Uncharted Territory: Beautiful Bratislava

So once upon two weeks ago, I had a Monday off of school thanks to St. Vaclav day (St. Wenceslas) -- yes, the patron saint of this atheistic country -- and decided to try out the international bus system on a trip to Bratislava, Slovakia to visit some fellow ESIers. It was an AWESOME weekend. Bratislava normally gets less praise than it deserves and is always overshadowed by fellow nearby capital cities Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. But I found it a gem in its own right. It is located right on the Danube, which gives it excellent photo ops. "Old Town" is simply charming, with loads of character that is not overshadowed by too, too many tourists. And the city is filled with new construction projects, apparently now only possible due to Slovakia's recent admission to EU and switch to the Euro. The blocks upon blocks of communist housing developments are also interesting in their own right, and my friends' particular flat was actually really, really nice (aside from a nice collection of deer skulls and antlers). The trip was really refreshing, and it was the perfect weekend to take it -- 70-75 degrees the whole trip and very sunny.

Here are some pics from my trip:

Gina and Ashley in front of the President's Palace

A very Communist-looking statue

Spaceship bridge

Bratislava Castle

Devin Castle ruins (just outside Bratislava)

Memorial to all those who tried to escape across the river to Austria during Communism and didn't make it.

Me, Catherine, Gina, Katie, and Kate, with Austria behind us.

Entering Devin Castle - yay!

Relaxing on the lawns...

...and enjoying a kite-flying contest! Here, our favorite one: a multicolored teddy-bear kite!

Playing in the flowers

Pondering the beautiful, quaint town of Devin

An AWESOME well -- took FOREVER for the water to hit bottom!

The cave-like opening in the cliff led to the chapel.

Overlooking Austria again.

Devin

Old Town

How would you like to have Julius Caesar on the front of your house?

More Old Town

The narrowest house in Central Europe! (Also a clock museum!)

The most photographed spot in Bratislaa

The main town square

trying famous Bratislava hot chocolate

Catherine (from Budapest) and I with all of the Bratislava ladies -- Katie, Ashley, Gina, Jenni, and Kate (one more ESI family wasn't able to join us)