The official congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists kicked off today when the farm journalists from 16 countries converged on the Hotel Tatra in Bratislava, Slovakia for three days of tours organized by the Slovakian farm writers’ association. The program is the launch to the annual International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ congress, held in a different country every year.
As the Slovakian chapter president Jozef (shown in photo with conference organizer Jana Janku) told the group, “First impressions are the most important so we want to show you the best.” At a reception on the opening night, he told 50 jet-lagged delegates that his chapter’s goal, over the next few days, is to show us “the difference between Slovakia and Slovenia” and to show us the contrasts between our countries and his.
The program was launched with a walking tour of Bratislava, a city of about 400,000 residents that has a history dating back thousands of years. We walked over locations of Roman roads (now housed far below the present streetscape), admired a Romanesque concert hall and the view of majestic Bratislava castle (dating to the 15th century) that towers over the city. We also toured the St. Martin cathedral – a church that has seen the coronation of 10 Hungarian kings (yes, we’re only 12 kilometres from the current border of Hungary) and one very revered queen – Maria Theresa. Hundreds of years after her death, she remains revered by the Slovak people and appears to be infamous for many, many reasons. She is a patron saint of both Austria and Slovakia and gave birth to no less than 16 children (her coronation planned between pregnancies three and four). A lesser known story may be the fact that some of her grandchildren married each other, causing a strain of insanity in the family which our guide clearly found rather amusing.
But enough of the walking tour.
Tonight we were treated to a tasty traditionally-Slovakian meal. Appetizers of sheep’s cheese, a main course of pork in wine sauce and a dessert of dumplings in a poppy seed dressing were all on the menu. Add to that a clear alcoholic liqueur that smelled much like Christmas trees (due to its juniper flavouring) and congress delegates from around the world renewed old friendships and began to make many new ones.
According to president Jozef, the next few days will be filled with tours to both big farms and smaller ones; to food processing facilities, wineries, pottery plants and more. He promises us many opportunities to “appreciate the local culture by tasting Slovak wine and beer and enjoying Slovak music.”
He wrapped up his greetings by telling us that there is a national saying in Slovakia: “It is better to have a short speech and long sausages!” We look forward to the days to come – including tomorrow’s tour that begins at 8 a.m.
Kelly’s trip to the IFAJ is being sponsored by Monsanto and the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation.
