated last spring at CSU Long Beach of students who had applied for various study abroad programs. In both settings, we looked for appropriate language skills, whether they had thought through good reasons for wanting to study abroad, and how the experiences would benefit their long-term educational and career goals.

I cannot divulge any information about today’s candidates, of course. Originally 16 students had applied for the four slots, and today we had to further winnow the field from eight to four. It was very difficult! I was so impressed by the talent and ingenuity of all the candidates.

One of the official selection criteria was how the student would apply their experiences in the U.S. after they returned to the Slovak Republic. I remembered hearing during our orientation last week the concern about the “brain drain” – the talented Slovaks who leave for other EU countries where they can earn more money and have more career opportunities. That was an important factor today.

Before the interviews began, I mentioned the problem of the sinking value of the dollar, which is now at all-time lows against the Euro, the British pound, and the Slovak Koruna. It's a problem for the Slovak Fulbright Commission too, as their grant from the U.S. State Department is in dollars!

Market Place

I noticed a huge building by the tram stop on my way to the Fulbright office to pick up books and decided to explore. This is right at a major crossroads of Krizna and Šancová, where many people seem to change busses or trams.



The huge Coca-Cola sign can be found all over Bratislava. Smaller booths surrounded the building.

Here's a view from the side, facing Krizna. The sign "Tržnica" translates to "marketplace." I'm having special difficulty pronouncing words that begin with four consonants.

Inside, it turned out to be part farmer's market, part suburban mall, with fresh produce, bakeries, flower shops, candy, cheese, coffee shops, bars, and clothing stores. The absence of signs welcoming credit cards suggested that this is not a big tourist destination.

One of many bakery shops packed with fresh goods.

Several flower stands brightened one end of the building.

Here's an aerial view of the produce section. Before I left the U.S., my doctor recommended that I have the hepatitis vaccine series, just in case I ate some exotic vegetables in rural villages. I wondered if that was a greater risk than the e-coli that keeps emerging from the Central Valley in California, but decided the vaccine couldn't hurt.

My visit came to an abrupt end when a burly guard in what appeared to be a police uniform scowled at me and waved his finger to get me to stop taking pictures. Was he objecting to me taking pictures at all or just of him? I decided not to ask!

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Train Station

I visited Hlavná Stanica, the main train station in Bratislava, to check it out before venturing forth on weekend trips to Vienna, Budapest, and other nearby cities. The station is located northwest of Old Town, in an area with numerous government and business office buildings.

The main terminal has seen better days, but it's a busy place and vital lifeline in the region.

Inside the busy terminal, signs are translated into several languages, including English and German. Whew! Access for the disabled leaves much to be desired, as these travelers lugging heavy bags up the stairs are no doubt thinking.

About six tracks enter the station. The train closest to the station was headed to Košice, a city of about 240,000 in far eastern Slovakia, near the Ukraine border, a five or six hour trip. RailEurope sells the one-way 2nd-class ticket for $65.

Numerous tram and bus lines deposit travellers to the station. One tram line runs from within a block of my apartment straight out to the station, which will be handy.

Mundane travel tip: Tourist books for Europe routinely urge American visitors to take overnight trains and save a night in a hotel. I asked some Fulbright guides about this and they were horrified. Most theft takes place on the overnight trains, even when you are in sleeper cars. I have always preferred long train rides in the daytime anyway, so I can see the scenery.

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Museum on the Danube

I visited another wonderful art museum today, unusual in several ways. It is located south of Bratislava, just over the Hungarian border, on a peninsula in the Danube River, which was diverted several decades ago to reduce flooding and improve boating. Known as Danubiana, the Meulensteen Art Museum was built by a Dutch art patron Gerard H. Meulensteen, working with a Slovak gallery owner Dr. Vincent Polakovi.

The museum, new in 2000, is shown here surrounded by the River, with outdoor sculptures on permanent display by Hans Van de Bovenkamp. He is an American of Dutch origins. I noticed on all the signage that he capitalizes the "V," as I do in my name, a common "Americanization" of a Dutch name.

One of my favorite sculptures:

Here is another I particularly liked:

The exhibits focussed on people yearning to be free: a touring exhibit of South African Art and a retrospective of the work of Vladimír Kompánek, a prolific Slovak painter and sculptor who pressed the limits of artistic censorship before the fall of Communism.

Cameras were allowed in the galleries, but my amateur shots do not do justice to the material. Here is the Museum’s web site with better presentations: http://www.danubiana.sk/eng/index.html

The main disadvantage of the Museum is that it is not readily accessible by public transportation. I was able to visit courtesy of my department head on a warm late summer day.

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A Night at the Opera

On our final night of Fulbright orientation, we attended the opera Ariadna na Naxe by Richard Strauss at the 19th century Slovak National Theatre. A theater was located on the site in the 18th century. This one was built in 1886. For more information on the historic building: http://www.snd.sk/?historical_building_of_snt

This is a picture of the Theatre I took a sunny day. It is located at the eastern end of Hviezdoslavovo namestie.

This is the elegant lobby. You have to buy a program, but it was only 50 SKK ($2.00) and it included an English translation of the libretto and program notes.

It is a very intimate theater, with fewer than 700 seats. (In comparison, the Kennedy Center Opera House seats almost 2000 and the Metropolitan Opera House about 3000.) We sat in the main level seating. Sightlines were marvelous. Ample room separated the rows. Three levels of box seats surrounded us, with a nosebleed balcony almost out of sight. The detailed decorations throughout the theater were stunning.

I took this before the performance, standing in front by the orchestra pit.

I was struck by the huge size of orchestra pit, far larger than I have seen in any opera house. The stage seemed narrow, but very deep.

I do not have the professional expertise to judge opera. Suffice it to say that I was blown away. I had wondered if the old cliche, "You get what you pay for," might apply. Our tickets were gifts of the Fulbright Commission, but would cost the public only 700 SKK ($28) for the second-best seating in the house (second only to the individual boxes above us). It most decidedly did not.

I was stunned by the depth of talent in the many roles in this two-hour opera. I do not have a base of comparison for the production options for this opera, but I know nuance, interpretation, amplitude, expressiveness, and richness of voice, and this performance was marvelous by any measure. I know a bit more about instrumental music and relished the polish and interpretation of the orchestra. Pit orchestras sometimes sound like rag-tag afterthoughts. This one was ready for prime time in the concert hall.

The acoustics in this theater were marvelous – rich, full, with no dead spots or missing registers that I could detect. Another Fulbrighter with some expertise in this area said that it had been designed by the same people who designed the Vienna State Opera House, which many think has among the best acoustics in the world. I kept looking for hints of miking and electronic amplification, but I am certain there were none.

Pictures were not allowed during the performance, but for more information on this opera: http://www.snd.sk/?opera_7&predstavenie=ariadna_na_naxe

The performance started at 7:00 p.m., early by American standards. The explanation from our Fulbright guides: Most public transportation lines stop running at 11:00 p.m. As so many rely on those, the performances need to finish well before then.

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Shining Castle on a Hill

Bratislava Castle (Hrad) is by far the most prominent landmark in all of the city, impossible to miss no matter where you are, and the most impressive sight for tourists.

During our Fulbright orientation, we went on a long walking tour of the grounds and buildings. The castle is on the site, high over the city, where evidence of fortifications have been traced back over 1000 years. The current structure is attributed to Maria Teresia of the Hapsburg empire in the 18th century. It burned to the ground in 1811 and lay in ruins for over 150 years, when it was reconstructed.

For a more detailed history, see http://www.slovakheritage.org/Castles/bratislava.htm

It is impossible to get the entire castle into one shot. Here's a sense of its vast scale.

This is just one of the many ornately elegant gates on the grounds.

These beautiful outbuildings are on the west side of the main castle.

These stone foundations are all that remains of 13th century fortifications on the site.

The Castle grounds have incredible views in all directions.

After 1000 years of invasions, royalty, Nazis, and Communists, it seems appropriate that the Parliament building for the current democratic form of government is immediately adjacent to the Castle, on the west side.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.

Exhibit: Slovak Artists

On the first night of our Fulbright orientation, we attended the opening reception for a marvelous exhibit, "Dreams Intersect Reality: Slovak Visual Artists in their Own Words." It was held at the Palffy Palace, which now serves as the Bratislava City Gallery on Panska Street in Old Town, across from the British Embassy.

The Palace is on the site of a Gothic Palace dating to the 14th century. Over the centuries it has served as a residence for Count Palffy and the seat of city council government. Its lavishly ornate interior was restored in the 1980s. For more information: http://www.gmb.sk/en/page/palffy_palace

The exhibit was curated by Lee Karpiscak, an American on the faculty at the University of Arizona, married to a Slovak. She spent years interviewing Slovak artists, especially about their experiences before and after the fall of communism. Funding for the exhibit was provided by the Fulbright Commission, the U.S. Embassy, the City of Bratislava, and the Ministry of Culture.

At the opening ceremony, we heard remarks in both English and Slovak from the curator and the Ambassador. A waitress brought a tray of salt and glasses of wine for the traditional Slovak opening toast. The curator is in the middle, holding flowers. To her right is the Ambassador, Rudolphe M. Vallee.

I stopped at the bookstore later and bought the book by Professor Karpiscak. All of the interviews are included in both Slovak and English. This 110-page hardcover catalog, on glossy paper, with numerous color prints cost only 250 SKK (about $10!). I would expect to pay many times that for an exhibition catalog at a U.S. gallery. It is filled with fascinating insights on the importance of free speech to these artists and what their lives were like under communism, one of my main interests here.

For more information on the exhibit: http://www.gmb.bratislava.sk/en/exhibition/83

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Fulbright orientation

We just completed three intensive days of orientation with the other Fulbrighters in Slovakia this year. This whirlwind of presentations, language training, and introductions was organized by Nora Hlozeková, who has been the Executive Director since the Velvet Divorce from the Czech Republic in 1993, and her very capable staff.

Professor Marta Botiková, Department of Ethnology, Comenius University, presented a fascinating overview of Slovakian cultural history in Central Europe. Seated at the table in front is Nora Hlozeková. (I'll try to get a better picture later.)

Mária Paniaková (right) is the Program and Student Advisor for the Fulbright Commission. Viera Zimová is the Finance Officer.

The most intensive part of the orientation was seven hours of Slovak language instruction, a few hours each day, presented by Maja Vrábelová. She is a very busy teacher of English providing training for the U.S. Embassy staff among others. She used to train Peace Corps volunteers coming to Slovakia, but the U.S. closed the Peace Corps program here after the fall of communism. (I confess I did not know that we had been sending Peace Corps volunteers to nations of the old Warsaw Pact.)

Most helpful to me was the work on pronunciation. I have been able to find words and phrases with my pocket dictionaries, but was clueless about how to say anything. One cannot hope to be remotely fluent in a matter of days or even months, but I now find myself practicing words with clerks and reading street signs to myself to get comfortable with pronunciations.

Other presentations were made by representatives of the U.S. Embassy, Larry Silverman, a career Foreign Services Officer who serves as Deputy Chief of the Mission, and Edward Kemp, the Public Affairs Officer. They stressed their support for developing higher education exchanges among students and faculty and projects they are pursing in addition to Fulbright programs.

Dr. Viera Farkasova, Head of the Unit of Higher Education Programs and Projects, Slovak Acadaemic Association for International Cooperation, gave us an overview of the shifts underway in Slovak higher education, especially to conform to the Bologna agreements that will make it easier for credits and degrees to be transferred within the European Union. We learned that about 50% of applicants to Slovak universities are accepted. But the nation is worried about the "brain drain" of the best and brightest who leave to work elsewhere in Europe or the U.S. where they can get much better salaries.

Most valuable of all was getting to know the other Fulbrighters and comparing notes on problem-solving as we all adjusted to our new home. We all have e-mail, so I am sure we will be in touch regularly this year.

Our final lunch together at the Hotel Dukla.

Here we shared dinner at the Downtown Restaurant in Old Town.

We also attended a marvelous opening reception for the art exhibit, "Dreams Intersect Reality," at the Palffy Palace in Old Town, and went on a lengthy guided sightseeing tour by bus and foot through Bratislava, which I talk about in other posts.

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Tipping Redux

Apparently my fellow Fulbrighters have been as confused about tipping as I have been. Our orientation experts from Bratislava advised us that people generally do not expect tips here – whether waiters, bellhops, or cab drivers. At most, round a bill slightly upward and leave the change.

This explains the bewildering answers I keep getting when I ask how much tip is expected. At the hotel the first week, I asked the desk clerk what to tip the bellboy. “Oh, whatever you think is appropriate,” I was told. I said I did not want to offend anybody and asked what was expected. “20 crowns, I suppose.” Twenty crowns? That’s only $0.80. Can you imagine tipping a bellboy at a Manhattan hotel $.80 for hauling three heavy bags to your room? But the bellboy here seemed pleasantly surprised to get that 20 crown note.

Homes with a view

During our Fulbright orientation, we were taken on a spectacular three-hour sightseeing tour by bus and on foot. The narrow winding streets for homes with amazing views reminded me of the residential areas high in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles.

Here, we are high on a hill overlooking Old Town Bratislava, in a gorgeous residential area.

I was surprised to see so many very contemporary new homes, obviously quite expensive, mixed in with new construction in a traditional Slovak style.

The amazing view for these homes looks north to the historic areas of Bratislava and beyond that the Danube and Novy Most (New Bridge).

The U.S. Ambassador also has a home in this neighborhood, built just a few years ago. The bus did not stop so I did not get a picture. It is a large white home of several stories, heavily guarded with fences and darkened windows so you cannot see inside. Facing the street (and the amazing view) is a set of balconies and pillars that look like a smaller rendition of the Truman balcony of the real White House in Washington, DC.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.