Week 7

4/12 Monday
No observation.
-as promised this week will feature shots of Santa: Dutch and Hungarian/Slovak style. In The Netherlands St. Nicolas is dressed as a bishop, accompanied by his helper Zwarte Piet (Black Peter). He is said to come from Spain by boat, eventhough historically he was a bishop in Turkey. In Sturovo he was dressed like a Santa (USA/Coca Cola style) was accompanied by the devil and said to come from Finland. The kids will believe anything, as long as they get their presents. What was interesting is that he carried a bishop's staff like in the Netherlands but was dressed like father Christmas. His devil had also a staff/stick with chains attached ( I suspect Still from hidden video camera: it is a punishment tool, very much like the twigs Zwarte Piet traditionally carries).

Still from hidden video camera: St. Nic. arriving at the house (I am St. Nic. The members of my family, except one, do not know that I am in the country to act as St. Nic.)






















Still from hidden video camera: Niece Saskia stares at me not yet knowing...

Still from hidden video camera: A few seconds later, while I am still outside she suddenly recognises me.


Still from hidden video camera: My sister Puck and her husband Bert and are their grandchildren. It took Puck half an hour before she realised that it was me. Bert refused to believe it was me even after he was told until he actually saw me afterwards at the neighbour's getting out of my costume.






















My friend Henriette is 'Zwarte Piet'.

5/12 Tuesday, the official day St. Nicolas is celebrated in The Netherlands.
All is well, bridge still standing.
-flew back from Netherlands to Budapest, Hungary, continued by bus-metro-train to Esztergom station and cycled the last 3 KM to the bridge and my home in Sturovo, Slovakia. Total journey took about 7 hours, a cumbersome journey, but the only way to get home in one day.

At midnight I cycled across the bridge to the Slovak side until I was stopped by the border guard. The guard looked at me, then my bike with the backpack strapped on the back and then my New Zealand passport. I could see his brain doing overtime trying to midnight with a abckpack strapped to the rear of the bike. 100 more meters and I was home.



6/12 Wednesday, the official day St. Nicolas is celebrated in Slovakia.
All is well, bridge still standing.
-filmed St. Nicolas celebrations at the orphanage across from my residence.

Mikulas ( St. Nic.) and his devil in Sturovo (apologies for the lack of proper accents on some letters).



Photo offline till permission is granted


The kids performing in front of St. Nic.


7/12 Thursday
All is well, bridge still standing.
-filmed the soccer team of the orphanage at the annual school soccer tournement. The buys were playing soccer, the girls were playing up in front of the camera and teased me. One of them started to speak to me in Spanish!


Photo offline till permission is granted

The girls cheering on the boys.

8/12 Friday
All is well, bridge still standing.
-went to the International Film Festival In Bratislava. Watched 'The bridge that survived' a film about a famous 500 year-old bridge in Mostar in former Yugoslavia that was detroyed during the Balkan wars. The Mária Valéria bridge was twice destroyed by war and the Danube became a new border. Central to the movie is a reunion of a local band called Mostar Sevdah Reunion that plays the most fabulous traditional music from Mostar.

Mostar Sevdah Reunion (Image: copy from website)

9/12 Saturday
No observation.
- watched an Irish, Australian and Hungarian movie at the IFF in Bratislava.



10/12 Sunday
All is well, bridge still standing.
-it is still unusually warm with temperatures at least 10 degrees above normal for a fifth week in a row.