The fujara, the long traditional flute of Slovak shepherds, has gained world recognition by being listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as a masterpiece of the "oral and intangible heritage of humanity." The long flutes, which take hundreds of hours to fashion, are still hand produced.
Through an office window at a modern art museum near Bratislava, Nina Zackova watches elegant water birds soar above the Danube and contemplates her remarkably romantic work environment. "Water, birds, sky," she says with a sigh. "This is the most beautiful place to work." Like 80-million other Europeans who inhabit this grand river valley, Zackova is Danube-dreaming.
A British stag-party reveller nearly missed his wedding after getting into deep water with Slovakian authorities when he swam naked in a city centre fountain. Stephen Mallone (25), who is due to get married in a few days, was sentenced to two months in prison at the end of May by a Bratislava court.
Slovaks were on the lookout for a foul-smelling bank robber on Thursday after police said the thief had a nasty odor. Police spokesperson Alena Tosevova said what the bandit wore was not the most noticeable thing for workers inside the bank, but rather a strong smell, which they reported to investigators.
Gordon Strachan suffered a disastrous first competitive match as Celtic manager following their 5-0 defeat to Artmedia Bratislava in the European Champions League in Slovakia on Wednesday night. Celtic face an almost impossible task at Parkhead on August 2 for the second leg of this second qualifying round.
Forest managers were assessing the damage on Tuesday caused by a gale that flattened at least 7 000 trees in Slovakia's High Tatras National Park. Park spokesperson Marian Sturcel said the toll from wind gusts was the highest since a freak windstorm in November 2004 toppled 120km² of conifer trees in the region.
United States President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sought common ground on Thursday on keeping conventional and nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, a positive note in talks likely to raise sensitive questions about Russia's support of Iran and democratic rollbacks.
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