Friday night we were invited to a house warming party for one of Craig’s co-workers. We really had a great time at the party and it was very interesting to see how the Viennese “party.” Not surprisingly it was very similar to a mature social gathering back home. There was some food, some drinks and people just milling about talking mainly about work   It was great to interact with these people though. They really go out of their way to talk in English and make us feel welcome and a part of the crowd.

Saturday morning we arose and headed to the bus. The bus ride was absolutely great for 9 euros round trip. We left right on time and actually arrived in Bratislava 15 minutes early.

We immediately went to a bank and got some of the Slovak money. (It is strange that even though the country is a member of the European Union, they do not use the Euro. Instead they have very colorful money that is all different sizes. There is also no denomination less than 1 (i.e. 50 cents) everything is priced to be an even dollar) We then sat down at a traditional Slovak restaurant for some grub. It was really good.

We took the tram to out hotel, which was about 10 minutes outside of the old city. It was part of a university dorm and it looked like it was stuck in the 1960s. The building itself was a tall building with at least 30 to 40 floors. It was run down, graffiti ridden, and bright green, red and blue. The rooms were even more hilarious if you can imagine. (For example the toilet had a pull string to operate the flush. and the shower was actually just a hose from the sink) But in the end all that matters is that it was a place to stay that was reasonably priced.

We headed back into the town to begin our exploration of Bratislava. The city is actually quite large and is divided by the Danube into the old part and the commercial and entertainment district. (We stayed in the old part) The old part of the city definitely surprised both of us and we were glad we made the journey. We really liked how the streets were all lined with shops, restaurants and chic cafes. (Which we spent a considerable amount of time in because the weather was very uncooperative. It was about 55 to 60 degrees and raining (the same weather we have been having in Vienna for the last past couple of days)) But I am definitely not complaining! It is much better than the sweltering heat we have been encountering.

One interesting tidbit about what we saw of Bratislava is that is was very obvious that this city was once part of a communist regime. The infrastructure of the city is quite run down and dilapidated. Its like it is all stuck in the 1960s.

During the day we simply meandered through the streets of the old city. It is not very big so it was easily covered in the time we were there. One particularly interesting sight in the city was St. Michael’s Tower. Yes, Mike if you were a saint you could have a tower. It is the city’s last remaining medieval gateway. Another sight worth mentioning in Bratislava is the ruins of Devin Castle. It is located outside of the city on a cliff above the Danube and Morava Rivers. Originally it was a Celtic fortification but the Romans, Slavs, and Hungarians also owned it before Napoleon destroyed it in 1809. We were unfortunately unable to go because it is an outdoor activity and the weather was not pretty.  I guess I will have to wait until our Devin builds her castle.

We were so impressed with the Slovakian cooking that we wound up at an Irish pub for dinner simply because they had bacon sandwiches on their menu. 

We were pretty tired and it was pretty late at this point so we decided to start making the journey back to our hotel. On the way home we saw a rather interesting sight though. Before I continue I need to give some background information. Bratislava is apparently a very popular place for people from England to come for bachelor’s parties. Tickets from London to Bratislava are about 20 euros so the streets are constantly full of British men. (This is actually the cheapest way to get to Vienna. The Vienna Airport is difficult to get to and expensive to land at. So most people fly to London and then book a separate flight to Bratislava where they take the 4 Euro bus trip to Vienna.)

So to continue my story about the interesting sight, we rounded the corner and saw a butt naked British man saran wrapped to fountain. Luckily for him he was so drunk he had no idea what was going on (if it was not for the saran wrap he would be on the floor) His friends were all dressed up in clown outfits and were enjoying the view of their friend from the patio of a nearby café.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed back into town. We had a couple of hours because our bus did not depart until 1:45. Our first stop was of course McDonald’s to sample the Bratslavian chicken McNuggets While they were crunchy they were quite disappointing because the chicken was rather odd. Definitely avoid the nuggets if you ever come here.

We then meandered through the streets wasting our remaining “funny money” until our bus departed. We did see the naked man and his friends so we know he is at least out of prison and his friends are not going to be murdered by the bride to be.

Paris, France    June 10 - 14

Brussels, Belgium    June 14 - 17

Brugges, Belgium    June 17 - 19

Strasbourg, France    June 19 - 21

Luxembourg, Luxembourg    June 21 - 24

Dijon, France    Jun e 24 - 27

Turin, Italy    June 27 - 30

Rome, Italy    June 30 - July 3

Florence, Italy    July 3 - July 6

Verona, Italy    July 6 - 8

Vienna, Austria    July 8 - ?
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