Bratislava

Mom and I are starting to get the hang of this travelling business.  In Brno we walked from the train station to our apartment.  This time, as we arrived in Bratislava, Google maps said it is 18 minutes to our apartment.  So, we walked.  Our hosts had sent VERY detailed instructions on how to get into the building, including pictures of the building, the locks, the front door, the next door to orient us.  So, after walking more than 18 minutes (cobble streets wheeling our bags behind), we get to our destination and it looks NOTHING like the pictures.  Clearly we are not in the right place.  I used the Booking.com address.  I did not notice that as a side note, the host had mentioned, in like paragraph eight of her two page instructions, the address.  Which, as it turns out is different than the coordinates that Booking.com gave (not a street address).  It was all very confusing since Google maps still isn't quite sure where we are.  But with the help of a passerby and some Google map interpretation, we found our new apartment.  on the second floor (so two flights up) with no elevator.  We lugged our bags up and crashed for a bit. I think it took us almost an hour to get here.  Poor mom and her knees!

Jesus had a hat.  Mom says he is a Gaucho from Argentina

Memorial plaques in the sidewalks for Jews (I assume) 
killed in the Holocaust

We got to Bratislava early so we were quite ambitious on the train, booking a walking tour for that very evening.  And one for the next day at 10 am. We were still good to go though.  We rallied and went exploring a bit.  Found the tourist office.  Found a pamphlet for Devin Castle.  Asked the nice lady at the counter about Devin Castle.  We could take the bus on any day but if we want to take the ferry, it only runs on the weekend.  Since it was already Saturday, that left Sunday, the next day.  And since we were only a day in advance, we should really walk to the LOD (the ferry people) office down by the river.  Ok.  

A war memorial, or maybe a fair representation 
of me and mom at the end of the day

Well of course, we took a circuitous route and we didn't actually know what we were looking for.  Not good with signage, the Slavic people.  We eventually found it and bought our tickets.  But that took over an hour as well.  So, that was mom (and me to be honest) for the day.  

There is so much public art there, from the tiniest little decorative
brick in the sidewalk, to this (temporary) giant inflatable thing

I didn't take any pictures when we arrived so you'll have to take my word on the place we are staying.  Our apartment is very small but it has everything we need, except maybe some space to put our bags.  Coffee machine!!  Washing machine.  Drying rack.  (I now have enough clean underwear to make it home) The apartment technically has a balcony but it is so tiny and it looks out over a parking lot and two ramshackle buildings, I hope we didn't pay extra for it.  

Great location though, we are spitting distance to Michael's tower, the north gate to the old city.  Walking distance to everything.  One complaint, the wifi is TERRIBLE.  I may not get a Bratislava post out before we are back in Budapest.  It's bad all over the city actually.  My SIM card is spotty, at best. 

The architecture here is so crazy.  There are churches everywhere of course.  And beautiful old buildings.  And Soviet era cement blocks randomly plunked in amongst them.  Now the buildings are protected but not so during the reign of the Socialist Party (Eastern block communists). 

Then there are the examples of how they get around the rules now to make more use of space.  

A new building on top of an old building

A new building under an old building (how?)

A Soviet era building built around a medieval wall

But mostly it's just nice city, especially the Old Town.  Most of the buildings are still standing and there is lots to see.  

National Opera House. Built on reclaimed land, 
where the city moat used to be.  Remember Maria Theresa
from Vienna who ordered the city walls taken down,
well, she did that here too.  She was busy, busy, that one. 

And this decrepid building. 
They can't tear down a heritage building
so the theory is that the owner is waiting 
for it to collapse.  Reminds me of the Janion.

Ok, I have to go to bed.  This is so slow, I've had dinner and played two games of crib with mom since I started.  Now mom is asleep so that seems to indicate it is time to go to bed.  I'll try again tomorrow. That is, if this even saves...  

Next day,  in real time and blog time.  (The wifi is so bad here I am now locked out of my online banking from too many unsuccessful attempts to sign on)

We got up semi-early to catch our 10 am ferry?  boat? to Devin Castle.  There is a castle in town as well, which we were informed the next day on a tour is actually a fortress, rebuilt in 2013 or somewhere around there.  Devin is a real castle, like in Scotland, all stone walls and no roof.  

But first the boat.  Devin is up the River Danube.  It is  a 90 minute trip there and a 30 minute trip back, that's how strong the current is.  

The Petrov

This is a bridge.  They call it the spaceship

The Bratislava 'Castle'/Fortress

Finally, we could see the castle on the hill

We docked and then there was a little ways to walk, through that little village below.  This is the sight were the Bratislava Wall crossed.  Not as famous as the Berlin Wall but as equal a deterrent to get to the west.  There are some memorials along the path. 

This heart stands where the wall was

This bullet-riddled wall tells a story, 
unfortunately, it didn't tell it to me
since I didn't go down and read the sign

Finally, the castle is visible again

There was a nice sloping path up the the entry gate.  But first we had to walk through some 'traditional' fields where they keep goats and sheep to manage the pastures like they would have when the castle was in use. 

There is never not a good excuse to show a goat picture! 

We made it to the lower courtyard without a single stair!  Steps are not great for mom's knee.  But after that, not so much, it was all stairs. 

The lower courtyard from above

Devin is at the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers

Mom waiting while I went up to the top

One is required by law to take a photo through a 
window when one is in a medieval castle. 

Heading back down. This guy figured out if he stands by the 
fence, tourists will feed him tasty green grass 
from the sheepless field next door.  

Back on the boat, back to town.  My friend Rob said I should try garlic soup in Prague. We couldn't find any but we found some in Bratislava, in a bread bowl no less!!  So good.  Excellent suggestion. 

We walked around after that but I can't handle the wifi anymore so I will toss those pictures into tomorrow's post.  Let's see if I can post this....

One last statue.  Dowsing at a fountain.  Seems like he may be a lazy diviner.