Bratislava

No catchy title, because it was a less then catchy city. Getting there was a bit of a headache as I had to go back through Vienna and get to a different train station, not to mention the weird people at the Bratislava station who try to convince you to stay in their homes.

Let's clarify one thing. I don't like scary movies, so before deciding to go to Bratislava, I had no idea that the horror film "Hostel" was set there. In fact, I learned about that in the hostel common room while posting my reports on Prague and Austria.

Well, like Prague most of the important historical things to see are located in the "Stare Mesto" or old town. There are a couple of churches, small museums, palaces and the like with tons of over priced cafes and ice cream shops in between. The government's done a good job of putting up directional signs in English and German to
direct travelers so finding things on one's own is not that difficult.

Most of my time in the city was spent at this one pub - 1 Slovak Pub, which is a student hangout. They even have specials on the menu for students who bring in "A" papers or exams. I actually saw this one happen. It's a pretty significant discount, a whole 50 cents, but when your meal costs 2.30, it counts. The first couple of times I went to the 1 Slovak by myself and quickly learned that Slovak men are not intimidated by the fact that neither of us speak the same language. Within minutes of sitting down, some guy would be at my table, drink in hand. I let them talk for about a minute or so before letting them know that I in fact was not a country woman and would not be partaking in their ritual. But unlike everywhere else in Europe, these men persisted and some even tried to use the waiters as translators. This is when the wedding ring I picked up in Chico becomes especially handy. I soon learned that putting my mug of beer to my lips and then holding up my left hand was the best defense.

After learning the sad fact of not being able to go to the cheapest and tastiest place in town alone, I started recruiting hostel goers to join me for a pint or 3. It became our own ritual and so most of my time ended up being with a group of regulars from the hostel with cheap and relatively tasteless Slovak beer and various dishes stuffed with potatoes and bacon.

Three days of drinking and saying my life story over and over again to new additions to the group, I left Bratislava rather underwhelmed, but glad that I went.


The Stunning Bratislava Castle


The Novy Most (New Bridge) over the Danube - designed by the Commies back in the '70s