Slovak vs America Food – Top 3 Differences

There are quite a few things here in Slovakia that are different than food in America. Now, I can’t say for certain that all of these are true, as I have only been here a week with only one family. But here is what I have observed to be different between the two cultures.

1. Meals: There is a definite difference between the meals here in Slovakia and the food in America. They eat soup so often, it is almost impossible to believe. Not that I am complaining, I like the soup, especially Goulash. Side note: I am not sure if Goulash is technically Slovak, because it is a Hungarian dish. However, I believe that Slovakia was controlled by Hungary pre-Czechoslovakia so does that make it count as a Slovak dish? They also eat much more food than I would expect. I go sit down for a meal, eat a large bowl of soup, being very full, then they offer me a whole bowl of spaghetti. Again; don’t take it as me complaining, it is just a lot of food.

So much soup!

2. Sweets: The sweets here are much more “bland” if that makes sense. What I was told by some others, and the internet somewhat agrees with this, is that Europe has restrictions on high fructose corn syrup, thus making the possibilities to have sweet candies like we do in the United States limited. Although it would not be fair to compare the candies and sweets of Europe to those of America, they are completely different in style and taste. The Slovak candies that I have tried don’t try to hit you with the straight up sweetness like they might in America, but they give you different textures and flavors. I don’t know if it is my words being lost in translation or not, but when they ask me if I want a candy, it brings in things like pretzels and these little peanut snacks. Either way, I think that the differences

Sweets are fantastic!

3. Costs: I lightly went over this in my daily update here, but the cost of food is absurdly cheap compared to the United States (at least where I am from). I want you to try and guess how much all of this came out to: full loaf of bread, large Czech chocolate, small chocolate muffin, 600ml Kofola, cheese spread (for bread), medium sized package of pretzels, and two Horalky bars. When I was picking out these snacks to try, I was ready to spend something like 15-25 USD, but when I had everything rung up at the register it came out to just over 6 Euros, or about $7.50!

All of the food I bought

Here is my quick list, what do you think? I might try doing another one some other day when I have more time, but for now, here is what you need to know about the food differences between America and Slovakia!
All of these pictures were taken on a Sony A6000. If you are looking for a great light weight camera that takes fantastic pictures, I would definitively recommend this setup here.

Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens

Slovakia Day 1.5 – What Happened Yesterday

So yesterday I didn’t get to finish what happened, as I was told that I have to go to bed. I think I left off meeting my new parents and sister for the first time. So, I guess I will just have to pick up there!

Once we had gotten to the car, they offered me fruit and this chocolate, which was very good but metled right in my hands, making a mess everywhere. I believe the chocolate was called Knoppers, a very popular chocolate here in Slovakia (or so I am told). We talked the whole way back, discussing the differences between what I know as normal life and what they expect from me. It was very fun and I think they got to know me in a positive way.

As we were driving down the highway, they informed me that they were very sad, but my first meal in Slovakia would have to be McDonald’s, because that was the only thing open at the time. I was fine with this, I don’t really mind symbolic things like that but they seemed upset about it. I almost felt bad, but I guess I can’t do much about it. There was a difference between Slovak McDonald’s and American McDonald’s. The American one seemed much more organized and artificial, while the Slovak one was less organized but felt more family owned. Both still tasted like McDonald’s.

Once I got home, I pretty much just took a shower and went to bed. I was very tired after the long flight, and although I didn’t want to admit it at the time. But before I started to shower and get ready for bed, I had decided to start unpacking my things. It was at that point when I realized that I had not packed everything that I had needed to bring. Well actually, let me correct myself, I had packed everything, but I had neglected to actually put it in my bag. The crucial items that I had neglected to pack were my ever so important items like toothbrush, comb, and other bathroom utensils. So I awkwardly borrowed soaps and scavenged an unused toothbrush and finally went to bed.

I woke up about 9:30 the next morning, and I was the only one up. Well I thought I was, I had found that it is fairly normal to walk around with a lack of clothes? I don’t know… But after everyone had started to get up I had some cereal and relaxed until we went to Babičkas house (grandmas) for lunch. I was told later that it is customary for everyone in Slovakia to eat the same soup on Sunday. So we went to grandmas house and had this fantastic soup, with chicken and potatoes on the side. I have absolutely no complaints about the food, it was unbelievably good.

We were at grandmas house for a while, and when we got home we relaxed for a while and talked, until we went to the store and got the much needed bathroom supplies that I was missing. It was fun to be able to walk all over the Tesco, kind of like Target, and ask all about the names on all of the different fruits and vegetables. The part that I was most amused by was when they asked me what kind of beer I like, because they were going to buy some. I just said that I had never drank and left it at that.

Later that night, we went down to the town square, and if MAYBE I had an extra SD card I wouldn’t have the problem of forgetting it in my computer and walking around taking pictures without them being saved to anything. I was a little frustrated that I was not able to take pictures of the square, but I am told that I am going to be able to go in a few hours so I will be able to update tonights post with pictures of the square.

That about sums up all I missed, I know that it isn’t much and I don’t really have any new pictures, but I hope that does help bridge some of the gaps that I left. Do videnia!