Advertisement
Published: August 21st 2009
Edit Blog Post
Squeezing my backpack through the aisle. I noticed these Irish girls from the previous night. “Oh no” I thought but it was too late I was spotted and invited to sit down. Luckily the train ride was only from Bratislava to Vienna (a little under an hour). This train ride was just one reason why seeing Europe through drunken eyes is the only way.
I arrived in the Slovakian capital after another marathon day trip from Ljubljana. I arrived early evening so the sun was leaning towards dusk. Reception brings out a map and with his pen he points out. “Okay here, here, here, here and here. Those are the major sites it should take you an hour.” Oh great! I was thinking 3 days here?
I spread out the sites in 3 days but an overnight stay is all Bratislava needs It’s a really nice town (its not a city) The old city is the stock standard Eastern European town so there is nothing different to others in the area. There are some nice mountains near by but I was exhausted after the past 10 months.
The Main castle has scaffolding, which is always a European treat!
It’s always interesting looking around the world at the methods of scaffolding from bamboo to driftwood in the 3rd world to the steel structure in Europe but in Europe it is really annoying. I find travelling Europe can sometimes be half forfiled. Basically in every city some major site is covered in scaffolding.
What the complete overhaul enabled was a free entry to the exterior, which has nice views of the Danube and Bratislava. I went up twice to kill time. Another good time killer was trying to find still water with no gas. I was poking bottles like no tomorrow. Lucky beer is cheaper than water sometimes? I also found it hard to find a pen. I felt like a 3rd world child in desperate need of a pen. The only one I could find was 8 euro. Christ all mighty that’s expensive so I held out.
At night there is not much, mostly underground bars I found some places but not much was happening. Eastern Europe’s problem in July is that majority of people are not in the cities so nightlife is pretty ordinary. I was lucky that the hostel owner had his first child so
it was free drinks all night at an underground bar. Another high note was Slovakian women have the longest legs I have ever seen in the world! After being so leg deprived this trip it was quite a likable sight.
Slovakians seem to be the friendliest unfriendly people. They seem to be angry but than happy next time you see them. This dumb bitch at reception wanted to make an argument when the problem was already resolved. I had to tell her “We aren’t arguing about the same thing here. You don’t understand what the argument is about so why are we wasting our time?” She was lovely thereafter. It was like that for a lot of things.
At the hostel conversations were not that stimulating ranging from beer to spirits. I’m not going to say I never talk about it but it’s a realisation that conversations won’t be the same. I love exchanging thoughts and ideas on various subjects with such a diverse group of people (Which Central Asia and Middle East provided.) Europe at this early stage seems to be lacking that. (In 5 years the Western Europe crowd has spread to the Eastern part.) Sitting
in transport is also another good conversation starter but not on the train ride to Vienna.
Shortly after sitting down the group of 6 Irish girls of which about half could remember me were terribly hungover. One mentions to her friend “Oh you’ve got a hickey from Hamish. Oh that’s gross” Later… “Hey remember tat hickey I got on my neck 2 years ago tat twas sooo gross.” Than the girl with a blue streak in her hair goes whilst getting it platted. “Oh nooo I look like a dyke. I look like such a dyke with my hair like this.” Her hickey friend “Yeah you do! You do look like a dyke.” This crap went on for 50 bloody minutes.
Anyway I arrived in Vienna I only had half a day to explore and it didn’t matter I had been here before. Walking around I realised why I liked Vienna so much last time. I thought it was the open parks that made this place. Even though women were sometimes wearing only a bra to sunbake. It’s the sculptured architecture that makes it.
The Parliament house provides enough action and angles for me to go way
overboard with photos and the afternoon light is at its worst. A lot of the buildings are in that Greco-Roman style but a lot more modern. Hotsburg I liked, this was the winter palace. I also went to Stephansdom cathedral, which I missed out on last time due to a sourcrout moment 6 years earlier.
But not much excitement happened; I found a pen after a while… And this exchange guy went way over the top. I asked for my money to be returned after I didn’t like the rate he gave me. “Whoaaa calm down (look at his name tag) Weng Fu no need to be like that.” He goes at it again. I decide to be a smartarse “What? You got a bit of pain down near your stomach area, ah? That time of month is it? Got a bit of period pain?” He finally understands what I’m saying so he F’s at me and slams the money down.
This was the moment I realised its time for a bit of family. I think I’m ready for Greece now. It’s what happens when travelling solo you get kicks out of silly things. Watching Weng Fu lose
it for little reason (and I am probably being conservative with my description of his reaction) did it but it also indicates that I was finding my return to Europe a bit boring. Maybe Europe can only be enjoyed pissed?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.08s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0472s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb