Some 52 expats from 18 countries living in Bratislava and Nitra set off together on a one day trip to the famous historical town of Banska Stiavnica, where a great trip and time was had by everyone. The trip was organised my Marija Hrvatic (Croatia) from the InternationalsBratislava group, which organises regular trips and events designed for foreigners living in the country.
The group visited the mining museum with special underground experience and the Chateau of St. Anton, enjoyed the charming streets of Banska Stiavnica and were overcome by the beauty and majesty of this beautiful town. After 5 hours of visiting the various monuments, it was time for dinner and a gathering in a local pub, where everyone exchanged their experiences from the day. Here are just some of the responses to the day trip.
Yehuda Law (Israel) – “I’d say I didn’t want to leave the mine because it was much warmer inside than on the surface, but the organiser Maria made sure that people would feel the warmth of the international community, also with some traditional treats!”
Anya Golubeva (Russia) – The bus trip was really nice. The weather was rather bad – really cold to walk all day. But it was a good chance to meet new people, mostly foreigners from all over the world, and the town is really nice. I can imagine how nice it would be in spring or early autumn, and I am going to return there if I get the chance. We had our own bus and a Slovak girl who guided us, she translated what other guides said. We visited the mining museum, went into a mine, and took an excursion to some kind of a palace (I was really surprised that this rather modest building was as posh inside as Schoenbrunn palace). The funny thing was how the whole group of 40- 50 people came at once to one restaurant. Anyway, despite the fact I was frozen the whole day, the trip was really good. The amazing night view is still in my mind and I would like to thank those who organized it!
Paolo Rampazzo (Italy)
In this well organized trip I found a group of really nice people from all over the world, we really enjoyed this happy day, visited interesting historic sites, and discovered many aspect of life in the last century in this country. This is the ideal way for me to visit secrets and not so well known historical sites.
Andrea Mancino (Italy)
A trip is a trip and you expect to go there and visit the place, making pics and so on…Well, the Banska Stiavnica Trip was this, nice place with a cute town centre and the mystery of the mines….but the trip hit me for something else. More than 50 people from all around the world…most of them did not know each other….like me, but had the possibility to get to know each other, to make new friends and to come in confidentiality telling personal stories to one another. This was amazing. Through the narrow streets, between a sandwich and a visit in a palace you could discover what there was behind the people around you…this was awesome and the trip left me with new friends and good memories I did not expect at all.
Laguim Trujillo Juarez (Mexico) – I was so happy to be among foreigners because I am one so I did not feel like a stranger at all.
Janusz Moroz (Poland) – cold, fun and good way to spend a weekend outside of Bratislava.
If you would like to join our expat community and get a unique opportunity to boost your cultural awareness and make new friends, you could come along to our next trip to Sopron on 20 April. Keep informed about all our events through our Facebook page www.facebook.com/InternationalsBratislava or write to foreignersba@gmail.com
Good to see all these great internationalizes here in Slovakia, and all ready to vastly improve the gene pool, or local sperm bank .
I have done my bit in this regard, and I can only encourage others to join the improvement of the Slowvak race and do your part in contributing to the mega new life party. Never ceases to amaze me how a few pub beers can overcome those shy, difficult even fumbling moments.