Oravsky Podzamok Local Customs

There were a few direction signs put on tourist trails in Oravsky Podzamok. Hmm... all were exclusively in Slovak language but I could easy get to know what was written there: Informacie (information) and posta (post office). "K hradu" means to the castle. "Hrad" means castle in Slovak language.

We were looking for a toilet/restroom when we came back to the parking. And we found one at the back of a wooden building which housed a bar/pub close to the parking but the door was locked and we noticed the piece of paper on the door as on my picture.

"Poplatok za WC je 5,- Sk" means: fee for toilet/restroom is 5 Sk. Hmm... go to the bar/pub, pay and take the key.
Btw you could buy in Slovakia that time:
36.3 Sk for $1
42.9 Sk for 1 Euro
9.47 Sk for 1 Polish zloty

Smoking is forbidden in the area of the castle including outdoors. We found this sign, on my picture, on the first gate to the lower castle. A little neglected sign looked almost as old as the castle hehe.

Btw No smoking is ZAKAZ FAJCIT in Slovak language and it does mean no open fire as well. Hmm... outdoor barbecue and grilled small deer or wild pig eaten inside the castle lighted with candles and torches would be great, don't you think so?

You can find a lot of dogs ususally leashed by doggy houses put around local homes. This dog on my picture was named Benny (is it Slovak name? hehe) and... was barking at me, didn't want to pose to my camera :-(. But he or she (I coudn't see it :- but Benny is a male name, right?) was very friendly anyway - ideal companion dog, I think.

He looked like typical mountain dog of Polish breed called Polish Tatra Mountain Sheepdog (Polski Owczarek Podhalanski). They derive from nearby Tatra Mountains region - the highest mountains in Poland and Slovakia, located approx. 40 km (25 mi) west of Oravsky Podzamok.

Orava river and mainly its tribuatary called Polhoranka, real mountain river (on my picture) flow through Oravsky Podzamok very close to the buildings. As always in mountainous areas with a lot of snow fall in winter time there is a risk of floods in spring when snow melts.

This fact influenced local architecture, I think. Some houses has a ground floor raised above the ground level with strong base made of stones or cement.
Look at deep Polhoranka river bed - it was strenthened with stone walls. I am not sure whether it's enough when tons of water flows down with great energy, maybe.

Haha, sorry to put my camera into private properties, I couldn't resist. What a nice looking mess on my picture - typical around local houses. Difficult to find out say in Germany or Switzerland. Still easy to find out in countryside of Slovakia, Czech and Poland hehe.

Look, locals use wood to heat their houses or/and to cook. Not so easy life there: they must chop wooden logs into smaller pieces with an axe. Relaxing leasure? Not at all if you must do it each day. Add removing snow at winter time. I noticed that some homes were ready for winter and saved a lot of wood. Notice that it's mountainous area where winter heating season usually starts in September and ends in May.

Natives build or buy wooden doggy houses and put them by houses in Oravsky Podzamok. This one on my picture was located just by the river on the left side of a trail to a castle.

Do they treat their dogss well? I don't know. Larger dogs demand larger houses than that one on my picture, I think. Hmm... they kept a dog on iron short lash. Shoudn't it be forbidden? Is it allowed by law (and socially acceptable) in your country/region?

Oravsky Podzamok is not the best place in Slovakia to look at old, traditional wooden cottages. But there are a few ones including the building of Oravske Museum and casttle ticket office.

Notice that old, wooden cottages had base part made of stones. Why? Maybe to protect the houses against floods which may happen there. Orava river and mainly its tribuatary called Polhoranka, real mountain river flow very close to the buildings.