Bratislava

I've always thought that the greatest part of traveling is the little, unexpected, unplanned adventures you find. They usually come in the form of an art exhibit, landscape or festival. You're walking down the street and suddenly, WOW! That sudden realization you're not in Kansas anymore.

Yesterday this happened in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital city. I walked along the Danube, looked at the National Gallery, ate bagels, drank coffee and tried desperately to stay warm, (the temperature was in the low 20's not including the wind-chill factor). Then, as I was up at the castle admiring the view, I came across a sign for an archeological exhibition, "Treasures of Slovakia's Long-Gone Past", 20 koruna. Well, that's less that a dollar. Sure.

And I walked in.

And I was amazed!

There in this old section of the castle were earrings from 4,000 BC, coins and swords from 400 AD, Roman helmets, Celtic crosses, more jewelry, a mirror and comb,..., all found on Slovak soil.

The icing on the cake, though, was the Moravian Venus. This figure, only several inches tall and made from mammoth tusks, dates from "around 22,860 BC, give or take 400 years, and was used during magic rituals which we can barely imagine." It was made by the Gravettian peoples who traveled around Europe 20 to 30 thousand years ago. This figure was found in the Váh valley, around Piešťany, only a 15 minute train ride from my house.

To see a picture go to the link at the bottom. It is from The Slovak Spectator, which is our English newspaper.

http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2005003&rub=spect_cult&cl=17719