A relic of communist rule

I'm getting tired of putting asterisks by names of my posts.  This post would have had one, but I've lost the taste for segregating my posts into two categories.

Today, Katka (a friend from the office) took me to see the Slavin memorial, a cemetery and memorial for Soviet soldiers from World War II.  

She told me that the capital city of every country in the former Eastern Bloc had a statute such as this one, though I don't know the details on all the similarities.  On the walls of the monument behind those columns are the names of each Slovak city taken by the Soviets in World War II along with the date that each was taken.

Bratislava: captured on April 4th, 1945 (only a month or so before the end of the war, the date of which I had to google).  Of course, it then became a stone's throw from the Iron Curtain.

Apparently there are 6850 soldiers buried in what appeared to be a fairly small complex atop the hill.  As Katka pointed out, it was unusual to see the same date on every grave in a cemetery.

The Eastern Orthodox cross--also the national symbol of Slovakia, which is depicted on its flag.  This cross first graced the complex only after communist rule ended.  The northern part of the city is pictured in the background, with the inverse-pyramid-shaped radio building and the tall national bank building pictured on the right.

From the top of the hill, the Slavin looks out over another building, too: the White House!  This building is a mysterious auxiliary "residence" belonging to the U.S. Embassy, located just a few hundred feet down the hill from the monument.  I wanted to go inside for a tour but I couldn't find a doorbell.  I really, really hope that the embassy's Fourth of July party will be here (and open to American citizens), but I don't want to get my hopes up.

I will be in Trnava again this weekend hanging out with the folks from France as well as Peter, Sylvia, and probably some new Slovak ladies and gents.  There is a sort of weekend festival going on, and in order to survive I'm going to pack light (stuff my pockets) and hope to make it back to Bratislava on Sunday afternoon.  With that, I will leave my sunset calling card, this time taken on the way down the hill from the Slavin: