Oh hello Bratislava

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Well this marks my last official night in Germany, and naturally I'm spending it sitting in a hostel, ever so slightly lost in thought. When I know exactly what this has all meant, it might end up here, but you'll have to forgive me if I place an emphasis on maybe concluding my ramblings on the past month or so. since writing about Istanbul would take a small thesis worth or writing, let's chat Bratislava.

Right, so after Budapest I moved on to Bratislava using a Hungarian bus line, which was actually really nice. Not only did they help me get a transfer when the bus I was on cancelled, but they actually had a movie playing. In this case it was children of men, so maybe it wasn't the happiest of rides, and especially landing in Bratislava it made me hunt for a bottle, but that's just the Hungarians. Aside from having never seen the place before, the other draw to the Slovakian Capital was my ex Roommate Matus, who was once again at home for the holidays. Weirdly enough this added a nice little change from my normal wanderings. Usually that would mean going from tourist spot to spot, getting lost a few times, and then knocking back a little more than necessary at a pub in the area. Mostly that's all well and good, but actually having someone from the area to show me around and tell me the history was wonderful for a change of pace. Matus certainly was a gracious host and wonderful at the first part (he tagged along for a free tour of the city to learn its history, so I guess that counts too?). Bratislava itself was rather nice, though I don't know if I would've liked it on my own. The only part of the city really open to the hapless visitor is the old town, whose main attractions are a castle whiter than the population of Maine, a pink city hall, and an alarming number of metal statues, presumably there to spring to life a la Harry Potter.

So what made coming here so much better? Well, Matus for one. Aside from taking me to other locales like good old fashioned communist bloc housing (a veritable labyrinth of the places), it meant an introduction into food and other things I wouldn't have found. The food at least featured a type of gnocchi covered in a sort of milk/cream sauce. Don't ask me why, but if I could effectively prepare this I might be willing to go vegetarian, I kind of loved it (something which seriously confused Matus). This also meant an introduction to the perfect drunk food, bread, lard, and onions, the result of a secret Slovakian weapons program designed to make any inebriated fellow's breath lethal to passerby. Still, it was perfect after several shots of a drink that tasted vaguely like pine trees, only if they were on fire.

A final note also has to be said for another wonderful thing knowing Matus meant, aside from just knowing him and catching up, access to a car. This was a first, and also the last time I got a taste of this transit (you mean I don't have to wait for trains? Or walk? holy crap that's awesome). This meant actually getting out to a castle looking over the Danube in the village of Dhevin, which could've doubled for a scene from the Princess Bride. Hell just for that alone it was worth the trip. I wish I'd brought my sword, and had a Spaniard to battle in a mighty duel. Ah well, on that thought, I'll leave you until the next chance I have, where I'll actually sit down and explain the last part of this little adventure, a time that has sadly come to an end.

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Photos

Bratislava Castle
Meet the searchlight, seriously, this thing was visible for miles around, heaven only knows why white was good idea.

Statue!
So Bratislava has a thing for statues, here's a man popping out of the sewer, presumably to warn us about Alligators.

local tastes
Meet the breath of death on a plate. Surprisingly tasty.

The Cliffs of Insanity!
Hurry up!