Goodbye Slovakia. And thank you.

Four years seem as a long time but when I look back at my arrival to Slovakia in summer of 2009, it seems like it happened just a short while ago. Not four years ago. Well, time plays tricks on you sometimes. Nonetheless, the time of my diplomatic mission in this country has come to its end. This summer I am leaving.

What to say when you want to bid your farewell…? Well, first of all, thank you. Thank you, dear Slovaks and colleagues, for your hospitality and kindness. I really enjoyed my stay in the land between Tatras and Danube (I know you like to call Slovakia this way :-)). I loved Bratislava, my work here, the beautiful landscape; the green flat planes of Danube basin, beautiful mountains of Tatras, Fatra, Inovec (and so on) and the lovely places and sights of Eastern Slovakia. I found so many places in Slovakia which I admired, that I cannot count them. This small country – it has the same size as The Netherlands but three times less inhabitants (which is actually very pleasant) – has become a place I called home. For four years it was my second home and in my memories it will stay as one of the dear homes I have had during my diplomatic career. And Slovakia with its landscape will stand very high among them.

This summer, I am going to pack my suitcases, empty the place I have lived in for four years, and say my last goodbye. But before doing this I wanted to do something else as well. This week I held a reception, a farewell reception, in Bratislava because I wanted to see many people for the last time (not the last time ever, I believe) – Slovaks from various backgrounds whom I befriended and respected because of the high personal and professional qualities. It was a nice occasion to talk to them one last time.

Before I bid my very last farewell on this blog, I would like to wish you all only the best in the future. At the same time I would like to thank you for reading this blog and for all the inspiration and support I received here. I would like to thank my team at the embassy, for all their good work. I will be leaving with a good feeling that I have contributed to the life of Slovakia and to the good bilateral relations of our two countries. I am sure that my successor will be as positive about Slovakia as I have been.

Good luck and farewell,

Daphne Bergsma

Farewell to Eastern Slovakia

During my four years in Slovakia, I grew fond of many parts of this diverse and very interesting country. One of the places, which I became attached to, has been the Eastern part of Slovakia, the regions of Košice, Šariš, Spiš… And after all those innumerable visits to the East, the last came this month as I held a farewell reception in Košice, in a town which I will most certainly miss after I leave Slovakia.

It was sad to say goodbye to many people whom I knew and befriended during my diplomatic stay in Slovakia. Thankfully, many came to the reception so I had a chance to meet them one more time and talk to them. And after this event, I used the opportunity to look around and visit some places. And so I finally got a chance to see the famous geyser in Herľany, where one of my Košice friends accompanied me to and I really liked the place and geyser itself, as it is not a common thing to see every day (see the picture). And on my way back to Bratislava, I decided to go slowly and enjoy the High Tatras (I do come from a country that is completely flat J). We took not the highway, but the old route through the mountains, I visited Štrbské Pleso and other places again. Only after this personal farewell to the Tatras I returned to the capital.

It is really hard to say which part of Slovakia is the most beautiful, as I visited almost all of them and I liked the nature and history in various parts. In the South, in the East, in the Northern regions and naturally in the Western part where I stayed for most of my time in this country. But even though there are many good places, the Tatras and the Eastern regions has become the primus inter pares for me in Slovakia. It was very nice to see them again and I am sure it was not the last time. I will not forget the places like Košice, Prešov, Bardejov, Tatras or the small Roma villages in the East. The people I met there, were so delightful, that it would a shame not to come back again in the future.

 

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

 

LGBT Business Forum 2 – Leadership through networks

Last year the LGBT community representatives organized a workshop called “From Global to Local”. It was during the week of the PRIDE march and this forum – which was first of its kind here – was a place where different well-known companies presented their diversity policies in the workplace. It was very successful, various embassies took part and then we had a nice reception at my residence. One of the keynote speakers was Mr. Marijn Pijnenburg, the Dutch Global Business Development Executive from IBM in Amsterdam.

And we were glad to meet him again this year.

Mr. Pijnenburg came to Slovakia for the second Business Forum, this time labeled “Leadership through networks”. It was organized by DiversityPRO group which is a group of very enthusiastic people, of which many took part last year as well. The idea of the forum has been to present the companies’ policies on diversity at the workplace which is guaranteeing equal treatment of all employees, regardless of their religion, gender, sexual orientation etc. IBM is one of the strongest advocates of the equality and equal treatment for LGBT people and Mr. Pijnenburg is very active in this field. Except for IBM, other companies were involved as well (Lenovo, DELL, EMEA etc.), not mentioning the embassies which are usually active in advocating LGBT people’s rights (USA, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands etc.).

To keep the good tradition, after the workshop I hosted a reception where I invited the speakers and people from the workshop to talk a bit on the issue and exchange ideas. It was an inspirational meeting and ideas for the next year´s event were set. Another forum, only in smaller scale, will be held in September again when the PRIDE march takes place. This year the march will not happen in June, but in early fall, but nonetheless it is very important that it will take place for the fourth time in row. As I said before, the good traditions must be kept J.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Floods in Slovakia – topic of the news also in the Netherlands

The media are busy these days with mainly one thing – the flood. A huge wave has arrived in on the Danube from Germany and Austria and the river has risen in Bratislava to record highs. All over central Europe – except for the above mentioned countries also in the Czech Republic and Hungary – the floods are dominating the news and bad things are happening to towns along the Danube, Vltava, Labe or other rivers. And the news about floods has also reached the Netherlands and the Dutch viewers can thus see what is happening in Bratislava these days.

The fact that the flood situation in Slovakia got to the Dutch news is not only an example of journalists informing the public what is going on in Europe, but also an empathetic sign that we Dutch know what a flood disaster means. Floods catastrophes the Netherlands has fought against for centuries. A few months ago I wrote about the the 60^th anniversary of the huge North Sea flood of 1953 which caused a huge harm and which belongs to our national tragedies. But we learned our lesson and nowadays we are managing the water successfully and I am glad to see that countries like Slovakia, Czech Republic or Austria have also learned from the tragic 2002 floods and this time the harm is smaller because of the precautions taken.

The Netherlands and Central European countries have thus something in common – the battle against the water. We, as a country with two thirds of its land below sea level, gained a lot of experiences in dealing with water challenges (especially after the 1953 disaster) and now we share the experience. That was one of the reasons why our embassy organized already two so called “water missions” in Bratislava and invited Dutch water management organizations to meet their Slovak counterparts (Slovak water companies, Ministry of Environment, etc.)to exchange experiences and investigate the potential for cooperation in this area. I am sure this cooperation will bear fruit in the future as both sides identified the common interests and agreed for a joint approach.

Nowadays, when the Danube is high and the water is spilling over the banks, we Dutch feel with the Slovaks because we exactly know what it takes to fight with high water and with the swollen rivers. However, I am sure that this fight will end successfully, the news indicate that all the effort made by Slovaks and Slovak authorities was worth to the last inch. Hopefully, in the coming years – if (God forbid!) another flood wave comes over, it will be always like this.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma 

Happy Queen’s Day! …and also Dutch Days

This week we do not only held a reception for the Dutch community in Slovakia to celebrate the Queen’s Day, but also took part in the annual Dutch Days.  As you can see, it has been a very “Dutch week”. And the next one will be just the same.J

Firstly, I travelled to Ružomberok on Tuesday where the Catholic University resides and has its Dutch department which regularly organizes the “Dutch Days”. I was invited – as every year – by Professor Adam Bžoch whom I frequently mention in my blogs as he is a Dutch professor, book translator and a good friend. He is the main organizer of Dutch Days (series of university events and lectures connected to the Netherlands) and I was invited to give lecture to the students of the Dutch language and literature. So I gave it. In Dutch naturally and I had a presentation about the Royal family as because of the Queen’s Day and the upcoming abdication of Queen Beatrix and the investiture of King Willem Alexander next Tuesday. The students became really interested and I had a very lively and inspirational debate with them. I enjoyed it a lot and I always like to meet students and young people to talk to them.

The next day I visited the Jewish synagogue in Trenčín. It is exactly 100 years old and the local community plans to restore the old paintings which are now covered by white paint from 1960s when the building was nationalized. It shall serve also as a gallery in the future and is open to public what I found as a very good idea. I wish I could visit it one more time when it is fully renovated.

And on Thursday we had the Queen’s Day reception in Bratislava. It followed the last week’s reception and business trip to Hurbanovo and Nové Zámky which we had with the Dutch businesses and organized with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. The chamber helped us out also this time and we held the reception for the Dutch community in Slovakia and for Slovaks connected to the Netherlands. It was very nice and a successful happening which we all enjoyed very much. The lovely weather only made it better.

I wish you all a nice weekend, a happy Queen’s Day and do not forget to follow the television on April 30^th! I am sure I will not.

Kind regards

Daphne Bergsma

Milan the ice-skater – fulfilling dreams in adult age

Our embassy driver Milan has become a celebrity. At least for us and for his family and friends. If you are wondering, how did this happen, you can have a look at the latest edition of Slovenka magazine (number 16). Milan is there fulfilling his dream. In other words, there is an article and picture of Milan ice-skating. He has decided to take ice-skating classes at the hockey stadium in Bratislava to fulfill his childhood dream at the age of 48.

Ice-skating is very popular in the Netherlands and we have often talked on this topic with Milan. I told him about the Dutch kids who are skating in the age of four. And as it turned out, Milan took it as an inspiration and a challenge. He decided to learn ice-skating as well. If the little kids in the Netherlands can do it, I can do it as well, he said. And he did so.

Now Milan is taking a course at the stadium with people who are younger than him, but his spirit is so young that he fits in the group and he is doing really well. I am very proud of him and I am glad that I inspired him to take this brave step. And I am not proud only for this, but also for his team spirit.

Talking about the team spirit, I have to mention one more thing – the great team spirit at the embassy. I am proud of my team, especially in these days when some of us are ill and we really have to work harder and help each other a lot. But my team is doing it in a great way, the spirit is high and things are functioning as properly as ever. And I am sure this will continue – Milan will keep improving his ice-skating capabilities and the team spirit at the embassy will stay as high as it has been until now.

Have a lovely day!

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

The last Queen’s Day – at least for the years to come

This April we are celebrating the last Queen’s Day of Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix. From April 30^th we will have a King and so in the coming years the Netherlands will celebrate the King’s Day (Koningsdag). Our embassy celebrates this day every year and we have been organizing several receptions around the country. We usually invite Dutch people living in Slovakia, representatives of Dutch companies and also local businessmen, authorities or friends of the embassy.

Yesterday we held our first reception of this year, for the first time we organized it in Hurbanovo. We did it with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce for the Dutch businesses in Slovakia (or Dutch-related businesses as many representatives are Slovaks) and the place itself was not coincidental as Hurbanovo is the Slovak home of Heineken, one of the most famous and popular Dutch companies and beer brewers. It was thus a business trip, we visited the Dutch company Koppert in Nove Zamky (biological systems production – they are breeding bumble bees for flowers’ pollination in greenhouses) in the morning and Heineken in the afternoon (on the picture) after the reception in Hurbanovo. More than 50 people came from the whole region, including mayors of Komarno nad Hurbanovo, not mentioning many businessmen. It is always a great pleasure to meet all these people at such a nice occasion which is also good for networking, socialising and exchanging information about doing business in Slovakia. I enjoy these receptions as it is a nice way to talk to almost everyone who comes in touch with our embassy.

As I mentioned, this was the first reception, we will have another one in Bratislava next week which we will hold for Dutch people living in Slovakia.

And as an additional happening (not planned by our embassy J) of the day was the first interview with designated King Willem Alexander on Dutch television, which was well received. Willem Alexander will become king in two weeks and will replace his mother who has been on the throne since 1980. As it is well known, Her Majesty decided to abdicate as of April 30^th and leave the throne to her son. The investiture of King Willem will symbolically take place on Queen’s Day, Tuesday 30^th April 2013.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Thomas Rosenboom – a Dutch writer presenting his book in Bratislava. Personally.

Tomorrow, on Tuesday 16^th April, a nice happening will take place in downtown Bratislava. In the bookstore at Postova street, the presentation of a book called Publieke werken (Verejné práce in Slovak) by Dutch writer Thomas Rosenboom will start at 5pm. And it will presented by – Mr. Rosenboom himself.  This gentleman belongs to the most significant writers of current Dutch literature and I am very glad that he accepted an invitation to come to Slovakia to present his book which was recently translated into Slovak.

The translation was done by Mr. Adam Bžoch, a Dutch literature professor, who has been translating Dutch literature into Slovak for years.Publieke werken was written by Thomas Rosenboom in 1999 and he received the Libris Prize for it (the Dutch prize given by bookstores and booksellers), but it was published in Slovakia only recently by Kalligram. The story of Verejné práce is about a pharmacist in Drenthe and few other people in the Netherlands of the 1880s which is changing fast – new sites are built, old places are disappearing, rich Amsterdam is expanding and taking over lands used for peat bogs mining… It is a story of old Holland being replaced by modern Holland. I am sure that a Slovak reader will also find it interesting just like we Dutch find the book interesting and kind of historic. It was also filmed in 2008.

Mr. Rosenboom will present his book in the Panta Rhei bookstore together with Adam Bžoch and with publicist Silvester Lavrík who will moderate the whole event. Everyone is invited as it will be on public place. So if you are interested in Dutch culture and Dutch literature – or in the Netherlands and its people in general – please come to the bookstore and listen to Mr. Rosenboom. I am definitely looking forward to it.

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

Good news for the art lovers – Rijksmuseum is opening after 10 years

It is the story of these days. The newspapers in the Netherlands are full of articles and analysis. The whole country is waiting for the D-Day which will be on Saturday, April 13^th 2013. No, it is not the investiture of the new King, not yet. Quite contrary, it is one of the last public appearances of Queen Beatrix – the official opening of the new Rijksmuseum which has been renovated for almost one decade. The Dutch national museum in Amsterdam will be opened by Her Majesty and will become one of the most modern museums, with all the requirements of our modern age. The reinvented museum will fascinate art and history lovers and will play a significant role in the Dutch (and also European) society, e.g. it will develop educational programs.

The Rijksmuseum has been working for almost 130 years, the current building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885. The heritage of Cuypers will not be lost, the architects stripped the building of its later additions and restored Cuypers’ clear layout. The head architects of the renovation, which was given green light in 2000 and started in 2004, are Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz from Sevilla (given the beauty of old Sevilla it makes sense, right? J) while the interior design was made by famous Paris museological designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte. He has designed the display cases, ornament lightning etc. Everything in a way that it naturally fits with the old building.

The new museum will offer an overview of art and history from the Middle Ages up until present days, the special focus will be naturally on the story of the Netherlands. Paintings, images, historical objects; altogether around one million items will be displayed. The capacity of the reinvented Rijksmuseum allows up to 2 million visitors a year. It has 80 galleries with 1,5 kilometres walking length. And after admiring paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer or Frans Hals (and many other objects) the visitors can relax in a restaurant or one of the two cafes with 500 chairs. For those, who prefer fresh air and colourful environment, the museum is offering its huge garden with almost 15.000 square meters.

The total costs of the renovation were 375 million euro and from Saturday the visitors of Amsterdam can include the visit of the modern Rijksmuseum. And I, as a great art lover, can only recommend you to go there. You will see the history and the art of my country in its best and in a beautiful and modern surrounding. To find out more, here is the link to the Rijksmuseum: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma

8 April – the International Roma Day

Today the calendar marks the 8th of April. In the international calendar this day is assigned to Roma people and is commemorated as International Roma Day. The date is connected to the first ever meeting of Roma organizations and representatives in 1971. It was officially named International Roma Day in 1990 and on this day Roma celebarte their heritage and raise awareness about their issues.

There is a Roma minority living in Slovakia as well. What I like about this country is the fact that this relatively small country gives home to several minorities. We Dutch consider the national/ethnic minorities as enrichment to the given region and the country. They make the country more colourful, more interesting and culturally rich. And the Roma definitely have a rich and inspiring culture.

Of course, next to the rich traditions and great music and musicians that Roma have been giving to the world for centuries, there are also other images connected to them. Not positive all the time; it is no secret that many Roma in Slovakia live in poor conditions and have low expectations from life. I think that we should remember especially this fact on this day as it is an imperative to help those in need, including poor Roma. I am sure they are a great enrichment to this country and if all of them get a good chance to live a decent life, we can experience much more from their bright side, which is actually already well-known to us. Their joyful and colourful way of life can be inspiring for others and can be a great tool how to overcome the obstacles and the barriers between them and the majority. Thankfully, there are many good examples around Slovakia – which I mentioned in the previous blogs – and they can be presented today as a way how to help poor Roma and make them equal with the rest of Roma and the rest of the whole society.

It is interesting and inspiring to live in a country where one can meet people of different nationalities, languages and customs, all with the same citizenship. It is a heritage and an enrichment which Slovakia should be proud of. With mutual tolerance and respect this country can be a perfect example of how people of various descents can live and work together in harmony.

Happy International Roma Day! J

Kind regards,

Daphne Bergsma