Hungarians, Slovaks share breakfast on Danube bridge

ESZTERGOM, Hungary/STUROVO, Slovakia - A historic bridge linking Hungary and Slovakia became an unlikely breakfast venue on Saturday, as locals gathered on the Danube crossing to celebrate friendship between the two neighboring communities.

The Maria Valeria Bridge, which connects Esztergom in Hungary and Sturovo in Slovakia, has twice been destroyed and rebuilt since it first opened in 1895.

In late 1944, as World War Two drew to a close, retreating German troops blew up its three middle sections. The bridge then lay neglected for nearly 60 years, forcing people to cross the border by ferry during decades of communist rule. It reopened in its original glory in 2001.

On Saturday, dozens of tables were laid out along the bridge for a community breakfast of croissants, ham, cheese and coffee. Participants from both towns were paired based on their interests and languages, encouraging new cross-border friendships.

"I think the people of Esztergom and Parkany could mix a bit more," organizer Norbert Nagy said.

Ethnic Hungarians make up about 9% of Slovakia's 5.5 million people, and many live in Sturovo, known in Hungarian as Parkany.

"I met a really lovely and kind person here this morning on the bridge, so it was a great experience for me," said Mark Zelenak, who arrived from Esztergom.

Hungary and Slovakia have shared open borders since both joined Europe's Schengen zone in 2007, although political tensions have occasionally surfaced over Slovakia's ethnic Hungarian minority.

But Laszlo Valacsay, who also took part in the breakfast, said such tensions were often stirred by politicians, while local people lived peacefully side by side.

"It was always generated, but not by the people, by us, who live here..no, no," he said.

Reporting by Krisztina Fenyo, writing by Krisztina Than; Editing by Ros Russell/Reuters