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)
The Lodge
Part of the biggest apartment development in the world, supposedly
After bagels in the main town square, I pick up a man in uniform :)
The one remaining old city gate
Catherine grabbing a last-minute cup o' hot chocolate in the shop we were supposed to go to the night before
Some famous dude...
... and the old state theatre
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