Dobrú noc, Bratislava
Our next adventure finds h-girl and p-girl heading to Bratislava. Now, h-girl had wanted to go to Bratislava before she left the US, but p-girl was a bit doubtful. But with a tip on a Harley store in Bratislava, and a recent unexpected request from p-girl's boyfriend for a shirt, she agreed.
Fast forward to waking up late and running out the hostel door to catch the U-banh to Erdberg to catch a bus. The guys who sold our adventurers their Mozart concert tickets (more on that debacle later) said buses run every half hour. Not so. Anyways, after paying their €4.90 they were on their way to Slovakia.
A big thing for h-girl is the passport stamp. Call her silly, but she loves that part. So on the border crossing between Austria and Slovakia, the guard had no stamp! H-girl was crushed.
The approach to Bratislava had h- and p-girl looking at each other with worried faces. the first thing they saw were Soviet-style block housing units. Now the guide books, and friends back in NYC, had warned them of this. But it was a little scary none the less. The bus stop was even scarier. Picture under the Willis Avenue bridge. Now multiple that by two.
The pair scarpered off to try to find a taxi to the Harley store. Now, Harley has disappointed again. No one knew where the Harley store was. They said it was a bar. And when they called, no one answered. Apologies to those wanting shirts. We tried.
H- and p-girl then decided they were hungry. Avoiding the McDonald's (yes, in the middle of a beautiful square no less), they went to a place called Sonáta (address for those who want to go: Palackého ĉ. 14, 81102, Bratislava tel: 0904652191). They ordered some esophagus burning appertifs (Hruŝkovica - pear spirit & Slivovica-plum spirit), they sat back and waited for their lunch. The food was amazing! P-girl had Kuracie soté, ryža (chicken stew with rice) and H-girl had Jelenie ragú bruschicarni, haluŝky (venison with cranberries and shaggy dumplings). The descriptions do not do these dishes justice. They were fabulous.
After that amazing lunch, the pair headed off to walk the streets of Bratislava. The bus stop had not been promising, but they chanced it and were well rewarded. Despite its imposing approach, Bratislava was quaint and friendly. The buildings were old and pastel-colored and the streets were cobbled. They stopped in a dark, basement-level café for dessert and coffee. They tried to find a collector's spoon for H-girl (no such animal), but managed to send a few postcards and look at St. Michael's steeple.
In an effort to make it back in time for the concert, the pair walked a couple of kilometers to the train station to catch the next train to Vienna (more expensive than the bus and took same amount of time). And H-girl scored a passport stamp after begging the Slovak guard on the way out of the country. Success!
Fast forward to waking up late and running out the hostel door to catch the U-banh to Erdberg to catch a bus. The guys who sold our adventurers their Mozart concert tickets (more on that debacle later) said buses run every half hour. Not so. Anyways, after paying their €4.90 they were on their way to Slovakia.
A big thing for h-girl is the passport stamp. Call her silly, but she loves that part. So on the border crossing between Austria and Slovakia, the guard had no stamp! H-girl was crushed.
The approach to Bratislava had h- and p-girl looking at each other with worried faces. the first thing they saw were Soviet-style block housing units. Now the guide books, and friends back in NYC, had warned them of this. But it was a little scary none the less. The bus stop was even scarier. Picture under the Willis Avenue bridge. Now multiple that by two.
The pair scarpered off to try to find a taxi to the Harley store. Now, Harley has disappointed again. No one knew where the Harley store was. They said it was a bar. And when they called, no one answered. Apologies to those wanting shirts. We tried.
H- and p-girl then decided they were hungry. Avoiding the McDonald's (yes, in the middle of a beautiful square no less), they went to a place called Sonáta (address for those who want to go: Palackého ĉ. 14, 81102, Bratislava tel: 0904652191). They ordered some esophagus burning appertifs (Hruŝkovica - pear spirit & Slivovica-plum spirit), they sat back and waited for their lunch. The food was amazing! P-girl had Kuracie soté, ryža (chicken stew with rice) and H-girl had Jelenie ragú bruschicarni, haluŝky (venison with cranberries and shaggy dumplings). The descriptions do not do these dishes justice. They were fabulous.
After that amazing lunch, the pair headed off to walk the streets of Bratislava. The bus stop had not been promising, but they chanced it and were well rewarded. Despite its imposing approach, Bratislava was quaint and friendly. The buildings were old and pastel-colored and the streets were cobbled. They stopped in a dark, basement-level café for dessert and coffee. They tried to find a collector's spoon for H-girl (no such animal), but managed to send a few postcards and look at St. Michael's steeple.
In an effort to make it back in time for the concert, the pair walked a couple of kilometers to the train station to catch the next train to Vienna (more expensive than the bus and took same amount of time). And H-girl scored a passport stamp after begging the Slovak guard on the way out of the country. Success!
posted by Helminth Girl and company at
3:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home