Report from the month-long journey of Martin M. Šimečku in Slovakia
The text of the book was written during a month-long journey of Martin M. Šimečku through Slovakia. The report was published in Denník N and attracted a lot of attention from readers, so we decided to publish it in a book.
Martin M. Šimečka went to the mountains in early June 2022 without preparation, without a plan and without a goal. He didn't intend to write this report either, but it too eventually became part of a great adventure in which chance played a major role. He chose the red marker because it stretches across the whole of Slovakia, follows the Path of the Heroes of the Slovak National Uprising and at the same time allows the pilgrim to wander through the mountains without having to think about the destination. "There is an important difference between a tourist and a pilgrim," writes Petr Koubský in the introduction to the book. According to him, the former moves on the surface, while the latter delves deep into the landscape, into the self, into tradition, and deals with inner rather than outer impressions. He doesn't take many pictures, he thinks a bit, he follows randomness, he can get lost.
Šimečka also went off the road several times, but it allowed him to meet people living in isolated and forgotten corners of Slovakia, talk to them, accept their hospitality, to listen to them and to convey to us the forgotten Slovakia, disillusioned, distrustful, but also spiritual and generous.