On a rather overcast day on Saturday afternoon, 5 September 2015, delegates, organisers and accompanying persons, attending the 4th Word Conference of Technology and Education, met at the Port of Bratislava at the designated time for a river cruise on the Danube. Although there was no commentary from the cruise staff about the historic Danube nor our destination, all the participants enjoyed camaraderie and lively conversation en route to the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. Its unique location is near the Austrian and Hungarian border on a peninsula, which is part of the Cunovo water dam.

When our party docked, we were transported into an unexpected, vibrant and visually stunning vista of architectural beauty, captivating sculptures and an extraordinary blend of nature and art. Inside the gallery, we were fascinated by the diversity, quality, and quantity of all the visual arts on exhibition: found objects, paintings, sculptures, interspersed by windows offering views of the location. It was nothing short of breath-taking even for those who are not fans of modern art.

We then found ourselves viewing a massive piece of art that filled the entire wall, from ceiling to floor, and which was stunningly beautiful in a spiritual way. In a burst of creative awe and enthusiasm, three of our delegates; namely, Prof. Derek Northwood (Canada) (l), Prof. Andrew Nafalski (Australia) (c) and Dr Stanislav Avsec (Slovenia) (r) rose to the occasion and posed in front of the work of art and declared unanimously that they had been transformed into The Three Sopranos. The gentlemen, however, did not sing, but their exuberance was lyrical!

Derek and Marilyn Northwood (photo by M. Northwood)