Spring 2020 in Bratislava

Couldn't think any better title for this post, but this will be a post about everything possible I can think of happening this spring and early summer. Everyone in the world knows what spring 2020 means, so this is not a travel post, neither is it advice how to handle pandemic situation since I clearly am not qualified for that. Slovakia has handled the situation remarkably well, only 28 so far have died of corona (the last one was weeks ago), 13 of them in the same group home, and 3 in another group home. That is the lowest death rate in Europe, except for Vatican.

When there were about 10 confirmed cases in March, basically everything got shut down; schools, malls, cinema, all the shops except grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and post offices, and taxis were not running, nor international trains and busses and borders were closed. Masks became mandatory first in public transportation and stores, then also outside. Masks were mandatory everywhere about 2 months, so I got used to wearing one, but first it was totally uncomfortable since I have a mild claustrofobia. I still get heavy nose bleed when I wear it for several hours. Mask is still mandatory in stores and other public indoor places, but many people can't be bothered any more, not even staff, or they just cover their mouth but not nose (= no mask). The numbers did go up for a few days last week, but we even had several days for 0 new cases.

When everything got closed with just a few cases, I thought they were totally nuts to do that. Now that I see the numbers in other countries, they really knew what they were doing. Or just a lucky guess, who knows, but it worked! The government and president are also showing a good example, they are never in public, in any interview, without a mask. The president is usually having a mask that matches her dress (corona chic). It is really crazy, now things are quote normal here, but the numbers in may countries, USA and Brazil especially, are still growing like mad! Why didn't they do anything? This has been know for months, about half a year, and still it just gets worse? Are they dumb? Well, yes, but still? And people are having temper tantrums and attack staff and destroy property when they are asked to wear a mask in a store? WTF?? No wonder they have tens of thousands of new cases daily.

And this is my corona chic

Borders are now open again, first they opened to Austria, Czechia and Hungary, and international busses and trains are operating again. I already spent some days in Prague in midsummer, will try to post about that trip this week also. On Saturday I am going to Greece for a holiday, 5 nights in Athens, then ferry to Santorini, and 5 nights there. I am really looking forward to that, just relaxing by the sea... sigh.

Anyway, back to the actual topic. When the first cases were confirmed, my employer told us that we can work from home. Then in couple of weeks we were told that it is recommended that people work from home (basically everybody was at home then already), and since that you can go to office if you let your manager know and you have a reason to go there. I have visited office once, when I picked up my office chair. I was using kitchen chair for 4 weeks and my lower back was just killing me, so my manager agreed that I can pick up my chair. I have been working from home for over 4 months now, and surprisingly I am enjoying it. I don't even want to go back to the office! We got a survey how we want to work in the future, since we are not going back to the same way of working, and I replied that I would like to work remotely permanently.

When things started to open up, first the terraces opened, and I went out to eat right away. And OMG that was the best meal I've had in my life! Damn it tasted good... I had sweet pea risotto, just in case you are interested in knowing that :). And the first time I was out without a mask! I felt like I'm doing something naughty... Very funny feeling. The city was still quite empty, it was weekend and beautiful weather and there was hardly anyone around.

One Saturday a colleague took me to Koliba (thank you Katka) which is in Nové Mesto and part of the Bratislava forest park. It is a lovely place to enjoy nature and do a bit of hiking. You can also take a bus there, there's nice walking paths and restaurants, and also a hotel.

Had gorgeous beet root and sheep cheese salad there, washed down with some chardonnay. What else can you ask for?

And some pics from Ruzinov too, I have nice parks nearby, some fountains and little lake also, this is where I usually go for my walk.

I also celebrated my birthday 2 weeks ago, woohoo! The Saturday before my birthday I went out with a colleague, it was very hot day, so we parked ourselves to some nice terraces to have lunch and then a couple of drinks... :)

I have noticed nice sunsets from my window, so of course had to take some pics too

Had to order some Finnish stuff, I had serious need for salmiakki! First bag was gone in 15 mins, then felt sick for a couple of hours, and then I ate some more.

Well, that's it for now, will do the post about Prague before travelling to Greece.