FOREVERLASTING CORNFIELDS AND FLATLANDS (part 1)

I´m winding down by a small lake and have been filled with energy from everlasting fields and houses in all shapes and colors. The sun is now painting the sky over northern Serbia completely babylush pink, before it will slowly fade away to darkness. Soon I could have been anywhere in the world, the darkness is alike everywhere. But I am in Serbia, of all places, achieving another gypsy-dream of mine.

I guess I have around 150-160 km to go before I reach the hometown of my friend Bolé, and with these roads it´s easily done in 3 days; I haven’t met a single hill through the entire day, the land is completely flat, filled with nothing but cornfields and rural villages with small houses made from bricks and mud. I am amazed.

Tonight I´m really tired, after deciding to not sleep on the train to Budapest. I was hoping to get some rest on the train bounded for Belgrade, but I could not bring my bicycle across the border on a train, they told me, so I had to catch a morning train to southern Hungary.

After a quick calculation in my head, it would be cheaper to get through the night in a club in the Partycapital of Central Europe than to stay in an overpriced European hostel. I went for the cheapest option – as usual – and after an hour of walking through the picturesque streets people were starting to arrive to the relaxed open-air street bars. On every side of the streets I could hear a plural of English accents having loud conversations, but all I wanted to do was dance. I found one place that could look like a boring quiet bar from the outside, and knew that it was more likely a club than the bars along the street.

I entered a very old building, and asked if it was a proper club with dancing. It was, and it was free entrance for girls. I stepped out in a backyard; in front of me was another of these white old buildings, and right in the middle a square red box like room with huge windows were placed. The red box was the dance area, and people were standing in small groups in the stone covered backyard sipping beers and drinks. The club went on in several rooms; I loved the vibe. I had a beer for 600 HUF while breathing in the atmosphere. The music was commercial, but very mixed, and I was ready to dance.
After several hours kicking it in the club, I went for a morning stroll with a Hungarian coin collector and had a conversation about life and traveling.

At 6AM my train rolled away from Budapest, towards a small village south in Hungary. I got around 2 hours of sleep, before stepping up on my bike and head off on the open road once again. I had no map, and had no intention to buy one, either. Even though it would make sense to buy one, with my timeframe coming to an end, I wanted to feel the childish lost freedom and really not worry where I was. But, I told myself that I at least should find a way leading me to Serbia, and turned to a taxi driver.

“Uhhm… Serbia? Which way?” I asked, and understood what a random question it probably was. Luckily he smiled.

“Border?” he asked, and I nodded. He pointed at one road, and told me to turn right at the end of it. I placed my faith in his directions, and took off.

After 3-4 hours cycling through the Hungarian countryside, with cornfields and rural villages, I reached the Serbian border. A new country was just a few meters a head of me, and I could see a large blue sign saying “Welcome to Serbia” in front of me, surrounded by empty plastic bags and garbage. There was a nice tax-free shop on the left side, but when I reached it I realized that it was completely empty. It was followed by a whole row of shops and snack bars – but they were all empty. I got the word ghost town popping up in my head, and was once again met by nature. A lot of the other villages I passed today have almost been completely empty. It was old, abandoned houses and empty shops located along the flat road. I have also passed some pretty tacky houses. One was colored in bright pink, with tons of Hello Kitty logos all over the doors, fence and windows. Another was built like a modern castle, with spikey towers and fancy gate details. But mostly – most of the houses are below any standard I have ever seen in Europe. The village side has not developed the past hundred years, at least. I am amazed, and feel exited to explore this forgotten part of Europe.

I will wrap myself into my hammock tent and observe the fishermen spread out on the small docks around the lake before sinking in to a well-deserved rest.

Good night, world.

A tacky, modern castle-house.

NORSK/NORWEGIAN:

Jeg har parkert sykkelen og har satt meg til rette ved et tjern, etter å ha blitt fylt med energi fra evigvarende kornåkrer og hus i alle mulige fasonger og farger. Solen holder på å maler himmelen over nord-Serbia babyrosa, før verden rundt meg atter en gang blir begravet i mørket. Snart kunne jeg vært hvor som helst i verden, mørket er det samme uansett hvor man er. Men jeg er i Serbia, av alle steder, og følger nok en nomade-drøm.

Jeg har cirka 150-160 kilometer igjen før jeg ankommer hjembyen til vennen min Bolé, og med disse veiene er det lett gjort på tre dager; jeg har ikke støtt på en eneste bakke i dag. Landskapet er absolutt helt flatt, fylt med kornåkrer og rurale landsbyer med små hus bygget av murstein og leire. Jeg er fasinert.

  I kveld er jeg ordentlig trøtt, etter jeg bestemte meg for å ikke sove på toget til Budapest, men holdt troen på å få sove på natt toget til Beograd. Uheldigvis kom jeg meg ikke med toget videre, ettersom jeg ikke kunne frakte sykkelen over grensen med tog. Jeg måtte bestille en billett til sør-Ungarn som skulle dra neste morgen.

Jeg gjorde en kjapp utregning på mulighetene jeg hadde foran meg, som enten var å komme meg gjennom natten med ett par øl på dansegulvet i The Partycapital of Central Europe, eller å overnatte på ett overpriset europeisk gjestehus. Det første valget var det billigste, og jeg prøver alltid å reise billigst mulig. 

Etter å ha låst sekken min i en oppbevaringsboks på togstasjonen, vandret jeg ut i de smale gatene med gamle bygninger som bar flotte detaljer og utskjæringer. En time senere begynte folk å ankomme pubene, som lå langs gatene. Folk satt på bordene utenfor og pratet høylytt på utallige engelske aksenter, men alt jeg ville var å danse. Jeg fant til slutt en bar som så kjedelig ut fra utsiden, og visste at det garantert lå mer bak fasaden. Inne i den gamle bygningen spurte jeg om det var en bra nattklubb med mye dansing. Vakten nikket, og sa at det var gratis entré for damer. Jeg fortsatte gjennom gangen og kom ut i bakgården; foran meg var det ett stort rom, som lignet på en gigantisk stor firkantet boks. Den var skrikende rød, med svære vinduer. Innenfra dunket det i veggene fra høyttalerne, og dansegulvet var fullt av folk. Den røde boksen var plassert midt mellom to urgamle bygg, og folk sto i bakgården og sippet øl eller vin. Klubben fortsatte gjennom mange rom; jeg likte atmosfæren. Jeg kjøpte meg en øl for 600HUF, og trakk til meg stemningen. Musikken var kommersiell, men endret seg stadig, og jeg var klar til å danse.

Etter flere timer inni den røde boksen, gikk jeg på morgentur sammen med en ungarsk myntsamler og slo av en prat om livet og reising.

Klokken seks på morgenen rullet toget videre fra Budapest, i retning en liten landsby i sør-Ungarn. Jeg fikk rundt to timers søvn, før jeg hev meg på sykkelen og var klar for den åpne, frie veien. Jeg hadde ingen kart, og hadde ingen intensjon om å kjøpe ett, heller. Selv om det ga mening å kjøpe ett, med tidsrammen min som er i ferd med å renne ut, ville jeg føle på den barnslige friheten om å være fortapt uten å bry seg om å være på villspor. Jeg tenkte med meg selv at jeg burde likevel i hvert fall sette avgårde mot Serbia, og spurte en taxisjåfør ved togstasjonen.

”Uhhm… Serbia? Which way?” spurte jeg, og forsto straks hvor tilfeldig spørsmålet var. Heldigvis smilte han.

”Border?” spurte han, og jeg nikket. Han pekte på en vei, og sa at jeg måtte svinge til høyre i enden av den. Jeg tok beskrivelsen hans som min eneste fasit, og trødde i vei.

Etter 3-4 timer langs det ungarske landskapet, med kornåkrer og rurale landsbyer, kom jeg frem til den serbiske grensen. Ett nytt land lå bare noen meter foran meg, og jeg kunne se ett stort blått skilt med skriften ”Welcome to Serbia”, omringet av søppel og plastikkposer. Det så ut som det lå en fin tax-free butikk på venstre side, men den var helt tom. Den lå ved siden av en rekke butikker og spisesteder – men alle byggene var tomme. Ingen møbler, ingen mennesker. Ordet spøkelsesby klistret seg i hodet mitt, og jeg fortsatte fremover til jeg ble møtt av natur igjen.

Mange av landsbyene jeg har passert i dag har vært nesten helt tomme. Det var gamle, forlatte hus og tomme butikklokaler langs den flate veien. Jeg har også kommet forbi noen særdeles sære hus; ett av dem var farget helt knall rosa med Hello Kitty logoer på dørene og i vinduene, ett annet lignet på ett moderne eventyrslott i miniatyrstørrelse. Men de fleste – de aller fleste husene har vært langt nedenfor den standarden jeg tidligere har sett i Europa. Landsbyene har ikke utviklet seg de siste 100 årene, minst. Jeg elsker det, og gleder meg til å utforske denne ofte bortglemte delen av Europa.

Jeg skal tulle meg inn i hengekøya og observere fiskerne som sitter spredt rundt på de små bryggene rundt vannet, før en god natts søvn er i vente.
God natt, verden.

UNFOLDING A FAIRYTALE AND EAST EUROPEAN PARTIES (part2)

I didn´t get much sleep that night. Something inside of me said that I wasn´t really done with Zilina yet. I was supposed to take off the next afternoon, and continue with my Great Plan. The Great Plan is something I love to map out, but something I rarely ever follow up with. This was not an exception. When the apartment came to life again, I said:

“I don´t wanna leave yet.”

“So stay,” was all they said, and I decided to stay.
The same night most people from Enjoy family was going to watch a soccer match, and soccer isn´t exactly my favourite sport. To watch sport in general, is not one of my favorite things to do. Fodo teamed up with me, and we agreed to share a bottle of wine and entertain each other instead of being entertained by a screen.

Then the days flew by, with laughter, good vibes and positivity. We spent laid-back evenings at the office, took some trips to fairytale looking castles, enjoyed Slovak food and drinks. I decided to treat them for some Norwegian rice pudding, as a thank you gesture for letting me crash there. Everyone except Fodo admired the Norwegian dish; he poured a glass of chocolate powder over the rice pudding and mixed it together. I stuck to the old traditional way with butter, cinnamon and sugar spread on top.

The weekend was coming up again, and the big topic was the DJ from London that was going to kick the club to life; Crystal Roxx. 

A friendly couple from Bratislava, Ada and Robo, came to spend the weekend in Zilina, and Majlo assured me that both of them spoke English, so I wouldn´t feel like an outsider. The truth was that I never felt lonely when they were going on about things in Slovak language; I rather focused on how much I actually could be a part of things, in addition to add more words to my Slovak vocabulary. I understood that I had to learn, versus them converting their whole normal scenario for me.

“Ready for a surprise?” Majlo was standing in the doorway with the car keys in his hand. He had mentioned the previous evening that he had a mission for me. We got in to the car and drove off to Enjoyclub. A bigger car was waiting for us there, with speakers attached to the roof. He gave me a green flag. I was familiar with the flag; he had been waiving with in on the dance floor we met during Uprising all night. Over the entire flag the word Enjoyclub was printed.

“We´re going on a little promotion drive,” he smiled.

The car took off with me and Majlo, beats from Crystal Roxx and the green flag out the window, supported by my hand. We drove through the narrow streets of Zilina and communist-like compounds, and felt the rising of the night coming in.

When Crystal Roxx got on stage and started to share her energy filled rhythms to the crowded dance floor, everyone went crazy. We were standing above the DJ stage on the VIP area, and I looked around me. Fodo was jumping up and down like he wanted to touch the sky; me and Ada were shaking it with huge smiles; Lemo was as usual on the chase to find a girl to fall in love with; Majlo was finding the groove with the best dancers of the club; Lado was moving around and up and down of happiness; and Robo kept on attempting to tell me a story about Slovak people and cabbage over the extremely loud music. We were standing on top of it all, and got to breathe in the entire setting.

The DJ had such a good time that she kept on playing one and a half hour longer than she was supposed to, and the entire dance floor were living up to her beats like tomorrow would never come.

I had been told that the best way to wrap up a night at Enjoyclub is on the street outside the entrance gate – inbetween the club itself and the biggest church in Zilina. When the music faded to silence this Saturday morning, we found ourselves on the stairs leading to the church in a large group of people that wasn´t entirely ready to go home yet. Some elder catholic people was already on their way to church, and we definitely created a huge contrast with our drunk smiles and loud conversations compared to  their peaceful morning walk.

Another weekend was gone, filled with adventures and enjoyment. I told Majlo that I was planning to continue my journey before the next weekend was coming up.

“Okay. Friday could be a good day to leave. On Wednesday we´ll take you to Banska Bystrica, for a last Goodbye-Marthey-Partey”, he replied with a big smile on his face.

They whole gang planned out a trip to Ministry of Fun, the largest nightclub in Slovakia. It was a two hour drive to get there, and we took off with two full cars from Zilina.

It was THE best nightclub I had ever been to. The dance floor was half the size of a soccer field, and the VIP lounge was a wide and long balcony going across the entire back of the big room. The lights were rapidly changing colors and shapes, and they were everywhere. We were bending over the balcony and felt the energy rising from the completely full dance floor downstairs, and moved out bodies like maniacs to leave all stress behind in the company of loud Eastern-European house music. The beats were streaming through our bodies until the lights went out around six in the morning, and we slowly found our way inbetween narrow streets in a sleeping city. We had a coffee at a 24 hour open casino, to manage to keep the energy a little bit longer – we had a full drive back to Zilina in front of us.

Before we parted ways in to the two cars and set off in the morning fog, I kissed each and every single one of them a friendly kiss to thank them for two awesome weeks. Enjoyfamily. They sure knew how to give other people a good time; how to enjoy life.

NORSK/NORWEGIAN:

Jeg sov dårlig den natta. Noe inni meg sa at jeg ville bli i Žilina lenger. Jeg skulle dra neste formiddag, og følge den store Planen min. Planen er noe jeg elsker å lage, men sjelden følger. Dette ble ikke noe unntak. På morgenen sa jeg:
"I don't wanna leave yet."
"So stay." fikk jeg i svar. 
Den samme kvelden skulle de fleste i Enjoy family se på fotballkamp, og fotball er ikke akkurat min favorittsport. Egentlig er ikke det å se på sport generelt noe jeg syns er underholdende. Foďo spilte på mitt lag, og vi ble enige om å dele en flaske vin og underholde hverandre i stedet.

De neste dagene raste forbi, med latter, glede og positivitet. Vi hadde humørfylte kvelder på kontoret, turer til diverse eventyrlige festninger, koste oss med god mat og drikke. Jeg

bestemte meg for å varte gjengen opp med grøt, som en takk for at jeg fikk kræsje der. Den norske retten falt i smak hos alle unntatt Foďo; han hev ett helt melkeglass sjokoladepulver over grøten og  rørte det sammen. Jeg holdt meg til den gode gamle varianten med kanel, sukker og smør. 

Helgen var om hjørnet, og det store samtaleemne var DJen fra London som skulle spille på Enjoy club fredags kveld. Crystal Roxx. Ett hyggelig kjærestepar fra Bratislava, Ada og Robo, kom for å overnatte hele helgen, og Majlo forsikret meg om at de snakket engelsk, så jeg kom ikke til å føle meg like ensom. Sannheten var den at jeg følte meg aldri ensom selv om mesteparten foregikk på slovakisk; jeg fokuserte heller på hvor mye jeg fikk ta del i, samt å plukke opp ord fra språket deres her og der. Jeg forsto at jeg måtte lære; versus å forvente at alle skulle bøye seg etter meg.

"Ready for a surprise?" Majlo sto I døråpningen med bilnøklene i hånda. Han hadde fortalt meg kvelden i forveien at han hadde ett oppdrag til meg. Vi hev oss i bilen og satte kursen mot Enjoy club. Der ventet en større bil med høyttalere festet til taket. Han rakte meg ett grønt flagg. Jeg kjente godt til flagget; Majlo hadde stått inni folkemengden under Uprising med det samme flagget den natten vi møttes. Over hele flagget var ordet Enjoyclub printet. 
"We're going on a little promotion drive," gliste han. 
Vi kjørte avgårde med Head Kandi på full guffe, og jeg holdt flagget stødig ut vinduet. Mens vi passerte Žilinas trange gater og kommunistiske boligblokker, ladet vi opp til kvelden.

Da Head Kandi kom på scenen under oss og spredte den energiske rytmen sin til folkene på gulvet, gikk alle berserk. Vi sto ovenfor DJ scenen på et VIP område, og Foďo hoppet opp og ned som aldri før; jeg og Ada danset med glis rundt munnen, Lemo var som vanlig på jakt etter noen å forelske seg I, Majlo fant grooven med de beste danserne på klubben, Laďo vimset rundt og hoppet nesten I taket av glede, og Robo prøvde å fortelle meg en historie om slovakere og kål over den høyt pumpende musikken. Vi sto på toppen av alt som skjedde, og pustet inn hele omgivelsen under oss. DJen hadde det så gøy at hun spilte halvannen time lenger enn hun fikk betalt for, og hele dansegulvet gikk amok til rytmene hun lekte seg med.

Jeg hadde blitt fortalt at den beste måten å runde av en natt på Enjoyclub er på gata utenfor – midt mellom klubben selv og Zilinas største kirke. Da musikken døde denne lørdags morgenen, satt vi en hel gjeng ved kirketrappen og pustet inn det siste mørket før soloppgang. Noen eldre katolikker begynte å bevege seg mot kirken, og vi utgjorde en stor kontrast som satt sørpefulle og fnisete foran dem.

Etter nok en eventyrlig helg fortalte jeg Majlo at jeg måtte begynne å tenke på og komme meg avgårde, helst før den kommende helgen.

“Okay. Friday could be a good day to leave. On Wednesday we´ll take you to Banska Bystrica, for a last Goodbye-Marthey-Partey,” spøkte han.

De planla en tur til Ministry of Fun, Slovakias største nattklubb. Det tok omtrent to timer å kjøre dit fra Zilina, og vi suste avgårde med to fulle biler.

Det var den beste nattklubben jeg noensinne har vært på. Dansegulvet var halvparten av en fotballbane, og VIP loungen strakk seg rundt lokalet som en balkong. Lysene var overalt, I alle slags farger og fasonger. Vi sto lent over balkongen og følte energien fra det stappfulle dansegulvet nedenfor, og ristet alt stress av oss til øst-Europeisk house musikk. Rytmene levde inni oss frem til lysene stoppet rundt klokka seks, og vi sjanglet oss gjennom den fredelige byen og inn på ett 24 timers åpent casino; en kaffe passet bra etter den lange natten.

Før laget skilte seg inn i to biler for å sette kursen mot Zilina i morgendisen, kysset jeg alle vennskapelig og takket dem for de to ukene jeg hadde surret rundt dem. Enjoyfamily. De visste absolutt hvordan de skulle få noen til å føle seg levende.

An empty Enjoyclub after business hours.

UNFOLDING A FAIRYTALE AND EAST EUROPEAN PARTIES (part1)

The train began to roll down the tracks, while my emotions were competing about being happy or miserable. I had spent two weeks in one of Slovakias biggest cities, Žilina, and the days had gone by so quickly that I wanted to jump off the train and keep on staying; the other half of me was cheering of excitement to once again have an unknown path in front of me.

Friendships had been made with the Slovak people I was staying with, and I was going to miss them. They called themselves Enjoy family, and sure had a lot of enjoyment inside of them. I met them during Slovakias amazing Uprising reggae festival, and had great luck during my misery Sunday morning when the music was about to die and the festival wrapped up with wandering souls all around the campus. My train from Bratislava to Katowice was bound for 10 AM, and there was no way I could get myself on the train in time. In the middle of my stressful breakdown one of the members of the Enjoy family came through to say hi – and told me I was more than welcomed to join them up to Žilina; there was trains running to Katowice from their city, too.

All of them showed me a charming openness happening in the cozy apartment located on third floor in the outskirts of Žilina, and when leaving them the same night I left with a wish to return; and I gave my promise to return before boarding my train.

 “Welcome home,” said Majlo with a smile on his face, which couldn´t possible have been less stereotypical Eastern European. I pulled off my shoes and placed my backpack in his room. He gave me another hug, and I was thrilled to spend the weekend with them.

They were three people living in the apartment.

Majlo, whom was closest for me among them. His English was more than intermediate after living in the States for a few years, and through that he managed to make me feel included by translating what the other people were saying all the time. He had a big heart and playful eyes, and always made sure of that the people around him had the best time of their lives.

Then there was Foďo. He was an IT expert with ambitions and a high position – a position and work place he never got up for in time. The first couple of days he was very secluded and kept on excusing himself for his poor English. Eventually he loosened up, and took me for small road trips and we shared life stories over bottles of wine in the late hours. He promised me to continue practice English after I bounced. Every time our conversations were about to die because of the language barrier, he laughed heartwarming and smiled.

At last, but not least, there was Stanko Janco, a tall hyperactive realtor, whom always had a topic in mind. He had been staying over in the States, too, and was easy to converse with. There was always a joke or a high-toned giggle when the silence hit the group.

In the neighboring building Lemo stayed, he was the second owner of Enjoyclub. I met him during the Uprising festival, and I must say I was into his behavior; he always moved around with a certain touch of elegance and peacefulness, and always kept his voice confident and convincing in a comfortable and soothing rhythm.

Just across the street Laďo lived, a bold young man. He couldn´t speak a word of English, but we figured out how to communicate through body language and translators around us. Laďo was an absolute President of parties and enjoyment, and carried a huge smile on his face at all times.

Adrian was living a bit away from “the hood”, and he was a fit soccer player. During the two weeks we got to know each other through his broken English and my broken Slovak.
There were others, too, but the ones mentioned above is the part of the group I hung around most of the time.

The first night in Zilina I was exhausted from my 80 km stretch on the bicycle, and I collapsed on the soft bed provided to me very early. Majlo had a surprise for me the following day that he had been extremely secretive about. I had turned my circadian rhythm for the past week, and he told me that there was no way that I could get him up before 9AM.

Right before 8AM the next morning I was standing above Majlo repeating his name; I was curious on where we were headed. He got up with a smile and still didn´t want to give me any information.

When we drove off in his car he handed me a dark green envelope; the same color as the Enjoyclub logo. Inside I found a gift card to something that could look like a waterpark, but he didn´t let me get insight to more than that.

We drove pass tall majestic mountains and wonderful nature for about one hour, before Majlo parked up outside a large building in the middle of nowhere called Tatralandia, Slovakias biggest waterpark.

I was impressed; it actually was the largest waterpark I had ever been to.  It consisted of one massive first floor, and a similar sized outdoor area; it was filled with different kinds of slides, and pools giving you massage, heath, minerals and other relaxing sensations. In the lower level of the building there was a sauna and spa area.

When we slipped into the first pool I analyzed the surroundings. There was surprisingly few children around, and crowded with young adults in groups or couple. Most of them were chilling out with beers that was served by the bar counter in the pool.

“Majlo! They are drinking beers in the pool! I´ve never seen anything like this before! It would be so illegal up in Norway!” I said with excitement in my voice. He laughed at me, and bought us both a beer due to my fascination.

A lot of colorful slides, laughter, pools and beers later we entered the lower ground; where we were going to pamper ourselves with sauna and other healthy water stations.

“Majlo, I never thought two adults could have so much fun in such a childish place!” I grinned when we came outdoors again. The sun had gone down the horizon, and our bodies were fresh and filled with new energy.

Back at the apartment we found Stanko and a girl named Mischa, whom I also met my previous time there after Uprising, who were pouring up shots of vodka and tapping their feet to party music. Mischa filled a glass for me.

“You know what they say…vodka connects people. And it really does,” she said with a huge smile.

“Na strovje!”I replied and swallowed the burning vodka down my throat.

The following morning I woke up with headache, alcohol pains and a pretty bad breath. It turned out to be a very unproductive day, but when the sun again left the world in darkness, I managed to prepare myself for another night at Enjoyclub. There was a catchy jazz/funk band on stage that night, whom lifted the energy of the crowd and made them shake all stress away, and I was making sure to not consume as much alcohol as the previous night.

Sunday morning, the sun was shining and a new execution with Majlo was going to happen. We drove off up to the hillside outside of Zilina, where a traditional Slovak restaurant was built around a grass field where horses, goats and other farm animals were stepping on in the free. I filled my stomach on yet another Slovakian dish, and due to my vegetarian lifestyle I did not have many options to choose from. The dish mainly contained of potatoes and cheese. A lot of cheese. Majlo convinced me to give Kofola, the Slovak version of Coca Cola, another try. The first time I gave it a shot was during my bicycle trip, in a shop close to the Czech boarder, where they had no other liquids than vodka, beer and Kofola. I almost vomited during the first sip; it could remind of a cheap gross non-alcoholic rum mixed with Coke. My second attempt went off better; I didn´t feel like throwing up, but it was far from tasty.

We took a stroll on the field outside, with a panoramic view of an old castle, and like any other ancient fortress in Slovakia, it felt like traveling back in time to when fairytales were written. Both of us sat down on the soft grass and spoke about the past.

Žilina, Slovakia

NORSK/NORWEGIAN:

Toget rullet sakte avgårde, og inni meg ble jeg fylt med blandede følelser av glede og lengsel. De to siste ukene i den slovakiske byen Žilina hadde rast forbi, og atter en gang jublet jeg inni meg for å ha en ukjent vei foran meg; men denne dagen fantes det også ett stikk av lengsel i gleden. Jeg hadde knyttet gode vennskap blant slovakerne, og jeg kom til å savne dem. Enjoy family, kalte de seg. Jeg møtte dem på Slovakias supre Uprising reggae festival, og hadde hell i uhell søndags morgen da musikken døde ut og festivalen takket for seg. Toget mitt fra Bratislava til Katowice skulle gå klokken ti, og det var ingen mulighet for meg å rekke det. Midt i stresset av dette dukket ett medlem av Enjoy family opp igjen - og sa at jeg var velkommen til å bli med dem til Žilina; derfra kunne jeg hoppe på ett tog til Katowice. Alle viste meg en sjarmerende åpenhet i den lille leiligheten i tredje etasje, noe som hadde gitt meg ønsket om å returnere; og jeg hadde avlagt ett løfte om å komme tilbake da jeg hev meg på toget samme kveld.

"Welcome home," smilte Majlo til meg. Jeg løsnet skoene og plasserte sekken på rommet hans. Han ga meg nok en klem, og jeg gledet meg til å tilbringe helgen der.

I leiligheten bodde tre av dem. 
Det var Majlo, som var den nærmeste for meg i gjengen. Han snakket veldig bra engelsk etter å ha bodd noen år i USA, og klarte derfor å inkludere meg ved å oversette det de andre sa. Han hadde ett stort hjerte og lekne øyne, og sørget alltid for at de rundt ham hadde den beste tiden i livet sitt.

Så var det Foďo. Han var en IT ekspert med ambisjoner og en høy stilling - en jobb han alltid forsov seg til, forresten. De første dagene hadde han vært litt sjenert og unnskyldte flere ganger hvor dårlig han var til å prate engelsk. Deretter myknet han opp, og tok meg med på bilturer hvor vi pratet, sippet vinflasker på kjøkkenet mens han fortalte om seg selv, og lovet meg å fortsette og øve på engelsk etter jeg forlot Žilina. Hver gang samtalene våre stoppet opp, smilte han hjertelig og lo. 
Til slutt var det Stenko Jenco, en lang hyper eiendomsmegler av ett slag, og alltid hadde noe å prate om. Han hadde også bodd i USA, og var lett å konversere med. Det fantes alltid en spøk eller en høy latter når stillheten inntraff fra ham. 

I naboblokka bodde Lemo, som også var eier av Enjoy club. Jeg hadde møtt ham på Uprising, og likte væremåten hans; han beveget seg alltid med en viss eleganse og forsiktighet, og snakket med en intelligent stemme i en behagelig rytme.
På andre siden av gaten bodde Laďo, en skallet smilende ung mann. Han kunne ikke engelsk, men vi klarte å kommunisere gjennom kroppsspråk og tolker. Laďo var absolutt en livsglad partygutt med ett stort smil til en hver tid.
Adrian bodde ett stykke unna, og han var en veltrent fotballspiller. På de to ukene klarte vi å stamme oss gjennom engelsk og slovakisk for å lære hverandre å kjenne.
Det var andre i gjengen deres, også, men de som er nevnt ovenfor er de jeg brukte mest tid sammen med.

Den første kvelden var jeg utslitt etter nesten 8 mil på sykkelen min, og jeg kollapset på den myke sengen de ga meg veldig tidlig. Majlo hadde en overraskelse til meg dagen etterpå som han hadde vært veldig hemmelighetsfull om. Jeg hadde snudd døgnet den siste uken, og han sa at vi ikke kunne starte turen før i ni tiden neste morgen. 
Klokka åtte sto jeg over ham og gjentok navnet hans; jeg var nysgjerrig på hvor vi skulle. Majlo våknet med ett smil og ville fortsatt ikke røpe det. 
Da vi rullet avgårde i bilen ga han meg en mørkegrønn konvolutt; den samme fargen som Enjoyclub logoen. Inni lå ett gavekort til noe som så ut som en vannpark, men mer fikk jeg ikke vite. 
Vi passerte store majestetiske fjell og skjønn natur i en times tid. Majlo parkerte utenfor ett svært bygg med navn Tatralandia, en av Slovakias største vannparker. 
Jeg var imponert; det var faktisk den største vannparken jeg hadde vært i. Det var en gigantisk første etasje, og ett nesten like stort uteområde. Der var det fullt av ulike sklier i alle slags fasonger og farger, massasje basseng, varme basseng og aromatiske basseng. I underetasjen fantes det et stort sauna og spa anlegg. 

I det vi skled ned i det første bassenget klarte jeg ta inn omgivelsene. Det fantes utrolig få barn, og flest unge voksne enten i grupper eller par. De aller fleste slappet av med øl som ble servert fra basseng baren.
"Majlo! They are drinking beers in the pool! I've never seen anything like this before! It would be so illegal up in Norway!" sa jeg med en opprømt stemme. Han små lo av meg, og kjøpte en øl hver til oss ettersom jeg syntes dette var veldig fascinerende. 
Flere sklier, latterkick, boblebad og øl senere gikk vi ned i underetasjen; hvor sauna og flere andre avslappende stasjoner møtte oss. 
"Majlo, I never thought two adults could have so much fun in such a childish place!" gliste jeg da vi kom ut. Sola hadde allerede gått ned, og kroppene våre var fylt med ny energi. 

Tilbake i leiligheten var Mischa, en jente jeg hadde møtt hos dem etter Uprising, og Stenko i full gang med vodka shots og oppladning til kveldens party. Mischa helte opp en shot til meg.
"You know what they say...vodka connects people. And it really does." smilte hun.
"Na strovje!" svarte jeg og slukte innholdet i glasset.

Neste dag våknet jeg med skallebank, alkoverk i kroppen og dårlig ånde. Det ble en lite produktiv dag, men da solen sank ned i horisonten klarte jeg å forberede meg til enda en kveld på Enjoyclub. Det var ett fengende funk/jazz band som løftet energien blant publikum, og jeg passet godt på å ikke få i meg like mye alkohol som kvelden før. 
Søndagen skinte med en ny utflukt sammen med Majlo. Vi dro opp i heia utenfor Žilina hvor det var satt opp en restaurant i ekte slovakisk stil, og på tunet utenfor gikk det hester, geiter og andre gårds dyr. Jeg jafset nedpå nok ett slovakisk måltid, og ettersom jeg er vegetarianer var det som vanlig ikke mye å velge mellom. Retten sto hovedsakelig av poteter og ost. Majlo klarte å overbevise meg om at jeg burde gi Kofola, den slovakiske versjonen av Cola, ett nytt forsøk. I en butikk på sykkelturen hadde det ikke fantes noe annet enn vodka, øl og Kofola, og jeg hadde brekt meg ved den første slurken; det smakte som en ekkel billig alkoholfri rom blandet med cola. Mitt andre forsøk gikk bedre; og jeg brakk meg ikke, men den var langt ifra god. Vi spaserte rundt på gressplenen utenfor med utsikt til en gammel festning, og som alle de andre gamle borgene i Slovakia, var det som å dra langt tilbake i tid til da eventyr ble laget. Vi la oss flate på gresset og så den synkende solen heise seg ned bak den middelaldrende festingen mens vi snakket om fortiden.

Majlo, Lado, Stanko og Roman