Bratislava, Slovakia: Another Day, Another Country

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As per usual we arrived at the train station in the dark, and made our way to what would be the most luxurious accommodation of the trip at the Apollo Hotel. Of course I wouldn't expect anything less from Kristin, our next travel companion from London, who was waiting patiently for us in our room. We enjoyed a happy reunion over a fresh cup of complimentary coffee, while scoffing the complimentary chocolate from atop our pillows and stuffing all the complimentary soaps & shampoos into my toiletry bag.

There actually doesn't seem to be a hell of a lot to see in the capital of Slovakia, so we took a leisurely stroll through the typically charming old town, buying ice cream and perusing the markets along the way. While Budapest seemed to have a perpetual social buzz throughout our explorations, Bratislava appeared a little more isolated in comparison, and for me the lively atmosphere or sense of adventure was lost whenever we wandered too far from the old town center. (Perhaps I'm just getting too spoiled by all the other amazing places I've seen in Europe!)

We met up with James later in the day, who was fresh from a trek through Zdiar in Northern Slovakia. He mustn't have done enough hiking though, as our next activity was to try keeping up with him as we went up the biggest hill we could find to see the Slavin War Memorial, dedicated to the liberation of Slovakia in WWII. We also got some nice views of the city along the way, which is always a bonus! As discussed among a mostly different group later in the trip, there are always 2 things to do after arriving in a new destination: (1) Find a free walking tour (We failed here!), and (2) Find something really high to go up to get a good view of the place (or at the very least a good workout in the process!).

James was also fortunate enough to have joined us for his birthday, and me and the girls had a bit of a shin-dig planned for him. Well, we blew up some balloons, got some bubbly alcohol and cake, and surprised him with it in the hotel room, which I think went down well enough! Randomly, we then spent an hour in a "Salt Cave" in the hotel. This was really just a room with reclining beach chairs, esoteric music (to quote the hotel brochure!), and a shitload of salt crystals. The salty atmosphere is meant to soothe the spirit and rejuvenate the skin, but we just ended up throwing lots of salt at each other and trying in vain to use the included toy digger in the construction of a salt castle!

Also on the cards was dinner at Bar Rock, a restaurant that has a picture of a scantily clad woman brandishing a bloodied piece of meat on the menu. Perfect! We ate far too much as we sat outside by the cobbled streets of the old town and soaked up the bustling foreign atmosphere.

The mood was a little somber the next morning as we headed off for our last bit of sightseeing, and that was to check out the big castle that overlooks the town. This turned out to be amazingly anti-climactic as there was absolutely bugger all in it! At least we were again treated to some amazing views of the city before moving on to the next country: Austria!

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