Visit to Parliment

Hi again! So on one of our free days in Bratislava, we went with our country coordinator, Daniela, to see the Bratislava castle. On the way there, we stopped to look at the Slovak Republic Parliament building. We soon found out that it was a free observation day there, and decided to tour the building! I guess at this time of year every year there are a lot of celebrations going on because it’s the anniversary of the signing of the Slovak Republic constitution in early September. It was amazing how relaxed security was, and how freely we could wander around the building. It made me remember going through Parliament in London when I was here a few years ago. The process of even getting into London’s Parliament doors took over an hour, with multiple metal detectors and bag/body pat searches, not to mention the tight security and limited access to what we could see after we actually got through the building. We went through one detector in this building, had a quick purse/bag check, and that was it. Also, we were able to go through pretty much the entire building. We got to go into the main offices of the five chairmen, as well as other rooms with video clips honoring the country’s history and displays of original flags and gavels and things. We got to go in the main council room where meetings are held. We got to go up into the balcony and see the view from the press boxes, as well as go down on the main floor. They even let people sit in the high-rise seats in the front, where the president of Slovakia and other government officials would sit. One thing that was really exciting too, (and I never thought I’d hear myself say this) was that we got to see and KEEP a copy of their constitution! They were giving out nice book copies in Slovak, English, and German! It was exciting to be able to read it.

I think the greatest part about our trip to the Parliament building was the entertainment going out in front of the building. While we were still in the building, we saw kids and teenagers running around in groups, dressed in costumes (which we assumed were traditional country costumes). Daniela told us that each city/town in the country has their own unique pattern or style of uniform that represents that area. There was a stage set up outside where each group was performing a traditional song or dance wearing their area’s costume. It was great!! We watched for almost an hour and got to see quite a few different types of performances. The girls’ costumes were usually long dresses with an overlapping apron of some kind, and the colors and designs were all unique. The guys’ costumes were usually a shirt with some type of vest, a hat, and pants. The girls sang a lot of folk songs, usually in a nasal-pitched tone, and they yipped/screamed short little screams while they’re dancing. It’s strange, and at first I thought the screams were coming from the small kids at the front of the stage. I’m going to post video clips I took of the dancing, and if you listen you can hear the screechy yips they make! There were a few all male groups that went up that told folk stories, and did more acting and dancing, but not much singing. Anyways, check out the clips and pictures from the dancing. Sorry if they aren’t up right away, but eventually they will be. Hope all is well, talk again soon!