Bratislava!

I arrived via 8:00 a.m. bus to the capitol of Slovakia on Friday. I did have some second thoughts about my travel schedule when my alarm buzzed at 6:20 to begin my holiday. I had checked out the beach bar at Hermann's the night before, and I was seriouly questioning my sightseeing resolve. However, I am really glad I got an early start so that I could see all Bratislava had to offer before heading East.

My favorite part was lunch in the 1 Slovak Pub where each room is decorated to portray a different part of Slovak history. I had spinach and chicken perogies (sp?) off the Grandma's favorite menu. My least favorite part was that due to an unusually stuffed backpack (I had hiking shoes packed) I was forced to wander the streets of Bratislava, Let's Go travel bible in hand. I love my guide book (seriously love it and love my roommates for giving it to me) but I hate walking around with it as a sort of "Look! I'm a lost tourist" flag. At least I'm not in one of those tour groups dressed alike following someone with a flowered umbrella. I'm way too cool for that.

I think this bridge is really cool too. It's the "new bridge" built in 1970s communist Bratislava. It crosses the Danube, the ever present river of my travels. After a day of Capitol sights, I hopped on a Slovak train that I was pretty sure would stop in Kysak, near Rebecca's village. (The train station was the first place I had to use the travel Charmin I bought at the Bethesda Giant prior to departure.)

The train did stop in Kysak and my host was there to meet me. Trip to Eastern Slovakia, perfectly executed!