NOT GONE WITH THE WIND....: MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #12

#6 BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

Fairs, market places and markets are one of the complements of the mood and atmosphere of cities, towns and villages, aren't they?

Bratislava has not many but a few markets. Let me share with you my visit to three of them. I started by wandering through Mileticka, the city's main and largest open air market, where locals who want to buy vegetables, early every morning set off for it, and simultaneously a place where they can not only do their perishables shopping but also eat and drink... I noticed that, in general, Bratislava people, particularly at the markets, didn't look at ease with foreigners, a fact that didn't enable me to get as many shots as it would have been desirable. The photo below was the exception that confirmed the rule. Surprisingly, the three young men promptly accepted my request.

Anyone can come to the market and sell almost anything. Look at the photo below and you see an old woman, perhaps living on her own and selling goods as a way to complement her pension. This unregulated market allows her that opportunity... A large section of the Mileticka or Mileticova market as it's often called, has stalls that sell goods/services regularly. Those stands are often owned by Vietnamese vendors. During the Cold War, Vietnam, as a communist country, was considered an ally of the then Czechoslovakia. As a result, Vietnam sent thousands of its students and workers to then-Czechoslovakia decades ago so that the they could improve their skills in another Communist country. Many of them stayed. According to an estimate, there were as many as 20,000 Vietnamese in Slovakia in the late 1990s. The market stalls are their most obvious legacy.

I saw them in everything from underwear, luggage, electronics, cosmetics, etc. In each stand the same...

I noticed, however, that some of them are more entrepreneurial than others. In one booth, I saw a Vietnamese woman using a sewing machine to shorten a client's slacks. Quite an interesting service. I asked permission to take a photo but she, like all other Vietnamese, never allowed. They must have their own reasons...

When I needed to quench my thirst in that hot-weathered Bratislava, I looked for something very Slovakian - a glass of fresh, crispy beer CORGON. Though, I very very seldom have beer or any alcoholic drink, I wanted to try it. It was excellent!

I gave a quick look at Jedlikova open-air market, off the city's main shopping street. On sale there were mainly clothes and accessories. Again, many of the sellers were Asian people. I didn't enjoy having a wander around it. Not my type of market... no smells, no sounds... Not interesting at all, excluding some restaurants, pubs and caffés, nearby. The photo below shows a restaurants located inside the market area. You don't see buyers and/or sellers. The market was already closed at the time I took it.

The next and last stop is at a covered market, built in 1978, opened in 1981 and since then it looks as if time has stopped. I found a good variety of fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, but also many China made clothing and others.