Monday, May 29, 2006

Easter - Just like Home



We've made several feeble attempts to travel in the past year and all have failed due to lack of energy and investments in our home that have included building two new offices and a closet for all my crap. We still have a laundry list of projects to complete including a new chicken house and a new front gate, but this time something else took precedence: getting the hell outta Dodge during Easter. Slovakia is pretty much the last place I ever want to be during Easter ever again. After last year, I was ready to throw myself off the balcony. Their quaint and pagan based rituals might be appealing to someone, but to the majority of women I know, they are offensive and their time has passed.


These traditions are as follows. The men and boys head out in the morning and visit all the women in their family and their neighbors, taking with them sticks and squirtguns and perfume bottles. They arrive at the homes of these women who prepare for them candy, colored eggs, sandwiches and beverages. The males proceed to dowse the women (in particular the ones of childbearing age) with water and then beat them on their asses with these sticks. You can draw your own conclusions as to what these symbols mean and from where they are derived, but the result is women and girls acting like giant teases resembling 6th graders getting their asses pinched in the hallway after lunch. They run away and return for more. Saying no and meaning yes. So, this is what Slovak people are teaching their little girls. Anyone who knows my mom and knows me knows that this sort of behavior is 100% unacceptable in an intelligent young woman according to my upbringing. I didn't suffer the nickname "Brutus Beefcake" for three years in middle school for nothing. If slugging anyone who even approached me with a creepy look earned me that name, I wear it proudly. Unfortunately, if you are like me and make it very clear that you have no interest and find it offensive, they love it more and you become the ultimate target. There was a big fight at our house last year, and I resorted to hiding upstairs all day while visitors came and went. This was equally maddening because I was the one being punished for their bad behavior. Hence, Vienna. I found out this year that there are many people who feel the way I do about the holiday. They leave town as well. However, a positive sign this year was that this year Milan's 6 year old niece, Dominika, also attended the festivities and soaked and beat the crap out of Milan's cousin Michaela. So, their opening it up to the little girls too. We'll see how this holiday evolves.


So, we finally made the grueling hour and half trek to Vienna that we've been putting off for the last year and a half. We stayed at a lovely hotel and ate yummy food. I saw some really interesting turn of the century artwork and we visited Schonbrunn Palace. We've already made plans to return to see live performances of Mozart and Strauss and the Lipizzan Stallions. We're starting to get into classical music. I have a Vivaldi CD that we can't get enough of. I don't really know anything about it, but you can bet I'll share my recommendations as I learn more.


Most people don't spend much time in Vienna. It's very expensive for Slovak people and most don't speak the language. For so long it was illegal to go there. I think maybe people from older generations have forgotten that it's there. I know I forget all the time.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home