We may have overdone it this time. I needed to go to Vienna for a work trip, M came along, and we decided to cram a day each in three extra countries while we're at it. Why not? The first 24-hour stop on our European adventure was Bratislava, Slovakia. (You can read about our next stop, Brno, here, and Vienna here.) We had heard this city was somewhat sleepy compared to the others on our list, so we figured it would be a nice way to start our trip after a moderately long transit from Nairobi (~11 hours). It was beautiful!
When we arrived, it was a little warm outside so we immediately scoped out ice cream shops. Based on good reviews online and a long line, we settled on LUCULUS Ice Saloon. It was exquisite - my lavender and chocolate ice cream was served in what I think was the best-tasting cone I've ever had. This was also our first taste of the fact that very few people we would interact with on this trip would speak English.
We did join a free walking tour (in English) of the city. We enjoyed landmark sights, like the "UFO bridge" above, and learned some history, such as at the memorial of a destroyed synagogue below. If I remember correctly, there used to be 75,000 Jews in Slovakia and by the end of WWII there were only 5,000 - the rest had fled or been deported to concentration camps. As heartbreaking as it was, I was so glad they committed to remembering that tragedy.
In the middle of our tour, we stumbled upon a folk dance and music parade (the first photo of this post). We were amazed at how young some of the performing children were and how well they executed the songs and fancy footwork. Our guide shared that they train from a young age to keep their culture alive and perform at cultural festivals throughout the summer.
We also snapped this photo of the most famous statue in Bratislava: Čumil. There are two stories explaining him, and neither is very pleasant! One is that he was installed around the time women started wearing shorter skirts, so he's just a pervert trying to get a good view. The other is that he's a lazy, communist-era Slovak worker just slacking off until he can clock out and go home.
Then we visited the gorgeous Blue Church, true to its name inside and out as if someone had draped light blue fondant over the entire thing. I only have a picture of the exterior, as a service was ongoing inside and it seemed rude to take a picture of worshippers minding their own business. (I know I wouldn't like it if someone did that to me.)
Of course, we couldn't leave Slovakia without trying Slovakian food. We went a little overboard at Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, recommended online and by our tour guide for authentic food at a reasonable (less than 10€/person) price. Pictured above: a Slavok platter for two that included sheep cheese-covered dumplings, pierogis with sour cream, and dumplings with sauerkraut and bacon. The things that look like nuts are actually deep fried fat. (Yum!) Pictured below: a pig knuckle that also easily could have fed two or three. When we saw it on the menu, we knew we had to get it on the recommendation of my boss, who had served in Eastern Europe twice. The food was divine but far from anything I'd consider healthy. I couldn't decide if we were eating more fat, carbs, or sodium, since everything seemed packed with all three!
Bratislava was so delightful, and we actually didn't get much of the "sleepy" vibe some tourists complained about online. (Or maybe we're just "sleepy" people?) I also loved the conscious devotion to preserving tradition in the face of globalization. (Did you know in Slovakia boys whip and dump water on girls on Easter Monday? Or that Slovak families keep carp in their bathtubs in preparation for Christmas? You can read more about those traditions here and here, respectively - they're fascinating.) We highly recommend Bratislava for anyone traveling in the area. At least for our visit in the summer, it was amazing!
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