In the heart of Europe Brief history of our countries 800/900 – Great Moravia 828 – Christianity introduced on our lands 863 – written language introduced.

In the heart of Europe

Brief history of our countries

800/900 – Great Moravia 828 – Christianity introduced on our lands 863 – written language introduced Slovaks

1000 – Hungarian Empire 1500s – Turkish invasion, Slovakia became the center of Empire

Czechs Czech kingdom Austrian Empire

Austrian-Hungarian Empire 1918 Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia???Czechoslovakia???

1918 division of Austrian-Hungarian Empire 1918 – 1939, 1945 - 1948 democratic country WW2 -> Czechs occupied by Germany,

Slovak state 1948 – 1989 communist rule 1989 – Velvet Revolution, return to democracy 1 Jan 1993 – Velvet divorce

Czech republic Slovakia

Czech Czech republicrepublic

Population: 10.4 million Capital: Praha (Prague, Prag, Praga)

#5 most visited European city 4 million tourists last year

Religion: Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3.0%, other 13.4%, atheist 39.8%

Border: Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia

SlovakiaSlovakia

Population: 5.4 million Capital: Bratislava By certain geographers considered to be the

exact center of European continent Religion: Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%,

Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)

Borders: Czech rep, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine

History todayHistory today

Old city centers Castles, chateaus,

fortresses

Churches, cathedrals

Memorials

SlovakiaSlovakia Type of government:

parliamentary democracyPresident (elected every 5 years):

Ivan GašparovičParliament (elected every 4 years)

prime minister: Robert Fico + cabinet

European Union:European Comission: 1 from each countryEuropean Parliament: 14 out of 785 members

Czech RepublicCzech Republic

President Václav Klaus Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek Parliament – 2 chambers

Senate – 81 seats (for 6 years, one third every 2 years)

Chamber of Deputies (200 seats for four years)

European Union

Agriculture & IndustryAgriculture & Industry

Agriculture: different plants grown in different regions

Cereals, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, also vineyards

Industry: Fast growing industrial production

automobile industry (CZ: Škoda, Hyundai, TCPA, SK: Volkswagen, Peugeot, Kia), steel and aluminum processing, electronics (Sony, Samsung), chemical industry, machinery, textiles

SportSport

Football – most popular sport (2415 registered football clubs in SK)

Successful sports teams: Ice hockey – World Championships Tennis Swimming Canoeing – canoe slalom, wild water

slalom Javelin throwing

Winter sports are very common skiing, snowboarding

EVERYDAY LIFE

FamilyFamily

Close family life, families in Slovakia have close connections to their grandparents and visit them quite often

Parents often give advice to their children Slovaks (especially Slovak mums) like

everything tidy and in its place Don’t forget to take off your shoes when you

enter a house or an apartment (wear slippers) Children help with the housework (vacuuming,

washing dishes etc.) Family trips

HousingHousing

Many families live in blocks of apartments, most of them were built in 1950-1990, these apartments are often small in size

Siblings usually share room Bathroom – usually only a

bathtub (not a separate shower) Toilet – flush the toilet paper (not

like in hot countries) Slovaks don’t like to waste water

(shower) and electricity (lights off)

FoodFoods & Drinkss & Drinks Foods:

Lunch is the main meal of a day usually includes soup and main meal during school days offered in the school cafeteria use knife and fork at the same time to eat your meal

Less fast food, many families cook at home, especially at the weekends

Drinks: Alcohol is very popular, legal age to drink is 18, the law

is not always strictly followed, but the situation is changing nowadays and it is more enforced

Beer – very popular drink, many beer brands are produced in Slovakia

We use ice in smaller quantities, ice machines are rare

TransportTransport

Respect the Rotary rules for travelling People often walk (it’s safe) and ride bikes Many people travel by public transport:

Between cities: trains, buses City transport: trams, buses, cabs Reduced prices for students

Driving From the age of 18 – students in high schools don’t

usually drive cars

SchoolSchool School system:

Elementary education: 9 years High school: 4 years, several types of schools

gymnázium, obchodná akadémia, odborná škola

Mostly fixed schedule Teachers are rather reserved with students,

students are more respectful and don’t talk back in a discussion accept the fact that the teacher is always right

Students often cheat in exams Sports teams, art and music education are not

organized by school

Free timeFree time

High school students do not usually work during school year (only in the summer)

Sports organized by different sport clubs in towns

Hanging out with friends (it is essential to have a cell phone to communicate with friends)

Hiking in the mountains Skiing/snowboarding in winter

PeoplePeople

Not open to strangers, but once you get to know them, you will find them friendly

Friendships are more profound Caring and hospitable (especially mothers

and grandmothers) Multiple offering (meal, drink) Different attitude to nudity

Being an exchange studentBeing an exchange student

Learning the language Living in the host family Making new friends Culture shock Inbound syndrome