The Far East

Mad world we live in.

tl;dr: not the most exciting blip entry I've ever written...

Churches. About 12 of them actually, in one day. While that doesn't sound like many people's idea of fun, it was worth it, just to see something not many people witness or even know exists. The wooden churches of Eastern Slovakia, some of which are built without a single nail. What's most interesting is too see them in isolated villages amidst the mountains, where the average population of villages is about 40 people. Only to think, the only reason you can actually see the churches in this context, with everything intact, is because they haven't caught the public eye too much yet. Once that happens, they'll have to lock everything in museums for fear of theft. It's the type of churches where you need to get the key from one of the villagers so you can actually visit them. Needless to say I would have never gone to visit them if it weren't for my mom being very interested to see them, but it was a good experience for the historical value and their architecture is interesting.

Shout out to all the apple trees that line the roads here. What with the wild raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums and apples, there's so much to eat! Speaking of which, there's a large population of Roma living in Eastern Slovakia. In fact, about every third village you come across while driving is usually inhabited with solely Roma, who have isolated themselves (or been forcibly isolated) from the general population. They live in communities easily recognizable for the cheap concrete structures and the carpets drying all over the place. It's really bizarre, the only interaction they seem to have is either with the cops (who can be frequently seen driving through their areas) or with people on the roadsides, where they sell buckets of mushrooms or blueberries to drivers.

Instead of finding a place to stay in the depressing war-torn areas near the border of Poland, we decided to drive further south. There was a lake that we could see on the map, surrounded by campsites, so figured we'd head there and hope for a hotel. Sure enough, we found a place by the waterside where people were camping and fishing, really pleasant. This is a photo from there!

peace