Banská Bystrica
When we first got here one of the questions we were asked all the time from you all (our family and friends back home) was what is Banská Bystrica like. We told you the normal stuff like, there is a mall, we live five minutes walk from the downtown square, and that the weather is similar to the pacific northwest. And while that is all well and true it doesn’t mention the way the Soviet communism architecture blends with Slovak and even older Austro-Hungarian styles. We have yet to give you a real understanding of the city and, most importantly, its people. This is largely due to the fact that we have yet to have time to really hit the town with my D80 DSLR and it is a bit big to bring around without a predetermined purpose. So I’ve decided to try and take more photos of the sites and people of Bystrica on a day to day basis using my iPhone. My hope is that you will see more of Bystrica and better come to understand it’s charm. The first picture below is of the the city Castle (or at least what is left of it). The second is a rather common sight here in Bystrica (as well as the rest of Slovakia). A lot of the times when your walking down a street that is not as popular or as often used you can see the backs of buildings. What amazes me about it all is just how shabby and pushed together everything seems. I actually find it quite beautiful and as a result I am going to try to incorporate some of these types of photos, that is, not more common day to day sites that make the city really come alive. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the many that will follow.
