A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia.
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Big Bang Theory star reveals her Czechoslovak heritage
Even though she was born and raised in the United States, actress Mayim Bialik, known mostly for her role in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, has roots in central Europe. Three of her four grandparents emigrated from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
Recently, she published a picture featuring a Czech translation of her book, Girling Up, and shared a declaration of lover for one of her grandmothers.
“Approximately 100 years ago my grandmother Sura ‘Sadie’ Perel escaped from a village with no running water or electricity along the Czechoslovakia-Hungary border and landed on the shores of Ellis Island to start a new life as a refugee,” Bialik, who also holds a degree in neuroscience, wrote in an Instagram post. “And today I received copies of my book, Girling Up, which was just published by the Czech Republic. This one’s for you, Grandma Sadie.”
As the Plus 7 Dní weekly reported, it was the actress’s maternal grandparents who came from the territory of Czechoslovakia. The abovementioned grandmother Sura Perel was born in Mukachevo (which was part of Czechoslovakia until World War II, but is now in Ukraine).
Bialik’s great-grandfather Salamon Weisz was born near Trenčín in 1816. At that time, it was part of the Hungarian kingdom.
First Slovak paraglides from the top of Kilimanjaro
Patrik Erdély has become the very first Slovak to paraglide from the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro.
“It was spontaneous,” Erdély described in a report broadcast by private TV broadcaster Markíza, adding that the whole idea came about only a month before the climb. “And since the mountain doesn’t require any technical skills, I could also allow myself to be spontaneous.”
Erdély and his wife originally planned to go on holiday to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania in east Africa. They then realised that Kilimanjaro is not far away and, since they both love mountains, they decided to climb it. After reaching the summit, Erdély had to wait for suitable weather conditions.
“The wind wasn’t favourable; it was strong, so I spent a night there and hoped it would be better the next morning,” Erdély told TV Markíza. “Fortunately, it was, so the flight was successful.”
A big discovery in the Tatras
A new fungus species was discovered on the territory of the Tatra National Park (TANAP).
“The inconspicuous whitish, as if dusty, jelly-like fungus growing in small clusters from the lying dead trunk of a European yew appeared unusual at first glance with the naked eye, but also later when examined under a microscope,” TANAP representatives commented.
Apart from the European yew, this inedible fungus was also discovered on the mountain pine. It grows in the spring and early summer.
The journey towards describing the fungus, which was discovered by Maroš Peiger of the TANAP Administration, started back in May 2017. As the fungus had been been observed only on the territory of the Tatras until 2024, it was given the scientific name Cerinomyces tatrensis. The article containing its description was already published in the magazine Fungal Systematics and Evolution (FUSE), authored by Adam Polhorský, Maroš Peiger and Pavol Tomka.
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
Myra Grignon, a third generation Slovak by descent, made a cookbook for her family, compiling all the old recipes along the regular ones.
A Slovak-Belgian team of scientists has unearthed fossils of a reptile in Belgium that until now was known only to have lived in North America.
Bratislava newlyweds Ivan and Jana Buštor drove 11,000 kilometres from Slovakia to Georgia and back. To celebrate their marriage, they are now attempting to drive through every country in Latin America in a modified Fiat Multipla.
Towering 84 metres above the valley of the Gorilov stream, the Valy Bridge is Slovakia’s highest, and a marvel of modern engineering. It has attracted adrenaline seekers and filmmakers alike.
One of the most well-known pieces of weather lore in Slovakia is about Medard, and refers to a phenomenon where wet Atlantic ocean air brings precipitation to Slovakia, combined with a decrease in temperature. But is it still valid?
Political meme of the week
This meme, published by the satirical site Zomri, alludes to a new proposal by the ruling coalition to significantly hike Slovakia’s main rate of sales tax (VAT) as part of a package of measures designed to consolidate the public finances. The rise in tax on books will be particularly steep; they previously attracted a 10-percent VAT rate; that will now increase to 23 percent. The proposal attracted a fierce backlash, particularly after Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) said that “Books, as we have analysed, are primarily purchased by wealthier segments of the population, so they will be taxed at the basic rate.” The author of the meme also refers to Slovakia’s self-image as an historically poor country where only rich people could afford to eat butter, as well as previous controversies over the the rising price of butter.
