Blogs from Old Town, Bratislava, Bratislava Region, Slovakia, Europe - page 2

It was another checkout day today (they seem to come round so quick) so after brekkie we packed up, paid our debts and said goodbye to Steph and our Korean roomies (first and last words as they kept to themselves). Today we are leaving Vienna heading across to Bratislava for the day and then finally on to Budapest. With only a little bit of stress, (the journey took longer than expected) we tubed across to Wien HBF and caught the 1h train to Bratislava. Once we had struggled to dump our bags in the automated storage lockers at Bratislava station, due to the machines only taking coins and requiring a specific coinage, next up was struggling to get a city map, transport map, ticket for the correct zones and duration and most importantly, correct bus. This ... read more

I take an early train from Munich to Bratislava via Vienna. I have not ever been to Bratislava, and I was excited about the opportunity to explore somewhere new. When I arrive at the train station, I had to find the bus stop for bus 93 which would take me very near my hostel. After walking a few minutes, I realize I am on the wrong side of the road, so I hurry to the other side, purchase my bus ticket, and await for the bus to come. I was pretty excited when I saw the correct number of the bus coming my way. I enter the bus, validate my ticket, and off we go. As I only had to go to the second stop, the ride was very quick. I am glad, for I certainly ... read more

Today we journeyed east from Vienna on a 90 minute excursion by ship on the Danube to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It meant giving up the day to see museums in Vienna in order to explore a once highly significant administrative center of the Hapsburg monarchy, and a once fascinating location for a deeply entrenched Jewish community in the urban center and its environs that was known until 1919 as Pressburg by most people. This blog will be shorter than previous ones, not because Bratislava called forth fewer ideas and emotions, but possibly even more. Rather, it was a 10 hour day and I'm beat. Suffice it to say that the first time the city came to my attention was back in 1999 when I took a course a history course at JTS on the ... read more

Of all the places I expected to be on this trip, this has got to be the unexpected of the unexpected. I had no intention of going to Slovakia on this trip, other than maybe sleeping through it on the night train I had booked for right now between Budapest and Poland. But things change, and that's great. This is my 2nd time in Bratislava, but the first time was only about 6 hours one day while I was staying in Vienna. This time, I get to experience more than just a meal and a few of the highlights. Already, I've enjoyed myself immensely! The train ride was smooth. I couldn't believe it, though I did make sure to catch the train that was going all the way to Berlin. I figured if the Germans were ... read more

So the decision to come here happened a little over a year ago, it’s one that I’ve continually questioned, but, as has been the norm of my life since that first BIG trip to South America, seven years ago, I’ve tried to go with the flow and make the most of the situations and the people which I find myself with – you often get asked two questions, in either order, but both accompanied with the vague expression of WTF… a) where is Bratislava? And 2) Why are you going?!!! (Cue inane laughter and the distant loony-bin sirens drawing closer…) Well, 9 months in and I’ve started pretending that I moved here at Christmas; my limited amount of Slovak is embarrassing – I really am better of in thai!!! I can ‘ahoy’(but still without murmuring 'sailor' ... read more