eastern slovakia

as almost every year at all hollows time, i visit the family (dead and alive) in eastern slovakia. einsiedel an der göllnitz (mnisek nad hnilcom) and kaschau (kosice) are the usual stops out there.

the life in the villages in eastern slovakia is much, much different than in germany ... and yes, there is always something to explore for me. this time was the most exciting experience to help to prepare the wood for the (next) winter.

enjoy few more pictures😄

our work is finished => let's drink a beer in the local pub 😇

of course it's cheap here when the most young people leave the region in the order to find jobs in bigger slovakian cities or abroad ...

carpathian mountains [part slovenske rudohorie (slovak ore mountains)]

cemetery in einsiedel ('totengarten' as the locals say)

R.I.P dear grandparents

the hymn of the (carpathian) germans in slovakia

we wish you all the best, dear mother

göllnitz - gelnica

my former home, kaschau - kosice - cassovia 

castle krasna horka

small carpatians (male karpaty) massif near smolenice, western slovakia

karpatenblatt = the monthly journal of the german minority in slovakia

btw, einsiedel is an interesting example how can the culture and demographics change over time. the village was created by german settlers in 1230. that was the time after the mongols / tatars killed that many people in eastern europe that the local kings / rulers invited germans into today's slovakia, czech republic, romania, ....
einsiedel stayed german till WWII with more than 95% of population still german. the remaining inhabitants were slovaks, hungarians, gypsies and jews. after WWII were many germans forced to leave their native region and the village was inhabited mostly by slovaks and germans. after the fall of the socialist system and missing job opportunities in the region left the most (especially young) slovaks and germans the village and today einsiedel become a mostly gypsy village .... hmmmm, i'm curious if the face of western europe will also change that significantly in my lifetime. who knows?

more pictures here

eof