Slovakia, Bardejov, September 2003; Ilford Pan 100 negative scan, frame size 6x9 cm; camera: Ercona II.
Crosscarpatia tour 2003r. [ trasa: Presov - Bardejov - Humenne - Michalovce - Użhorod - Mukaczewo - Czerniowce - Chocim - Kamieniec Podolski]
Galicja and Bukovina, which were the goal of my "Transcarpathian" journey, became the subject of many publications after 1989, both scientific and nostalgic, literary describing and idealizing the lands of the past, which in the political and social sphere no longer exist in their original form. These lands were referred to in publications as "Europe in miniature", "Switzerland of the East" or "Piedmont in the North" and were subject to mythologization. Such metaphors, suggesting the convergence of selected positive features of Bukovina and Galicia with all the positive features of Europe, Switzerland or Piedmont, through their mental shortcut, outlined a certain desired vision of the history of these areas and introduced it into the sphere of myth. This longing for the myth included the conviction that the developed model of inter-ethnic relations was exemplary. Certainly, it was also a reflection of the need for stabilization in a broader, cultural and international dimension that emerged after 1989, along with the emerging statehoods and national identities.
It seems that at that time there was still faith in the possibility of coexistence of various national groups on the basis of mutual respect and understanding, also by referring to patterns and experiences from past eras. And now, in 2018, only sad pessimism remains ...
Wyniki tłumaczenia
Excerpt from my travel journal.
Czwartek 04.09.2003r.,
Presov, afternoon at the bar next to the train station. It was very cold in the morning, then a light rain began to fall. It didn't look like a nice day. There is no point in going to the mountains, so all that's left is to walk around the city and see the local monuments, call up negatives already made and send them to Poland. I thought to myself that I would not carry this material with me to Ukraine, not knowing what would be waiting for me there. In the case of the 6X9 cm cage format, the problem was to buy foil T-shirts in this size. No plant or photographic shop had them. Apparently no one uses this format anymore. However, I found a solution for it and bought myself ordinary foil T-shirts for binders, I cut them open, stick them together with duct tape and it will be fine.
Bar weather and so while wandering around the city I came across a shop with a LIEHOVINA sign. There is only one table inside, a counter and shelves with various wines and various food products. Next to the shop counter, there are nine taps in the wall, each with a different type of wine, from sweet to dry, from red to white. Prices range from 44 to 55 SK per liter of drink. For 0.2 l glasses. The wine is sold for 10 - 12 SK. While I was sitting there, two guys came. One had a plastic canister and bought 20 liters of white wine, the other brought 10 bottles of mineral water and bought himself red wine. There is constant traffic in these stores, people constantly come in and out, people drop in for one or two "hundreds" of wine. Two grandparents, already in their retirement age, joined the table at which I tasted "white clastor". One had hands as big as loaves of bread, with a hard and thick, worn skin (I don't think a wasp could sting him in those hands - such a thick skin). They drank two rounds and talked about renovating one of their apartments. Sometimes they looked for confirmation of their statements on my face. I pretended to understand everything and "agree with the previous speaker". Homeliness, just homeliness, I felt it. These people did not seem strange to me, distant in the cultural sense. They just lived here and now. I think sometimes that is just enough.
An interesting observation from Presov is the presence of old grandmothers in the urban interpersonal space, dressed as traditionally dictates: a headscarf, a black knee-length skirt with at least three petticoats underneath, an apron - white, black or green on the skirt. All hunched over, crooked, walking very fast on widely spaced, very crooked legs. The whole body is already moving towards the ground.
Compared to the observations from previous visits to Slovakia, fast-food establishments are appearing more and more boldly in larger cities, although they are still shyly off the beaten track or in various booths, but they are already entering city centers in increasing numbers. Slowly it will be the same as in the Czech Republic, where the development of the new capitalist consumer civilization is slightly faster. Big supermarket chains are already here (mainly Tesco).
However, in the provinces, especially those off the main communication routes, the traditional order is maintained. In the countryside, to eat and drink you have to visit a place like HOSTINEC, a traditional inn. There are also other pubs, because there are no ordinary pubs, where you can only drink a beer and bite it with sticks or chips. Everywhere you can eat something warm, and traditional, related to the local cuisine. Thanks to this, however, there is a different "beer drinking technology" (both in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and also in Hungary - maybe such an old Austro-Hungarian tradition?). In places where alcohol is sold, you can always buy something specific to eat. Besides, people get drunk happily and positively when there is only alcohol left in their stomachs. Even when they pour another round of vodka or Borovicki mixed with beer down their throats.
When I returned to Bardejov for the night, due to the low temperature, I decided to replenish my clothes. I bought a sweatshirt and sweater in a supermarket. The temperature was still inconvenient. After all, these are mountains, at the height of our Low Beskids, at the foot of the Bieszczady Mountains. And the summer is slowly coming to an end.
Bardejov, Market Square with the Town Hall and Church, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
Bardejov, Market Square with the Town Hall and Church, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
Bardejov, Market Square with the Town Hall and Church, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
Presov, ul. Svatopulkova, mural in memory of John Lennon (a local reminiscence of the famous Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech Republic), September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
