Stop, Hammer Time

When Czechoslovakia split in 1993, many people imagined they saw two new countries form out of a former Austro-Hungarian and former Soviet satellite.  However, Slovakia was once its own independent country well within the 20^th century.  In 1939, when Nazi Germany ceded the Sudeten territory of Czechoslovakia without that country’s consultation, Slovakia declared its independence on March 14, 1939.  The new leader, Tiso, was elected as president, but he was opposed by a group of Nazi radicals known as the Hlinka Guards.  Mediated by the Reich, the Hlinka guards and the Slovak Populist Party shared power, but Slovakia began to adhere to Nazi policies, including establishing a “Jewish Code” and investing development in arms productions for the Nazi war cause.  Only in 1942 did a sizeable resistance groups of Slovaks fight against the Nazis, and Slovakia welcomed liberation by the Soviet army in 1944, later to be joined again with the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia. 

How did Czechoslovakia split again?  According to Tony Judt’s “Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945”, independence for both nations from Czechoslovakia was won through a failed game of chicken.  After the Velvet Revolution brokered freedom for these two countries from the Soviet Revolution, sharing power between the Czechs (2/3 of the country) and Slovaks (the remaining 1/3) was a contentious issue.  Based on their first agreement upon independence, both halves of Czechoslovakia agreed to split power in government equally, which quickly seemed unfair to the more populous Czechs.  Therefore, both governments threatened independence from each other unless one side gave ground.  In 1992, Slovak parties in government were able to vote for a declaration for Slovakia as an independent state, and in the winter Czechoslovakia was dissolved, even though polls indicated that the majority of the population (of all of Czechoslovakia) opposed independence.  Throughout much of the Soviet period, Slovakia was much less developed than the Czech Republic.  However, after joining the Schengen zone, Slovakia reached growth rates that were some of the highest on the continent before the financial crash in 2008.

During this trip, Slovakia was a minor detour between my travels from Vienna to Budapest.  Bratislava was only about an hour’s train ride away from Vienna.  Despite the short distance, the development between Vienna and Bratislava was stark.  It goes without saying that Bratislava certainly felt more “communist” than Vienna.  However, I was always surprised that Bratislava lacked so many Germans despite its proximity to one of the largest German-speaking cities in the world.  Partly what explains this is that, immediately following the end of WW2, about 12 million Germans were forced out of or fled Eastern Europe, and relocated to Germany or Austria.  Many of these Germans had migrated through Europe, to places like Romania, the Baltics, and Hungary, many times through trade networks including the Hanseatic League.  For example, the ethnic composition of Bratislava in 1880 was estimated to comprise of 2/3 Germans, and just before WW2 that makeup fell to 20%.  However, after the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia in the 1940s, Bratislava was about 95% Slovak.

I arrived to Bratislava on May 2, and the walk to from the train station was pleasant, if not eerily people-less.  After finally finding my hostel, I navigated through the old town and climbed the hill where a (relatively) newly renewed castle stands.  The view over the Danube river was beautiful, and it was great to escape some of the tourist crowds that were typical of Vienna.  But after summiting to the castle (the original was supposedly accidentally burned down by Italian soldiers stationed there during the time of Austria-Hungary), I immediately discovered that Bratislava lacked a good deal of attractive tourist attractions.

But what Bratislava lacked in historical or cultural emblems, it had in soul.  The old town, with streets and charm dating before Communist times, were pretty and unassuming.  The food was also delicious and hearty, and I was able to dine on their national dish, the bryndzové halušky, which is basically gnocchi with cheese and bacon.  I was also floored by the wide variety of choices of rakija, including brandy made from pears, cherries, and plums (known in Bratislava as slivovitz).  In many ways, Bratislava reminded me of a hypothetical Macedonia that could be developed after a decade in the European Union.  Which is a good thing since Bratislava seems to be the new, hottest tourist destination for Brits from London.

Arriving by train in Bratislava

Reunited with the Danube

The Castle

Now that Wizz Air has cheap flights between London and Bratislava, many Brits choose Bratislava as a cheap weekend getaway.  Slovaks joke that it is great that people from London flock to their country to get drunk at half-price.  When I returned to the hostel after dinner, I encountered a hostel room full of sleeping blokes.  One woke to greet me friendly, and invited me to join his group for a Pub Crawl that would tour some of Bratislava’s pubs.  Even though the tour guide for the pub crawl did not show up, we decided to jump from pub to pub, keeping 2 Euro pints as our price factor.  Eventually, we ended at a club call Prijatelji (or the Slovak form of the word “friends”), which looked like a smoky (it is alright to smoke in most Slovak establishments) 1990s hotel lounge/ bank lobby.  The next day, I found a quaint Catholic church in the old town for mass, adding Slovak to the list of languages through which I received the word of God.

Even though I spent only one night in Bratislava, it was great to see a city that was full of life.  Slovakia seems to be destined to be forgotten by history (as the hostel host confirmed, most foreigners associate Bratislava with the movies “Eurotrip” and “Hostel” over anything else).  But like Macedonia, Slovakia is a landlocked country, shadowed in history by larger powers, that continues to live on with its own traditions and spirit.  I just wish I had more time to visit Slovakia, and I hope more people have the will to visit it as well.

Probably some of the best beer I had all trip

On the main promenade

Slivovitz and Cabbage Salad

On our self-made pub crawl

At the Edge of the Ottoman Empire

From April 29-May 8, I took a long trip through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia.  I had first planned to take this trip in the winter, but since certain incidents had occurred in December and January, I was forced to push this trip back to spring.  With all of the work involved with LIS and realizing the OGX EPs, I really needed a break to get away from Macedonia and see the rest of Europe.

Until now, all of the countries that I visited within Europe were once part of the Ottoman Empire.  Therefore, it was only appropriate to start this vacation at the fringe of the Ottoman Empire- Vienna.  Vienna was a major city of the Holy Roman Empire during that time, and it was a major strategic and symbolic goal for the Ottomans in their European conquests.  Both the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire claimed to be the inheritors of the Ancient Roman Empire, and thus conquest over all of the former Roman territory was the aim of both powers.

Although many historians will jest that the Holy Roman Empire was neither “Holy” nor “Roman”, and while the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine Empire shared the same capital (albeit under a different name), neither empire seemed to have the right to claim the dynasty of the ancient Roman Empire.  Funny enough, Vienna was never really a major part of the Roman Empire, but most likely a small military outpost in what was then known as Vindobona.  Therefore, the clash between the Ottomans and the Holy Roman Empire was likely an incident of power politics.

Vienna was almost first sieged by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529.  Suleiman I had succeeded in annexing vast territory for the Ottoman Empire, including much of North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), Rhodes, and the Christian centers of Belgrade and Hungary.  Much of Ottoman domination and stability relied on two tenets.  Trade was central, as the Ottoman Empire served as the bridge between the East (for Indian and Chinese goods including spices, silk, etc.) and the West.  Thus their control of the Mediterranean (contested by Venice and Spain, which was also part of the Habsburg Empire) and other waterways (conquests of the Danube linked much of the Balkans and Central Europe to Istanbul through the Black Sea) were essential.

Their second source of income came from looting the lands of which they conquered.  Christian lands were even more tantalizing as Christians were taxed much more heavily than Muslims (but they were allowed to practice Christianity and continue their customs in exchange).  Thus Vienna would be a huge prize for the Ottomans, adding to the bounty collected from the siege of Belgrade and much of Hungary.  However, Suleiman I failed to capture Vienna in 1529 as much of his troops were exhausted from the conquest of Belgrade, Buda, and from the long, rainy march through the Balkans.

About 150 years later, Mehmet IV followed his ambitions to finally conquer Vienna.  A few attempts were made to weaken the forts leading to Vienna, including a disastrous attack at St. Gotthard when the Ottoman forces lost many of their Janissary forces.  Finally, in 1683, the Ottomans delivered an attack on Vienna.  With a force estimated up to 300,000 troops, including Crimean Tatars and Hungarian allies, the Ottomans attempted to take Vienna that summer.  However, a very severe winter created a very marshy path through the Balkans and across the Drava river into Hungary, thus reducing the amount of siege weapons available to the Ottomans during the battle.  Therefore, even though the Austrians defending Vienna were outnumbered 20:1, their impenetrable walls and advantage in number of cannons enabled them to fend off the Turks.  Fortunately, the Polish king Jan II Sobieski relieved the Austrians with a force of about 60,000 troops.  As the Ottomans continued to attack the city, the Polish troops were able to surround the Ottomans and beat them back.

Afterwards, the Ottomans retreated, and after subsequent battles, lost further territory in Europe, including Hungary, parts of Northern Serbia, and Transylvania.  The Habsburgs, who then claimed territory spread across the world, including Spain, Belgium, parts of Italy, and all of the subsequent colonies, were a major world power.  After resisting Napoleon and Revolutionary France in the 1800s (but creating peace through the marriage of Marie Louise to Napoleon), the Holy Roman Empire became the Austrian Empire, which later evolved into a dual monarchy in 1867 known as Austria-Hungary.  Not only was the power of this empire shared “equally” among the Austrians and the Hungarians, but it incorporated many other ethnicities, including Italians, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Slovaks, Czechs, Romanians, and Poles.  As most people know, Austria-Hungary (now allied with the Ottomans) lost World War I and was forced to break up their empire into smaller nation states. 

The diversity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was reflected in the diversity of Vienna.  As soon as I arrived, I caught a cab that was driven by a Serbian transplant.  Walking around Vienna my first night, I was surprised to find many Chinese restaurants, probably indicating the intrigue of the Viennese in the cuisine.  Throughout my whole stay in the city, I saw natives who were ethnically African, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and from all other parts of Europe.  Supposedly around 40% of the inhabitants of Vienna have a migrant background, and the population of Vienna increased by 10% over the past decade.  Overall, it felt like I was in a smaller, more European version of New York City during my visit.

Despite its diversity, Vienna was the most European-looking city that I had ever visited.   Everything just seemed so Baroque, and the larger old city seemed to be filled with revitalized buildings.  I almost wish that I had background music of Mozart or Strauss as I strolled the city.

Vienna- Back in the Western World

My trip through Central Europe started with a bit of a crisis.  I arrived in Skopje early so that I could take the airport shuttle, which is cheaper, but unfortunately the only shuttle that would get me to the airport on time left Skopje at 11AM.  As I was contemplating my travel logistics and eating a burek at the bus station, all of a sudden my front tooth broke.  Panicked and with less than 5 hours before my flight would leave, I called Peace Corps Medical, who was able to sneak me in with the dentist before my flight.  Luckily my front tooth was fixed, but unfortunately, I had to pay for a taxi to arrive to the airport on time.

My plane landed into Vienna just before sunset, and I exited the airport shuttle to take a taxi to the hostel.  Westend Hostel was very quiet and on the outskirts of the old city, so I spent most of my first night walking around the commercial boulevard.  On the second day, I decided to visit the Schonbrunn Palace, which was the former hunting lodge of the Habsburgs.  The orange palace was magnificent and large, but the overpriced (21 Euro) audio tour through the rooms did little to shed its light on the living styles of the emperors.  But the history lesson was nice.  More impressive than the interior were the extensive gardens, which included well cut trees and bushes that served as walls, as well as a nearby forest and plenty of Mediterranean and tropical fruit trees. 

After visiting a refugee food truck and enjoying some local beers, I visited AIESEC Vienna’s Youth to Business Forum where I met other AIESEC members.  I was reunited with one friend that I had met last year at a conference in Bulgaria, and it was great to discuss and connect on our challenges and opportunities regarding our AIESEC committees.  They invited me to hang with them in the park when their forum ended, and I agreed to meet them there after I stop at the hostel to refresh.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find them in the park, but I enjoyed seeing a reggae band perform in German in front of one of Vienna’s historical buildings.

Reading and eating food-truck food

Youth-to-Business Forum with AIESEC Vienna

Outdoor German Reggae concert

Danube

Night out with others from the hostel

On Friday, I decided to explore the old center and ended up walking to the Danube River.  With fatigued legs, I returned to the hostel to find the common area filled with tourists who were visiting for the long holiday weekend.  We all decided to visit a local bar, which played 80s music and was pretty hipster-ey compared to anything I had experienced in a while. Cutting my night short in order to leave on time for my trip to Bratislava the next day, I returned to my hostel for my final night of sleep as my brief trip to Western Civilization was coming to an end.