The bus ride that I wrote the previous entry from was alright. The trip was a bit over four hours. I slept for most of the way. Crossing the Czech nation by train and bus in its entirety is very cool. Bohemia is lovely and hilly, which Moravia is flat like Germany, but far poorer. I got into Bratislava's bus station near noontime. And I thought that the Czech Republic was off the beaten path---this place is a time warp or a bad Twilight Zone episode. The bus station is this dilapidated box that looks like something out of the early 70s, more Skoda cars from the 80s, and garbage everywhere. Slovakia...yeah.
I looked for bus 202 to get to my hostel, but I cannot find it, so I start wandering around. I saw signs for a Tesco and knew that my hostel was across from one. So I just sucked it up and walked. And walked. And walked. Time escaped me and three hours passed. It was so frustrating because all I wanted was sleep and a shower. I worked up the nerve to walk into a gas station and ask for directions with my map handy. In Slovak (pretty much the same language as Czech, though a different dialect) I say hello and asked if they spoke English. The woman said yes and was so kind as to tell me that I needed to get on tram # 5 to reach my street, Spitalska. I thanked her, bought a ticket across the street from the gas station, and got on the tram to my hostel, which I hit in 15 minutes. Check-in was easy and I took my first real shower in four days (minus the "hosing down" in Prague). Then I got ready for a nap. It was 6:30 at night and I set my alarm for 9 p.m. so I could go to Tesco and buy some food. I didn't wake up until 9 a.m. the next day and managed to sleep through EU daylight savings also! And now I sit in Bratislava's old town in a cafe off of the main square.
It is quite nice and compact here. The Bratislava city marathon is happening right now too, which is pretty cool to see. It is around 50F (10C) today and cloudless. I really like the way that the light hits the trees. You can tell that the buds are about to bloom, but needs more sunlight and time. Give it one more week. I hope that Bratislava grows on me. I want to like it, but it is pretty dumpy by and large. I began this entry sitting in a McDonalds (!) drinking a coffee. Now I am having lunch in a niceish bistro. There are huge quotes from T.S. Eliot on the wall in from of me. A pretty hip place in the decidedly unhip Bratislava. Ordered Miranda (similar to Fanta), a double espresso, and a prosciutto pannini sandwich. Not bad for the equivalent of four(ish) dollars (150 crowns)!I wanted to have some food in my stomach before trekking up to the castle that looms over the entire city like a gatekeeper.
Tonight will be super, super early. Shower, laundry, bed. Up at 6 a.m. to catch a bus to Vienna at 8. From there, I will be taking a train across the Austrian countryside to Salzburg. If nothing else, Bratislava gives me the opportunity to recharge my batteries before the last leg of the tour. I cannot help but think about all of the new friends who I have met while on this tour. It hurts to make connections with people and leave them the next day or the day after that. Perhaps I get too easily attached. I just love people that much. I love their quirks and stories. I love spontaneity. I also know that I am loving all of this time alone because it is helping me to learn more about myself and where I come from, literally. Now I realize why Bedrick Skorepa (my grandmother's father), Pavel Mako (my grandfather's father), and Zsusanna (my grandfather's mother) left the old country for a better life in the U.S. In my eyes, Bratislava is the frumpy girl or guy who has endless potential to be beautiful/handsome/what have you, but is still figuring out an identity, still getting there. Maybe in a few years, Bratislava will be a new Euro hot spot. It is great to see few tourists here though. I like being off the beaten path.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6:44 p.m. Bratislava, Patio Hostel lounge
I visited the castle, or as it is referred to in Slovak, the Hrad. To get there, you have to walk up this steep hill in a residential neighborhood. I enjoyed the graffiti along the way, most notably a cow with a pink smiley face tagged onto it. Very Warhol. Once I reached the top, I was impressed, but it is not what you may think. This is no chateau, but rather a decrepit fortress. The real draw was the view over Bratislava's new town. Miles upon miles of bleak, Soviet style bloc apartments. White, short, and sprawling. The housing remained after Czechoslovakia separated once and for all in 1993's "Velvet Divorce." Some have been painted bright colors to make them more appealing, but the skeletons from Slovakia's communist past are still there. At least they are out of the closet, so to speak, and incorporate their difficult past into the present. This is part of an historical past that cannot be shaken. It was breathtaking, the way that the houses stand like tin soldiers in line.Later in the day, I made my way back to the hostel to shower, stock up on food at Tesco, and eat in the old square. I love Tesco for the prices and the bizarre set up. The area that I walked into was more like a kiosk than part of a grocery store. I mean, why not have the same items in the store? I felt like the sandwiches and drinks were ghettoized. Oh, Slovakia! I was proud that I completed another transaction completely in Slovak. People watching in the square while eating my finds at Tesco was great. Three old world nuns taking garbage out (one was driving a massive van), two boys on the bench beside mine listening to Slovak hip hop on an iPhone, a lady younger than my mom wearing a babushka, and several young professionals on their laptops. Now I am in the hostel drinking more Nescafe even though it is awful. It is hard being a slave to coffee when there is no coffee to be had.
Laundry was interesting. The only clean clothes that I had were my new "Slovensko" t-shirt and yellow athletic shorts. I went to the common area to check my e-mail, but the computer froze on me so I had to re-boot. It still wasn't working. A girl was waiting to get on and I was embarrassed. She seemed ticked off, rightfully so. I found out later that she is in my hostel room! It gets even better. The washer malfunctioned and she came in to do her laundry with the guy that she was traveling with. They were friendly though, both are from Brazil and are traveling around Europe for at least three more weeks. I had a conversation with the guy about Prague and how much we both loved it. After the washer ordeal (it finally opened), I bought a pint of Corgon (awful Slovak beer) and read for a while, but had a bit of difficulty because of the loud Spanish-speaking teenagers in the common room who were channel surfing forever.
This whole leg of the trip has been a farce. It is such great comedy that I am even here, trying to make sense of everything. Part of me should have stayed in Prague with Alix and Hanna, but I am glad to be struggling through this. It is an experience that I cannot forget. Even if I tired to, it wouldn't let me.
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