201207: Bratislava

Today is Bratislava day. Seriously, I would never have expected 2 capitals of different countries be that close to each other, especially when they composed of differing races. Austrians are generally Germanic, while Slovakians are as their name suggests, Slovaks or Slavic if you trace it further back into the past. Capitals are usually the seats of governments, and are in most need of protection should there be foreign invasion. Hence they are located in the middle of the country rather than at its borders, or near its border only if there is port related influence. However, both Vienna and Bratislava are inland and not near any seas, with exception of the river that runs through them. An intriguing idea would be that Europe after the 2nd world war is too peaceful such that intra-continental warfare is of almost zero possibility.

Stepping into Bratislava after a boring train ride was a nice change of environment. The 1st evidence of its cheap prices was the low hot dog prices in the train station. In fact, we only bothered to change some 15 pounds per person for an entire day’s expenses, lunch and dinner and whatsoever. Initially we thought we might take a bus into the city, but seems like it’s only a short walk. The fact is there is only a castle cum fortress with an old town square. Walking up the castle is quite a mess; we keep walking round the hill to the top. If only they had a short and more direct way, but that was what we found out later.

Anyway, Slavic people aren’t exactly as friendly as Austrians are. Other than a kind lady curator of a very small museum, the rest are grouchy people who are not hospitable to foreigners at all. Maybe they do not understand English, but there’s no need to give a black face at all times. The castle museums are nothing worthy of time, and we got bored too soon after. It was lunch time anyway, and our tummies are ordering us back to the old town. We kinda screwed up on finding the short way back into the old town, took us some 1 hour I think.

The 1st thing we realised after reaching the town square is that we need not go to any restaurant for lunch: the town square vendors are selling hot and fragrant food for cheap prices! Not to mention hot chocolate that essentially is melted chocolate fondue, creamy hot chocolate true to its name! The strudels and crepes are good desserts, but the highlights are the grilled burgers that offer mixed pork and chicken grills accompanied by sweet smelling onions. That’s heaven, I swear to you.

Another heavenly discovery was a pastry store where we had some desserts. And on top of that, me and Jordan get to satisfy our cola addiction together with those sweet pies and cakes! Seriously, other than food itself, Bratislava is hardly any place worth much attention, and 1 day is more than enough.