1) I barely made my train. Arriving at the platform at 16:10 when your train is scheduled to leave at 16:13 is not something I would recommend. I definitely overpaid for a taxi to take me probably 3 km, but there is absolutely no way I would have made my train otherwise. No freaking way.
2) I missed Prague!
My short trip to Bratislava was definitely interesting, but I would suggest to anybody thinking about visiting to do so in warmer weather. Not only was it wet, cold, foggy, and gray the entire time, but it had snowed recently, and the ground was pretty well covered, making walking a chore and dry feet a luxury for the unprepared. I am so very thankful that it was snowing hard in Prague when I left, and because of that I wore my snow boots on the trip! Poor Tereza wore soft leather boots, and had wet, freezing feet the whole time she was in Bratislava!
Okay, so let us start at the beginning. I did not do a very good job of preparing myself for this trip. When I started to pack my bag on Saturday morning (train at 11:15), I realized that there was absolutely no way I could bring my monster size face wash, BP, and lotion. I also did not bring any travel-size substitutions with me, and I neglected to buy refillable bottles before my trip. I made my way down to the local "Walgreens-type" store to look for something - I was hoping either travel size stuff or refillable bottles. I couldn't find a damn thing. Time to get get creative. Please, laugh after you hear this.
I spent so much time in the store, looking for any possible soap container, mini-size toiletry, etc. to use and could not manage to find anything suitable. Finally, I decided on glass jars of baby food. Okay, I know, this seems kind of gross, but what's a girl to do?! Besides, fruit baby food isn't that gross. Shout out to my sister who would eat it as a teenager sometimes.
So, I bought three jars of fruity baby food for around 60 Kč, rinsed them out (I wish I had had time to find and make a recipe to use the baby food), washed them, and commenced filling them with my toiletries. Honestly, it worked extremely well: I can refill them, reuse them, they are small & easy to pack, and they're pretty cute! Tereza saw them and told me she loved that I had my stuff in adorable little jars =) little did she know! So, my face wash smells a little like bananas now, but I think that smells like ingenuity.
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| Before: three jars of fruity baby food. |
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| After: three refillable, reusable, attractive jars for toiletries. |
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| My cutie boots, dirty from my weekend of walking! |
We left Prague and took a train for a four hour ride to Bratislava, Slovakia. This was the first time that I had used the train system in Europe, and I was impressed. The trains are clean and spacious, and the compartments, which each hold six people, are relatively private. During the trip I mostly caught up with Tereza, read, looked out the windows at the beautiful, snow-covered landscapes, and since Tereza and I were together, I felt comfortable enough to sleep. We had no issues with the ticket checkers, we had nice traveling companions in our compartment, and we got off at the right stop. An easy trip!
When we arrived at the Bratislava train station, Tereza pulled out the map of Bratislava that she bought back in Prague, and admitted that she had never been to the city, either. Honestly, I was relieved. I hate having to rely on someone to get around, and I particularly hate having to be the person relied upon. It is much more fun to travel when you BOTH don't know what the heck is going on, and therefore have no expectations or pressure to make the trip fun for the other person. I am learning that no expectations = no disappointments. This is definitely the outlook I am trying to have throughout this journey!
Tereza and I were hoping to leave the snow in Prague, but man, were we wrong! There was even more snow in Bratislava, and walking was work. After walking the wrong way for a few minutes, we finally oriented ourselves, and already decided that food & coffee were in order. We found an ATM, and I discovered that the Euro is used in Slovakia! That probably sounds dumb that I did not know that, but I figured Slovakia would use the Slovak version of the Czech crown - they don't! No matter. I don't know how people traveled before ATMs. Seriously, they take all of the difficulty out of exchanging money. You put in your card and withdraw the local currency at a great exchange rate with a small charge from your bank (my credit union's charge is negligible). Do people still use traveler's checks? They might as well carry around a stone tablet, too.
Anyway, we walked along the street towards our hotel, keeping our eyes open for a good place to stop for food. As previously mentioned, I was wearing my lovely, warm, and waterproof snow boots, but Tereza was wearing leather booties, and was already suffering from wet feet. To make us even more comfortable, and welcome us to the city, a bus drove by and soaked us with dirty street water. Yay! Tereza had already had misgivings about visiting Bratislava, and this was certainly not a good introduction. The good news is that instead of being pissed, we were able to just laugh at the absurdity of the situation, and joke on Bratislava.
We eventually saw a sign with an arrow for our hotel, and went in the direction it pointed. After much more walking and a couple more splashes (at this point I am convinced that people were doing it on purpose), we still hadn't found our hotel. Seriously, if you are going to put up a sign with an arrow, you should do so with a little more specificity. Please. We finally stumbled upon a place with a Kozel sign, and decided that was a good signal to stop. The place ended up being a tiny little pizza, pasta, and salad place, and smelled awesome when we arrived. After a couple beers, some hot food, and coffee, we were ready to continue the adventure to our hotel. After a little more trekking through the snow and pulling out the map a couple times, we finally found ibis Bratislava Centrum.
My program coordinator made the reservations for us, and since this is one of the trips through my program, paid for our accommodations and a couple of our meals. I am so glad for that, because this hotel was great, and I probably would not have stayed there if I were paying! The whole building was really nice, the rooms were clean and appealing, the beds were super comfy, and the staff were all very nice - almost all were young and everyone spoke some English!
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So, the room was great! The view was...well...who cares about the view, anyway, right?
I am not sitting and staring out the window of my hotel room when I travel! Is anyone?
Once we settled in a little and dropped off our stuff, Tereza and I decided to make the most of our Bratislava trip and go out for some drinks ;) We found a really cool little place just a few buildings down from out hotel, and posted up there for the evening. When we arrived, there weren't many people around, but the place had some really cool artwork (I should have taken pictures) and played good music. Tereza and I spent several hours there and bonded over our love of reading (particularly fantasy), Harry Potter, American movies and TV shows, and our arsenal of awkward stories. We found out some pretty interesting stuff about each other, and also that we have many similar interests and experiences. She introduced me to some kind of tea shots (I will have to report back after research on this one), and we got some chips to help with the burn...and I mean BURN...of the shots.
Our night ended pretty early, definitely before midnight, but we had a long day and evening, so judge us.
The next morning we stumbled down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which was overpriced at 9.50 euros, but it was a buffet and we weren't paying anyway. We decided that a couple more hours of sleep would do us well, and finally headed out to see the city around noon. The hotel is right beneath the Bratislava Castle, so we decided to try to find that, first. The castle is situated on a huge hill, so there were tons of steps. I am finding out that traveling is a great way to get some exercise! Stairs and walking through snow for quad strength, walking kilometers and kilometers for cardio and muscle endurance, and hills as intervals. It is definitely a good idea to be in shape before you go - you will be much happier, more adventurous, and much less sore! Traveling is making me thankful for my strong legs, too (yeah, Brother, insert comment here: __________).
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| One of the many sets of stairs up to the castle. |
On the way up, we also passed a cool statue and could see the top of a church very well!
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| The red eyes are just spray paint, but Donnie says this is really a statue of me -____- |
Once we reached the top, Tereza and I were kind of like, "Uhm...is this it?" This is not exactly what I expect when I hear the word "castle," but castle it is! It just seems so modern!
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| Bratislava Castle |
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| Ze Bratislava Castle |
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| Map of the castle |
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| Once again, the Bratislava Castle |
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| A pretty gate outside the Bratislava Castle |
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| I got to climb up on that wall you see to get this shot ; ) |
The views from the castle were very cool, even though it was super foggy!
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| This is the New Bridge, and it sports a UFO-like observation deck that holds a nightclub as well! |
We didn't explore the castle much, and decided to search for the Czech Embassy, where I would need to go to apply for my visa the next morning. As we made our way to the town center, we passed under the New Bridge, which hosts a huge bus station, and saw some of the coolest street art. This is one of my favorite sights from the city! I wish I had gotten more/better pictures. There was just so much amazing art, and it was everywhere!
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| Blurry, but you can see some of the other pillars in the background. |
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| Dark, but not blurry. Can't win. I suck at photography! |
We continued under the bridge and came upon an interesting Jewish memorial and some other neat stuff:
We passed St. Martin's Cathedral:
Which is right across from a neat little shop at which I (finally) bought a hat the next day to keep my ears from falling off from frostbite! It is goofy, but freaking warm!
We stumbled upon the main square which houses St. Michael's Gate and Old Town Hall among many other relics:
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| St. Michael's Gate |
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| Old Town Hall |
Just an observation: the Slovak nation really really likes statues. I did not take pictures of many, but you literally cannot walk 20 meters without stumbling upon one. They are pretty neat, and quite aplenty! I like this guy =)
It took quite a bit of walking around, but we finally found the Czech embassy, and I was certain that I would be able to find it the next day. Interesting fact: the US embassy is right next door, and is the only one that is fenced in, gated, and has guards posted. I am curious about the reason for such security measures - if something happened previously, if there is a threat, etc. Just an interesting observation.
We then decided that lunch was in order, and found a traditional Slovak restaurant. This place was absolutely adorable! It was super tiny, with only four tables, and was supposed to be decorated in a folk kind of fashion. The wall paintings were a bit overkill, but the wooden tables with lace and old knick knacks around the dining room were pretty cute. At Tereza's suggestion, I ordered the traditional plate of Halušky. It is basically gnocchi covered in a cheesy sauce with little crispy bits of fatty meat sprinkled on top. It was very similar to macaroni and cheese, but slightly more hearty.
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| This isn't my plate, but this is exactly what mine looked like! |
After our meal, we headed back to the hotel to relax until Tereza's train back to Prague. I brought my iPad along with me, and had the incredible pleasure of introducing Tereza to the hilarity of Pitch Perfect. She loved it! She had not yet heard of the movie, and even though I didn't have subtitles, she caught most of it, and loved it, too. I just found out today that she watched it again. I am always happy to share something as laugh-inducing as this movie. If you don't know what I am talking about, check out these two videos:
Tereza had to leave to catch her train, and I spent the rest of the evening being lame, reading, and planning for the next day.
After breakfast, checking out, and a bit of a fiasco applying for my visa (although I think it will turn out okay), I walked around the downtown area a bit, and saw one of my favorite sights in Bratislava, the Blue Church, or the Church of St. Elisabeth. It is absolutely stunning!
I then planned to make my way to Hrad Devín, which looks like a real, if dilapidated, castle to me!
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| Not my picture...obviously. |
I was lucky in that the public transportation system in Slovakia is just like that in Prague, so figuring out the 30 minute bus ride was cake! Unfortunately, when I arrived, I found out that the castle was closed for the season, and that I couldn't go inside. I did walk around the base of the huge hill/cliff it is on, and took some spooky, foggy pictures!
I would absolutely love to come back here in warm weather and walk around inside the castle walls. The place looks beautiful!
Along my walk I saw lots of statues and memorials, and actually took pictures of a couple:
The weather (as you can see from the pictures) was horrible all weekend. It wasn't exactly raining, but it was wet and misty, and all of me was soaked from my hair to my jacket to my jeans. I was bundled up pretty well, but nothing can keep all of that moisture off, especially when you spend hours walking around outside. My ears were warm from my new hat, though!
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| All bundled up! This was after I dried off for almost a couple hours. My hair was still damp! |
Eventually I was "lost," soaking wet, freezing, and hungry. I used the bus stops to orient myself (you can't really use high points such as the castle when it is so dang foggy), and made my way back to the base of the castle. There was one little place that was actually open, so I decided to settle there for a while. There were a few travelers in there, a guy with the most beautiful Husky I have ever seen, and the bartender/waiter/cook. I settled in with a cup of coffee and did a little reading. Unfortunately, the whole place was heated by one tiny wood-burning, cast-iron stove in the corner, so warming up and drying off completely were out of the question. The place had WiFi, though, and if I texted/emailed/messaged/snapchatted you yesterday, this is from where I was doing so! The bartender/waiter/cook poured me a Kozel and made me a (probably frozen, yet completely satisfying) pizza, and after an hour and a half or so I headed back out into the cold.
At the bus stop, I realized that I had just missed the last bus by six minutes, and that they only run once an hour. While I had actually planned to take the next bus anyway, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go for the next hour, and decided to start walking. I used the bus stops as a guide, and figured that eventually the bus would catch up to me. I walked the first four or five bus stops through the neighborhood at the base of the castle, and when I got to the busier "highway" street, decided to continue walking anyway. Because of the snow, there were no sidewalks for me to use (I am not sure if there are actually sidewalks, anyway), but the side of the street did have signs for a bike route, so I figured walking along that would be alright.
This is so typical me. For as long as I have been allowed out by myself, I have been riding my bike and walking alone. I have absolutely no problem trekking my way around, and I definitely prefer to do so by myself. The fact that I was walking along a main street didn't phase me, and I am laughing at how I probably looked, all bundled up with my backpack and snow boots on, stomping my way across Bratislava. At each bus stop I would stop and check the schedule, check my watch, and decide just one more. I walked pretty much halfway to where I was going, and got a damn good workout! My bottom is still a little sore! I eventually decided to stay at one of the stops, as they were getting fewer and farther between, and I really couldn't miss that bus.
I waited about ten minutes for the next bus, and once I boarded, realized that I did not have much time to catch my train - only about twenty minutes! I stared getting a little panicky, and realized that because the bus was a little late, I wouldn't make my connection to another bus to take me to the train station! I stayed on the bus I was on, which took me back to the main bus stop under the New Bridge. From there I had 13 minutes to make my way to the train station. I started booking it, but really had no idea how I would make a 40 minute walk into a 13 minute walk. Luckily, I stumbled upon a taxi after a few minutes of walking, hurriedly asked him if he was in service, if he would take me to the train station, and how much, and hopped in. I grossly overpaid, but I made it to the platform with three minutes to spare, and caught my train!
While this seems dramatic, trains run from Bratislava to Prague every two hours, and I would have caught the next one, but I was pretty ready to head back to Prague!
The rest of my trip was smooth and easy as pie!
While I was wandering my way around Bratislava, I was thinking about traveling, and how difficult it is to decide where an adventure falls on the scale from "hermit" to "you're an idiot." Traveling alone as a young woman is a unique experience. All my life I have been taught to be careful, to be aware, to make good decisions, that I am at a higher risk of danger just because I am a woman. I think this is part of the reason that I have longed so much for a companion, particularly at the beginning of this trip - I have been trained since childhood to always have a buddy around (I blame this for why girls go to the bathroom in packs). Stranger danger, don't trust people you don't know, don't go out at night alone, etc. etc. etc. but, where does it stop? When is it being a hermit and not taking advantage of this opportunity and when is it being dangerous? Obviously, the extremes are the extremes and easier to sort - don't not talk to anyone and don't go somewhere private with the person you met two minutes ago - but the rest is an endless sea of gray.
I think that is the point, the biggest lesson. Traveling abroad helps you better understand what is okay, safe, enjoyable, and what is not. You develop an instinct, reasoning skill, whatever you want to call it, and you learn to trust yourself. This, I think, is from where so much personal growth comes. I am solely responsible for me, and I alone have to decide the situations in which I want to put myself. Obviously, there are going to be (and have been) errors: sometime I will (and have) refuse a perfectly safe situation, and sometime I will (and have) put myself in a situation that is a little more risky. Each opportunity, whether realized or not, is a learning experience.
For me, I need to be both a little more adventurous and a little more cautious. I have trouble staying within the gray area - I am better at the extremes. Staying in on a Friday night and relaxing or stumbling home at 2:30am on a Wednesday after getting myself lost. Those situations are the norm for me, but I am working to find a balance, my gray area on the continuum. I have a lot of time left here in Prague, a lot of opportunities, and a lot of learning experiences.
I look forward to my next adventure!
