Worst Jobs in History

This is not strictly travel-related, but I like it so much that I've decided it doesn't matter. We'll file it under time-travel, how about that? There is a series called "The Worst Jobs in History" that I watch pretty much every time I see it's on TV. My very favorite part is from the Tudor period and is about using woad to dye fabric. And someone has put it on Youtube! Unfortunately the segment about woad has been split into two videos, but here they are. It starts around 5:09 in the first video, and the highlight starts at 1:29 in the second. Check out the whole series if you're interested.

Tisovec Days

Tisovec Days did not meet expectations. The weather was not favorable for outdoor activities, so after a promising start, things pretty much died. They didn't have the rafting, which was the most disappointing.

In lieu of specific pictures of festivities, here are some general pictures of Tisovec from Saturday.

This picture does not do justice to the fact that this building is painted pink, peach, and seafoam green with teal railings. 9146 km=5716.25 miles

The bottom part says "You cow!"

Tisovec Days 2009 Schedule

Here is the program for Dni Mesta Tisovec! The locations are included for those of you who have been to Tisovec.

Friday
1 p.m. Volleyball match in the primary school gym
8 p.m. IMT Smile concert (contemporary Slovak band) on the stage near the bus stop

Saturday
7 a.m. Market with traditional crafts and products in the town square
9 a.m. Table tennis match[es?] in the primary school gym
10 a.m. Rafting on the Rimava river
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Exhibition of regional gastronomy and tourism in the cultural centre
2 p.m. Performance of a version of "Faust" by the local amateur theatre club in the cultural centre
3 p.m. Performance of local amateur music bands
9 p.m. Performance of pop singer Peter Cmorik from "Slovak Idol"
11 p.m. Fireworks and video-disco at the stage near the bus stop

Sunday
10 a.m. Church service
11:30 a.m. Beach volleyball (mixed couples, friendly matches) at the primary school sports area
3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Football matches of Tisovec football club at the football field [by the cemetery]

Apparently at the concert tonight there are going to be lots of drunk students. I'm most looking forward to the market tomorrow morning, where with luck I will be buying lots of little souvenirs for people, and the rafting. The Rimava goes right through the middle of town, but I don't think that's where they'll be rafting. I wish it were, though. I'd like to raft through the middle of town some day.

I'll try to have some pictures to show after the madness has ended.

Devín

If you get on a bus from downtown Bratislava and ride northish for about 20 minutes you'll be in the town of Devín. These days, Devín is one of Bratislava's pricey suburbs (although not particularly the part shown in this picture right here), in part because it's on the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers. That fact also means that during the Communist era Devín and especially the castle were almost completely off-limits; Austria's on the other side of the Danube, and people tried to get across the river and into the West.We, of course, went to see the castle. It's on a bit of a hill, just as it should be, and is right at the aforementioned confluence. (The nice blue water is the Danube, while the silty water feeding into it is from the Morava.) On the castle grounds there are some assorted bits and pieces other than just the main castle ruin. There are the foundations of a fourth-century chapel, which I confess were pretty boring, as well as scattered foundations of small houses and workshops and things. It reminded me of Eddie Izzard's discussion of archaeology in "Glorious": they always find "a series of small walls" (about 1:55). So then I had that phrase stuck in my head the rest of the time we were there.

Unfortunately, the upper castle is closed, I fear indefinitely, because of structural damage from the earth shifting. In the parts that are still open you can throw water down the well and listen for the splash, which was quite amusing, and look at an exhibit on archaeology in general and the excavation of the castle site. The tower above was on the Slovak 50 halier coin. It's a symbol of the Slovak nation.

It was a very pleasant visit, and I'd be most interested in going back at a future date when the upper castle is open. The next time you're in Bratislava, head on up to Devín. I was more satisfied with its castle than with Bratislava's.