Postcard From Slovakia
by Graham Strouts Chuck Norris Bridge, linking Slovakia and Austria With the final stage of Slovakia’s easing of lockdown restrictions complete a couple of weeks ago, the next major block to be lifted is opening the borders, now well underway: as of Thursday, the border between Czech and Slovakia re-opened without any restrictions of checks. Rather oddly, prime minister Igor Matovič claimed this represented the re-instatement of “Czechoslovakia” which must have raised a few eyebrows since of course it is nothing of the kind, merely restoring the pre-pandemic Schengen area between the two republics. Free travel is also possible between Slovakia and Austria – at least in practice, since technically this only applies if you want to return within 48 hours of departing, otherwise you have to undergo the 14-day home quarantine. But as we discovered yesterday on a cycling trip taking us over the “Freedom Bridge” across the Moravia, there are no police checks of any kind either side of the border. It is likely (but not yet confirmed) that all border restrictions for Hungary will also be lifted by the middle of the month, or by the end of June at the latest. Better known as the “Chuck Norris” Bridge, after a public poll revealed this as the most popular name, the fine cycling bridge stands as a...
