You can certainly find chocolate eggs here in Bratislava, but these rather manic looking rabbits are far more popular.

Traditional Slovak Easter eggs aren’t meant to be eaten, although they’re made from real eggs. The shells are emptied of their contents, and then decorated by hand in a variety of styles and techniques. Here’s a fine selection of them, laid out on an Easter market stall in the Old Town Centre.

It’s also lovely to see the beautiful old buildings of the Main Square festooned with decorated eggs at this time of year.

Well, not really. That picture is the unexpected result of taking a photo without flash while passing a closed and unlit market stall one evening. I was just experimenting with my new camera. I didn’t realise how strongly the buildings opposite were reflected in the window until I saw it on my computer afterwards.

The next picture is the same window display a few moments earlier. That time I used flash, which removed the reflections of the buildings but created a reflection of itself.

In another window, in a corner of the Main Square, the Café Mayer provided this sweet and tempting Easter display.

But if you really think Easter and chocolate go together, then the Maximilian Schokocafe is a place you ought to visit

because inside, amongst all the edible and drinkable goodies, is this chocoholics’ dream, a fountain of glistening chocolate.

Veselú Velkú Noc!

Of course there are Irish pubs in Slovakia. This one is in the city of Banská Bystrica in the centre of Slovakia. This region is considered to be at the heart of Slovak culture, but they manage to make a bit of room for Irish culture too.

And this is the Dubliner Irish pub at night in Bratislava’s Old Town Centre.

Irish Whiskey

You can see it here in front of two local favourites, Becherovka and Fernet. Don’t forget the “e” in Irish whiskey that distinguishes it from Scotch whisky.

Irish Dancing Lessons

You can learn Irish dancing in Banska Bystrica…

…or in Bratislava. This poster is advertising a 10-week course for beginners.

Irish writers

In a bookshop window in Bratislava I spotted these Slovak translations of books by John B Keane and William Trevor. You can also just see the corner of a book by that famous Irish author, Maeve Binchyova. Foreign women’s names tend to get Slovakicised here along with their writing.

Crubeens

otherwise known as pigs’ feet. They are a traditional Irish delicacy, but there just isn’t an elegant way of eating them. You have to get down and dirty. Dobru chut!

An Irish Dog

I met this happy Irish setter taking some excercise in front of Bratislava Castle. I bet he’d enjoy some crubeens!

A Celtic Cross

It’s on a man’s sweatshirt, which is on a man.

Some Irish Flags in Company

An Irish flag with an EU flag and a Slovak flag

An Irish flag and a gay flag

Three mini-tricolours together:

Irish, French and Italian. They were on adjoining desks in the European marquee in Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava on 26th March. This big tent was erected to mark the founding of the Europen Union 50 years ago. Neither Ireland nor Slovakia were members back then, and it wasn’t called the EU but the European Economic Community. Ireland joined in 1973 and Slovakia in 2004.

Irish Tricolour Balloons