Beating in Spišská Sobota
Four Bees, la Grande Abeille, has buzzed a little too enthusiastically over the past couple of months; what with finishing an epic book, compiling a travel guide on Bruxelles, moving house and entertaining her elderly but still overly-energetic mother from Dorset for two weeks.
The darling Internet was neglected but now I feel the urge to share and spread my honey once more (yerk).
Here is a picture of my role model, beating out all her Slovak angst on a fabulous piece of carpet one April Saturday morning in Spišská Sobota. I think we all could learn a lot from her technique.
Actually, if the truth be told, she isn't beating at all, but hosing (and making a right mess of the back streets of Spišská Sobota), but hosing doesn't fit the Four Bs themed title and the general attitude of necessary agression, needed for the job in hand.
Pani Hose-Wielder is wearing a spendid example, in delicate floral patterns, of what is known in Hungarian as an 'otthonka', which is a delightful cover-a-multitude-of-sins-and-pulcritude-in-one-tasteful-polyester-creation, also known in Portugal as a bata.
If we were to bang on linguistically again, Baťa (pronounced 'batcher') is also the name of a long-running chain of Czech shoe shops....the links are eternal.
The carpet must also be mentioned for its subtle references to Joan Miró, the sea and reflecting acutely the angles of the garden gate, verandah and fence.
And check out the mini-me carpetette alongside just waiting for the hose-down.
The whole ensemble is a joy.
FYI: The gorgeous, medieval village of Spišská Sobota is classified as a suburb of Poprad in north-east Slovakia, which doesn't do justice to its architectural gems, including a fabulous, lost-in-time village square, church with separate belfry and carvings from the workshop of Master Pavol of Levoča plus a clutch of excellent restaurants and pensions.
You lucky demons can fly direct from Stansted to Poprad on SkyEurope airlines; cheap 'n' cheerful and packed with Slovak tottie. How can you say no??
A ©FourBees fashion snap.
posted by Forbies at 10:24 am
2 Comments:
That was fun!
Is the town named after some kind of "Saturday"? Or is "Sobota" just inconveniently similar to the Czech word for Saturday?
Ahoj Morsky J,
You're right, 'sobota' is Saturday in Slovak too.
Calling Spišská Sobota a ‘suburb of Poprad’ really doesn’t do justice to this delightful lost-in-time village. It’s like stepping back into another, more peaceful world. The deserted main square contains half a dozen excellent restaurants and pensions where you can stay and relax. The first documented reference to Spišská Sobota dates back to 1256, in parchment of the King Bela IV, where it was called 'Forum sabathe' (Saturday market), the name translates as ‘Spiš Saturday’. German settlers helped make Spišská Sobota one of the most important Spiš towns, competing with big-wigs like Kežmarok and Levoča. In the centre, Sv Juraj (St George) church has an altar from the workshop of Master Pavol of Levoča. The separate Renaissance belfry (zvonica), a monumental rectangular block, is the largest of its kind in the Spiš region. At the southern end of the gorgeous square, the Evangelical church dates from 1777.
En route to Levoča from Poprad, there's also a Spis Thursday - Spišský Štvrtok. The village was situated on an important crossroad of historic trade routes. The village dates from 1263 and the Zápoľský family founded a Minorite monastery here in 1672. The highlight is the 13th century church which has a soaring pointed steeple dominating the countryside for miles around.
Post a Comment
<< Home