Good stuff in "the rest of the world"

[Sophia]

This thread's purpose is to share what people are proud about in traditionally non-western countries. Or the second- and third- world countries if you prefer to call them so. They may also be small western countries that don't get frequent publicity in the media, such as Island and similar.

You can post text, pictures and videos about nature, art, culture, history, science, both from the present and past. Things that you are proud of and want to show them to others.

You don't have to live in the country, you can post about another country that you visited or know something about.

These are UNESCO World heritage treasures in Slovakia http://www.sacr.sk/uploads/tx_publications/en_unesco04_gis.indd_01.pdf
The wooden churches that you can see there were built without using a single nail. They were built in era when Catholics allowed protestants to build churches, but without using nails.

Lots of spas that are available for everyone (covered by insurance in case of health issues, affordable for free time) http://www.sacr.sk/uploads/tx_publications/en_KUPELE02_gis.indd_01.pdf

We have great wines- Slovak wines achieved 16 gold and 34 silver medals at the prestigious competition Vinalies Internationales Paris. Vinalies Internationales Paris belongs to the most prestigious competitions in the world.

Our traditional folk dances and costumes are ideal for modern music and the youth here still loves folklore and traditions!

I am also proud of my little town surrounded by nature where men work hard and even pay by their lives in the coal mine to provide energy for the rest of us

 

[Psinter]

I like that view.

 

[andrewkirk]

@Sophia You also have the world's most popular, entertaining and charismatic racing cyclist!

 

[Sophia]

@Sophia You also have the world's most popular, entertaining and charismatic racing cyclist!

Indeed. And it would be a fun game to see if you can find all Slovak players in the NHL :-)

 

[Jonathan Scott]

The first thing I remember about visiting Slovakia was the Juniper Brandy. Strangely enough, I don't remember much else.

 

[Sophia]

The first thing I remember about visiting Slovakia was the Juniper Brandy. Strangely enough, I don't remember much else.

haha borovička :) Yeah, that's a strong one. It's not a kind of drink I prefer.

No one else wants to share anything? @Borek @Psinter @Pepper Mint and @Mark44 has visited lots of countries

 

[fresh_42]

The first thing I remember about visiting Slovakia was the Juniper Brandy. Strangely enough, I don't remember much else.

May I ask something personally? What is it with the British and Gin? It's almost one of the prejudices we continentals have.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

May I ask something personally? What is it with the British and Gin? It's almost one of the prejudices we continentals have.

It wasn't my idea to try the Juniper Brandy! I was visiting Bratislava to install one of my company's mainframe software products in the 1980s and when it was all working they insisted that I join them in a celebration drink. I think it had a stronger flavour than our usual gin, but I don't drink spirits much. (I liked the Kirsch used to celebrate a similar achievement in Switzerland).

 

[Sophia]

It wasn't my idea to try the Juniper Brandy! I was visiting Bratislava to install one of my company's mainframe software products in the 1980s and when it was all working they insisted that I join them in a celebration drink. I think it had a stronger flavour than our usual gin, but I don't drink spirits much. (I liked the Kirsch used to celebrate a similar achievement in Switzerland).

You were lucky they didn't force you to drink 70% homemade plum brandy :p It's usually diluted to 50- 60%, but there are regions where tough men drink it in it's original form. There's also a 72% Tatra tea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatratea

 

[Pepper Mint]

Yes I traveled out of my current country. But I am not interested in this topic myself.

 

[Mark44]

OK, speaking of booze, two rambling stories about brandy in "the rest of the world"...
Slivovitz (plum brandy)
I spent about a week in Yugoslavia in 1974, while touring for most of the summer all over Europe. One of the places I visited was Dubrovnik, now part of Croatia. At the time, people would come to the train station, and offer arriving passengers a room in their house for a reasonabe rate. Sounded like a good deal to me, so I arranged to spend a night with a family in that city. After getting settled in my room (which I shared with three Canadian girls -- but that's another story), I went down to the living room, where the family was watching TV.

In a gesture of hospitality, the man of the house broke out a bottle of slivovitz, a kind of brandy made from plums (slivo), and offered me some. I sipped a small glass or two of the stuff, while carrying on a conversation with the man, using a combination of Russian and English words, and at the same time glancing at a Bugs Bunny cartoon on the TV. After a couple belts of the slivovitz, I was feeling very much at peace with the world, and enjoying the hospitality of my host, but at the same time feeling slightly like I was in some alternate reality -- seeing a very familiar cartoon character, Bugs Bunny, but hearing him speaking in Serbian.

Two things that I remember about slivovitz: it has something of a kerosene taste to it, and it was probably the cheapest liquor I've ever seen. A one-liter bottle was 21 dinar, which at the time was about $1.05 USD.

Schnaps
My wife and I were in Slovenia in 2011 on a walking tour. On one of our "rest" days (really, we walked every day) in Bovec (pron. "Bovetz") we stopped in a place with a sign "Vinoteka", where they sold wine and a wide variety of schnaps/brandy. My wife wanted to buy some small bottles of liquor as gifts for family and friends. Offered for sale were probably ten or more different flavored kinds of schnaps. The young woman running the shop let us sample several different kinds -- honey (“Medika”), pine ("Pinija"), lovage (“Luštrk”), blueberry (“Borovničevec”), apple ("Kilcwis"), and several others. We were the only customers in the shop, so we spent a very pleasant half hour sampling the various flavors, while the young woman and I carried on a conversation in a mix of Slovene, Russian, and English.

We didn't give all of these brandies away -- we still have two small bottles that we break out at family gatherings.

 

[fresh_42]

You were lucky they didn't force you to drink 70% homemade plum brandy :p It's usually diluted to 50- 60%, but there are regions where tough men drink it in it's original form. There's also a 72% Tatra tea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatratea

This reminds me on an occasion in the Russian north Caucasus. I have been there to attend a wedding and vodka wasn't only available around the clock, in addition it was a very good brand. (Ever since I cannot drink that terrible stuff they sell here anymore.) And of course they used normal glasses to drink (about 1 dl a shot and as soon it was emptied ... ).
One guy said to me: "You know, the Russians drink a lot. But we Ossetians can drink ten times as much."

Nevertheless, I still miss the enormous hospitality and friendliness. And the good stuff, of course.

 

[Sophia]

If anyone will have a chance to visit the Czech republic, I highly recommend the Moravia region I studied in Brno, a city in the region and the people are so friendly and hospitable there. They are cheerful and like to to enjoy life. They are indeed a distinct group and may pretend to be offended if you call them Czech :)

 

[Borek]

In the past I have posted many images from Poland, I can't think of anything that will in some way especially important.

That's a picture I took about a bit over a month ago. Not necessarily in Poland

 

[Psinter]

haha borovička :) Yeah, that's a strong one. It's not a kind of drink I prefer.

No one else wants to share anything? @Borek @Psinter @Pepper Mint and @Mark44 has visited lots of countries

Nope. Not me. Your pictures put my place to shame. I have visited a lot of countries... in Google Maps (◠‿◠).

In the past I have posted many images from Poland, I can't think of anything that will in some way especially important.

That's a picture I took about a bit over a month ago. Not necessarily in Poland

View attachment 106685

The stairs and the wall... very much I like. Or is it a ramp? I can't see the stairs. Either way it looks very good .

 

[Borek]

The stairs and the wall... very much I like. Or is it a ramp? I can't see the stairs. Either way it looks very good .

Stairs. It was posted with Sophia in mind, I think she should recognize the place without problems (even if it is not the most characteristic part of the keep).

 

[andrewkirk]

I've never been to Bhutan. I would love to go one day, as the Himalayan kingdom sounds exotic, mysterious and fascinating.

One thing that I've admired for a long time about the country is its focus on Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product. I don't know how they measure it, or how well they are doing against that measure, but just having that as a goal rather than a pure monetary measure seems to me to put a nation's priorities the right way around.

 

[Sophia]

Stairs. It was posted with Sophia in mind, I think she should recognize the place without problems (even if it is not the most characteristic part of the keep).

It was nice of you :-)
I want to see pictures of Poland, too. It's a shame but I've never been there