Thursday, May 14, 2009

With This Exception: Funny Little Things about Slovakia That Don't Fit in the Book

Seems that like some other central/eastern Europeans, Slovakians have a wry sense of humor, with a lively awareness of the dark absurdities of life. (I have a pal of Polish ancestry, anyway, who says the best Poles hope for is "a happy kind of sad.")

Here's some advice about Driving in Slovakia that cracked me up, from Slovensko.com: Your Guide to Slovakia. Driving in Slovakia is fairly safe, they say, however:
"The pedestrians have priority on zebra crossing and they usually use this right to the fullest extent, crossing the road without watching for approaching cars. They may be committing suicide, but you will be charged with manslaughter.

"You should also pay attention to some rare 'brave' men in strong cars who think the road belongs to them. However, this phenomenon appears worldwide."

3 comments:

bink said...

Sounds like (mainland) Italy to me...

What about Palermo? Could there be any place worse?

Remember people backing full speed, in traffic, down three lane one way streets for blocks at a time?

I'll never forget how I was nearly killed by a motor-scooter that decided to drive between a bus and the curb.

It did make one relatively fearless about crossing the street, because if you wait for traffic to stop, you'd starve to death in place.

Naughty, naughty blogger! Ha-ha!

Fresca said...

EEk! Palermo! Crossing the street was always taking your life in your hands. But it was worth it (easy to say, not having been run over...)--on the other side was gelato.
Yes, bad blogger me. But I AM going full speed with Slovakia.

momo said...

I remember walking somewhere in Rome and two guys on a scooter sped by and grabbed my ass. At least it wasn't my purse.