We stayed at a nice hotel where there was a wedding going on Saturday evening. The mother of all weddings, I might add. We saw dressed up members of the wedding party at 11 am saturday, and heard drunk singing wedding guests at 4:30 am sunday. The reception started at about 5 pm Sat. We sat in the hotel bar and got to watch and hear the traditional band perform. The guests were in it for the long haul, we could tell by their faces that they knew they were in for at least another ten hours of fun. We walked over the hill to a restaurant at another hotel where, what a surprise, another wedding was going on. We got in some really good people watching that night, even if we didn't get huge amounts of sleep. The small children running up and down the stairs at 2:30 were annoying, but the drunk singing guys in the garden at 4:30 actually sounded really good, according to Rich. I slept through them.
The area of Slovakia we were in is one of the last where you still see people, mostly older women, in traditional dress. The headscarf tied under the chin, the petticoat and skirt, the apron. We got a few photos, without being really obnoxious (I hope), and will post them when we can.
The hiking was wonderful, and the trail building was creative. Where the river had cut a path through the limestone that some would call a cliff, the Slovakians merely attach a few metal platforms and a chain and call it a trail.
So how well do we blend in? What really seems to set up apart and out us as Americans now that we are off the main tourist routes? Well, Rich is taller then most people by about two feet, and taller then almost anyone we saw. Especially in Hungary. There are some teenage boys who look like they may top six foot two given a good diet and lots of sleep, but not yet. The big American with the sunglasses attracts loads of attention from the teen boys. They study his every item of clothing and watch every move. It's quite fun to watch.
Sunglasses. No one seems to wear them except us. It's not like we're kidding ourselves that we blend in, but it is interesting to note the obvious differences. Not many eyeglasses either. We're not sure if the people of Hungary and Slovakia are of superior genetic material and don't need glasses, or they wear contact lenses, or they simply don't get eye tests (which could explain some of the driving we saw), but the trendy Haight Street glasses on Rich are unusual.
My shoes. Now that it's cold I am wearing my Keens exclusively. With Smartwool socks. They are the Keens that are fairly strap intensive, but still partly open, not a total closed shoe, more of a sport utility sandal. I've only seen one other pair so far, in a train station in Poland, on a woman who must have been American. Well, as far as I can tell, the Croatian, Hungarian, and Slovakian women are not very impressed with my footwear. They are a fairly stylish bunch, these women, and these shoes are high in comfort, but perhaps not so high in style. Oh well, they did get me through a six hour hike with no blisters, so no complaining on my part. Well, a little complaining...I am getting sick of them. Again, with the cold weather, it's getting down to about 35 or 40 at night and in the evening, about 55 or 60 during the day, so I'm wearing my one pair of jeans and my one sweater every day. Yup, everyday. Thankfully we have a heated towel rack at this place so I can wash them tonight and hang then over the heated rack to dry, hopefully, by morning. Was that too much detail about my laundry habits? I hope not. I'll take a photo so you can all see what it's like as a light traveler in a cold climate. I've already ditched one skirt and haven't worn the other for two weeks. I'm hanging on to it for India. Bought two t-shirts in Budapest, at a Zara clothing store, which we have one of in SF (ah the virtual downtown...), here in Poland I will buy gloves and a scarf. Oh boy, some new clothing!
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