I sat down with Bilal Zahid, the British Ambassador to Slovakia, for lunch at the Pilsner Urquell pub in Košice — and somehow the conversation ended up involving bears.

We talked about what it's like to live in Slovakia as a Brit, the challenge of learning Slovak, regional differences across the country, and the wildlife. Bilal also shares his tips for language learning and I share my birdwatching gems around Košice.

If you're learning Slovak, interested in life in Slovakia, or just curious what the British Ambassador makes of the place — this one's for you.

🇸🇰 Learning Slovak? Check out my video on how I learned Slovak in just 27 years:

https://youtu.be/s6x62XWGEtY

📻 Listen to the Blorecast as a podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts:

https://feeds.captivate.fm/blorecast/

https://open.spotify.com/show/0kHQShCL2BG10TD20ILDNb

https://podcasts.apple.com/sk/podcast/the-blorecast/id1837288694

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Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:36 The basics

01:12 Slovak is a hard language

01:48 Other languages

02:17 Tips for language learning

04:05 Best things about Slovakia

05:29 Challenges

06:43 Speaking tips

07:36 Eastern accent

08:23 Regional differences

10:12 A foot in every nation

10:45 James's top tips

11:55 Bears, boars, ticks and midgies

13:31 Hidden (birdwatching) gems

14:29 Outro

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#Slovakia #LearnSlovak #BritishAmbassador #SlovakLanguage #KošiceSlovakia #ExpatSlovakia #LifeInSlovakia

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🔔 Subscribe for more

The Blorecast is a podcast from The School of Blore in Košice, Slovakia. It’s about life, culture, language, and exams – all served up with a dose of humour and storytelling. Whether you’re learning English, preparing for Cambridge exams, or just curious about life in Slovakia, you’ll find something here.

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📺 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@bloresk

📌 Find out more at: https://blore.sk/

📧 Contact: [email protected]

👍 Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blore.sk

📸 Or instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blore.sk/

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Attributions

The pub:

https://www.pilsnerurquellpub.sk/kosice/jedalny-listok/speciality#region-menu

Our theme tune is Ode to Joy – Heavy Edition, written specially for us by the most excellent dafteaux: https://youtu.be/rU6nLowrtmE

The first funky breakbeat drum loop is by Alexander, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: http://www.orangefreesounds.com/vintage-drum-and-organ-beat-87-bpm/

And the new ones are from here: https://samplefocus.com/samples/acoustic-rolling-drum-loop-cool-beat