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Saturday, November 14, 2015

Bratislav-AHAHA!

Fall break: ten days that seemed to be an arm’s length away, yet crept up slowly until it was October 23 and time to be on our way. My good friend Kayla and I traveled together, and weeks of planning, purchasing tickets, replanning, and replanning some more had finally come together to make for One Great Adventure. First stop? Bratislava, Slovakia.

Exchanging no words with passport control, we passed through the sliding doors to the arrivals area of the Bratislava Airport and headed out to catch our bus. At the end of the route, we jumped out, anchors of duffel bags slung over our shoulders and Kayla found the map guiding us to our hostel. There were no written directions, so we followed our intuition (and, you know, the road) before coming to a crossroads and not knowing what to do. We stopped into both a post office and bank, hello coming hesitantly out of our mouths, before handing over the wilting sheet of paper and asking if they knew where to go. The woman at the post office tried to offer help, but we found ourselves “lost” near the historical center and again sought assistance. A bank teller was able to steer us correctly, and we arrived at the Patio Hostel about an hour and a half after we received our freshly stamped passports back.
At reception, we were greeted with a welcome beer and sent off to our room—a four bed female dorm, comfortably spaced with lockers, wall lamps per person, and a nightstand. One of our roommates appeared just after we set our things down, and we talked with her for a while. She’s from Australia, taking her REQUIRED gap year in London. Oh, to be so fortunate in America!
Our new friend briefed us on a free walking tour of the city, as well as our fourth roommate who didn’t speak very much English. “She’s been trying to talk to me, but I just can’t understand her,” she said, a little sheepishly.

Kayla and I didn’t think much about it after that. Instead, we were swallowed up by the quiet squares, narrow walkways, and not-so-subtle European beauty of Bratislava. What made this break for me was spending time in cities that are in the middle of a low tourist season. And as Bratislava is still on the cusp of becoming a tourist spot, the world there seemed empty and infinitely mine. There was leisure to stroll and see the late October sun set golden over the cathedral that we poked our heads into, and the red-roofed houses clumped to create the town. 





To get to the Bratislava Castle we crossed a bridge over a Zachem Bridge-esque highway and then took a walk through a small park. The castle has been reconstructed as the result of fires, and what stands today is a 1950s structure. It is simply in layout and design, but the gates on either side of the entrance are ornately carved with knights in marble armor, wielding their spears and shields. On one side of this lookout could be seen the city center; the other, wind turbines and industrial complexes laid out past the river.

Bratislava Castle

Our evening was spent in the evening’s sweet company, strolling along the cobblestoned streets to find a traditional Slovak restaurant. We ordered grilled cheese and fries which was literally a plate of fries topped with a small, grilled wheel of cheese. It made for some excellent cheese fries, I may say!

Bratislava Historical City

A more industrial look at the city!
No day is complete without dessert, and we welcomed warmth from the sudden cold that had seized the city for a spot of cake.
Grilled Cheese: the European way.

And a more crumbly cheesecake, Euro style!
As a side note: we got cake every day. When you hear nothing but rave reviews of Austrian cakes, there’s nothing to do but eat it while it’s all there. Stuffed, Kayla and I made our way back through the empty historical center, coming across a university where a music class was rehearsing, and through the open upper-floor window flooded the angelic voices of a classically trained choir. We stood there, among the light poring over the architecture, wondering how we could have gotten so lucky. It felt like a moment out of a fairytale or, at the least, a Christmas movie. Which can be a fairytale in itself, but I’ll debate that another day.
That night, we met our roommate who indeed did not speak English. She spoke, I believe, a mix of English, Slovak, Dutch, and one other language. The four of us tried to converse, and I was left feeling badly when I couldn’t comprehend. In a few hours, though, I would be in a more baffled way.
Our fourth roommate kept a glass of pure alcohol beside her bed, and left every couple of hours to take a smoke. She didn’t want to eat, and instead took to the drink. The three of us bid the others goodnight as she left another time, and let it be.
Just before four in the morning, Kayla whispered my name and I instinctively jumped out of bed. In her hands was one of the towels we were given on arrival, and from it was coming a steady stream of smoke. Both tired, disoriented, and confused, we stood flustered for a moment before Kayla ran it to the shower room and washed it out. Our roommate had gone out for a smoke and turned her wall lamp on, throwing her towel over it so as to block out the light. Those little things heat up quickly, apparently. Our roommate woke up at one point as we scrambled with the towel being eaten by the embers, and we returned under our covers, all laughing senselessly for a few moments.
To say it was an interesting seventeen hours in Bratislava would be an understatement. On the next leg of our journey to Salzburg, I was journaling and as I arrived at that point of the story, I started laughing and couldn’t seem to stop. When Kayla looked over at me, I sank into my seat with tears in my eyes, and when I tried to speak a strangled laugh overtook me and I covered my face to calm down.

In all, it was a beautiful city. It speaks for itself, in every turn of a corner, and for its gentle city-scape. Maybe it wasn’t the experience I was expecting, but doesn’t that make it all the more exciting?


"In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible." -Elizabeth George Speare

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