Out and About - Day 19

April 9, 2013

Bratislava, Slovakia and Brno, Czech Republic

Justine and I had a lot of anxieties before finally deciding to take a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. 

We've heard them all - the stories about the gypsies, thieves, beggars, and Bratislava being one of the country's worst places. In short, we were a given a very bad impression of the place by the people who've been there before.

Timely enough, a good old family friend and flatmate back in our Brighton days, Mao, was in the capital at the moment to attend a friend's wedding. After working in Bratislava for three years, I trust her enough to show us around the city that what seemed like everybody's telling us not to visit.

Well, I loved Bratislava. 

The weather was good to us as well. The temperature was 18 degrees, and the sun was shining brightly overhead so it was pretty much a lovely day.

Mao fetched us at Mlynske Nivy - the main bus station, and then we headed off to see the Church of St. Elisabeth, better known as the "Blue Church" - a common wedding venue among Slovaks.

After dropping by the Blue Church, we took a walk trip to and around the old town, spotting the New Bridge (with its UFO Restaurant) and the Danube River along the way. We also saw the city hall, the opera house, and Hviezdoslavovo Namestie - one of the most famous squares in Bratislava. 

Eventually, our stomachs began to churn, and we had some really good local food for lunch and some vinea - a grape-based non-alcoholic sparkling beverage - at Sladovna. I had some beef goulash with dumplings. It's originally a Hungarian dish, but it's also popular among other central European countries like Slovakia. It tastes really good, and it somehow reminds me of the Filipino dish called "Mechado". 

I also got to taste Slovakia's national food Bryndzové Halušky - some kind of a potato dumpling dish with sheep cheese and bacon bits. God, sheep cheese does taste good! And, I loved the potato dumplings too!

St. Martin's Cathedral and the Bratislavsky Hrad or Bratislava Castle are the next ones in our itinerary.

Popular among tourists, the Bratislava Castle gives visitors a good view of Bratislava and Slovakia's neighbouring countries like Austria and Hungary. To me, Bratislavsky Hrad is like the Far Far Away castle in Shrek - white walls and orange rooftops. Haha!

As we had classes in the evening, Justine and I had to leave Bratislava early, which is kind of sad, as I enjoyed the city so much! And not to mention, I really did enjoy my time with Mao. After nine long years, we fiinally met again. And of all the places in the world, we meet in Slovakia, while I'm on an exchange in Czech! What an opportune moment! 

We only had four hours to stay, but I couldn't believe how much we've done and seen in such little time!

I love Bratislava's souvenirs! They have these really cute dolls and ceramic and leather products, which I'd really love to buy. However, I really don't know where to put them when I got back home (my luggage is pretty much like a can of sardines), so I just got myself a leather bracelet, which I'm very much in love with!

Before leaving the city of Bratislava, we had some hot cocoa (which you don't drink, but eat, cos the chocolate's pretty thick) at Schokafe Maximilian Delikateso. Man, it was so good I could eat it forever!

We made it to the bus terminal on time, and it was time for me to give Mao my thanks and goodbye-for-nows. I really had an amazing day with her, and I wish someday, somehow, we get to meet again in some other place in the globe.

Justine and I had to rest for a while upon returning to Brno before attending the conversation class. We were tired, but we were happy about the trip, so an evening class wouldn't be much of a hassle.

♥Andz