Some facts you don't know about us - part two

“It’s not wrong to celebrate the simple life.”

— J. R. R. Tolkien

In previous posts, I brought our lives a little closer, and it is precisely the preservation of these memories that motivates me to blog. I'm writing this more for myself, even though I know that a few people will visit here, especially those of you who know and like us. I wanted to publish a blog every Friday, but my plans were thwarted by work matters. I managed to finish the written text only today, when I'm waiting for two endless hours in Vrútky again, because since the railways changed the transport schedule, I have 4 minutes to transfer and thus our train, which was 10 minutes late, didn't wait for the connection. I know that no one on the railway cares that there is a woman who travels five and a half hours to her mother's place, usually with four transfers, and the 10 minutes that the connection would have to wait for our train would save me precious time, since today I thus again on the road for "only" 8 hours... For some, working hours, for me it's slowly a regular, endless journey to see my mother.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Love of Tolkien stories

The house in which I lived as a child had several interesting corners, thanks to which my imagination worked at full speed. With my sister and friends, we made up stories about princesses, ghosts, fairies and goblins, we hid in the woodshed, in the attic or in the cellar. During one such game, we decided to explore the contents of an old dusty solid wood cabinet that only had to materialize in the basement because I don't believe anyone ever moved it there through the narrow door and staircase.
 
To our surprise, it was filled to bursting with books of any kind. We picked up book after book, leafed through, giggled at some of them, put others down immediately, and suddenly my eye was caught by a drawing, a green surface with a golden inscription, and I held a treasure in my hands. My darling - The Hobbit. Released in 1994. After Jane Eyre, Anne of the Green House and Harry Potter, this was another book that I devoured with anticipation. She transported me to the world of Middle Earth, which fueled my imagination for the rest of my life. I wandered through forests and national parks with only Enya's music in my mp3 headphones.
 
With the same book and love for Tolkien's novels, Loro's heart also ignited. He discovered The Hobbit on his cousin's bookshelf and continued reading until he had all Tolkien's books on his own bookshelf. He was just as crazy as me. I found out that once at school, a ring of power on a chain flashed mischievously from under his shirt.
 
I wrote about proposing with the Evenstar in Vyšehrad in the last post, and we ended it with our wedding dance, which we danced to the song May it be. It would sound better "for an Oscar composition", but to our surprise the nomination was turned into a profit by a song from the movie Monsters, Inc.

Kežmarok (and our windows in that pink building) from a bird's eye view

Bohemian life in the attic of a bookstore

When we came from Veľká Lomnica to Kežmarok, we lived for a while in a small apartment that the owner needed to sell and, unfortunately, we couldn't get a mortgage at that time. By a happy coincidence, thanks to friends, we were able to move into the attic of a beautiful historic building in the city center and experience what it's like to lead a bohemian artistic life in the attic of a bookstore. There is no better place for a bookish soul. Gradually, we just move our favorite book titles to our personal library one floor above.

When you are in Kežmarok, you definitely have to visit the Alter ego bookstore. It is a cozy family bookstore that was established in the early 90s and was also the first internet bookstore in Spiš. You will be welcomed there by some of the nicest people in the world. You can read interesting facts about the bookstore, for example, in this interview on SME blog.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Rocky cottage - our second home

Since we arrived under the Tatras, it's been all sorts of things with work. I think that everyone here makes ends meet as best they can and above all modestly, so that it is enough to live on. Many put their degrees and majors on the backburner and work wherever possible as they want to live in the area. Sometimes these journeys take us to places we would never have dreamed of before, and many people often tell us that this is their dream job. That's exactly what Skalnatá chata is for us.

I will not go into detail here (at the moment) about what preceded the work at Skalnatá chata (Rocky cottage in the High Tatras), because I would needlessly awaken the dragon (within me). The pandemic came, the elections passed, Loro lost his job for an hour, and since we couldn't travel for work during that period, we were saved again by our friend, cottager Pavol Kulanga. I have to admit that if it weren't for the work at the Rocky cottage and the great people we met thanks to the cottage, I wouldn't want to stay under the Tatras. The Tatras are the only thing that keeps my scattered windy soul in one place. If I could, I would live in each country for a year and move on, because I want to see, experience and taste everything.

Over the years, we have felt at home at Rocky cottage. We see it especially on Wolf. He happily runs away when we get there, although he has his place in the cottage where he lies, but he does not give it to him and welcomes every person who comes and enjoys stroking, scratching, taking pictures and praises. At first, I thought he would be uncomfortable sleeping on the floor without a bed or would growl at the door of the room when guests went down the hall to use the bathroom at night, but he settled in there without any problems immediately. The only time when Wolf and I are at the cottage the least is summer. More and more tourists flock to the Tatras, and then we enjoy places that are not so frequented.