We arrived in Slovakia by train. We were coming from Austria and the experience, even though it was short (just one hour), was amazing. Tony and Kelly were sitting and talking and I was a couple of seats away trying to grasp as much as possible: the train moving along the beautiful and stunning countryside, the other persons in the train reading their newspapers (or books), talking and sharing or the ones that were just taking a nap before arriving to their final destination. Then we got into our hostel and our hostess told us that almost everyone in the city was going to do something that afternoon: watch the game between Slovakia and Italy. Everyone was eager to watch the match. Our hostess told us: “A lot of persons are going to the public viewing area. You want to see some strong emotions and, hopefully, happiness? Then you have to go there”. So we did.

Kelly and I are watching the Slovakia vs Italy game. As soon as we got to the public viewing area they told us that since we are here we should paint a Slovakian flag on our faces. Everyone's wearing the Slovakian colors and they seem super happy... So we are experiencing local happiness by rooting for Slovakia!

And to tell you the truth it’s been one of the best matches we’ve seen so far during the World Cup. Certainly it was because the game itself was super exciting but I have to tell that being there with all the Slovakians watching the match, witnessing their passion, their emotions flowing (we even saw girls crying out of joy whenever Slovakia scored) and simply enjoying the football match made it even better.

Speaking about happiness, guys: Slovakia's third goal!

You could feel passion, excitement and happiness everywhere you looked. It felt almost as a huge communion, a huge party and we’re glad we were there not only to witness it but to take a part in it.