Bratislava, Slovakia

Thursday


On this morning, Katherine and I checked into Hotel Kyjev, a Communist-era hostel with rather eccentric 60s nostalgia, among other interesting features. For one, they had round mirrors, crappy wood paneling, epically slow elevators, and a taxi in the lobby. Let me take the chance to elaborate on these elevators. Katherine took the opportunity to film the doors opening, as they moved at the kind of pace you would when waking up and taking a slow stretch. One time, when we could not resist our impatience for the elevator to climb to the sixth floor, we decided to take the stairs. All was good and well until, after reaching the first floor, we realized that there WAS NO EXIT. The stairs just kept descending with no visible end. We were too freaked out to see if there was a bomb shelter at the bottom, so we quickly trekked up to the first floor to take the elevator, only to find it open up to the people who were waiting with us on the sixth floor! We laughed about it a bit, and then explained that there was no way to get out of the stairs. Good thing we didn't need an emergency exit!


Our first sight-seeing adventure started with the church of St. Elisabeth, which is also named the "Blue" church. And most appropriately, it seems to be, considering that the entire church is painted in different shades of pastel blue, even on the inside. (see St. Elisabeth and the Miracle of the Roses)

We then took a stroll to Old Town Square (Hlavné Námastie) to see the historical building (Slovenské národné divadlo) and the various famous statues (Hans Christian Anderson, for one). Keep in mind that it was sweltering hot the whole day, and we were walking under the sun in the humidity and suffering a little. Thus, when we reached the Hrad (Bratislava Castle), all we wanted was some shade and breeze to save us from death by UV ray. Thus, we walked up to the castle, took a few pictures, and then sat (or fell asleep in my case) under a shade tree by the entrance. This was quickly interrupted by a gigantic semi truck (which we thought would not be able to make the clearance under the castle gate) and a horde of fat Austrian tourists who tried pitifully to avoid being squashed by the truck.


We decided to find refuge in a less crowded area, so we bought a pineapple popsicle and a grapefruit Fanta from a convenience store (for less than 2 euro!) and parked under a tree in the Grassalkovich gardens (Grasalkovičov palác), where we sat in the soft grass and watched a bird catch slugs. On this lovely adventure, I was intrigued by scattered remains of a dismembered pigeon, which fondly reminded me of Claire and her fascination with these rats with wings. As usual, I snapped a few photos for her enjoyment.


Katherine and I headed back to Old Town. On our way, we heard some music coming from the Primaciálny palác, so we stepped inside. Katherine was a bit wary, wondering if it was a private party or if we had to buy tickets. I noticed that no one was exchanging money, nor did anyone have a special ticket to get a plate a free food and a glass of wine, so I told her we should stand in line. She also worried that they would start talking to us in Slovak and we wouldn't be able to respond - we saw the police come to shoo away the homeless guys, and we didn't want a similar thing to happen to us, the tourist impostors. Luckily, we just smiled and walked down the table, picking up fresh cheeses and bread with olive oil, piling up our plates. We enjoyed watching traditional Slovak dancers sing to accordion music. It was wonderful!

After a relaxing afternoon under the shade, we went to the opera house to buy tickets to Lucrezia Borgia, the current production (see synopsis).

At last, we had dinner at Gazdovský Dvor, where I had halušky (like gnocchi) with cabbage, and Katherine had it with sheep's cheese. We ordered what they considered to be a carrot salad, but it turned out to be a bowl of shaved carrots with lemon and orange slices on the side. What amazed us was the price - we both had a main dish, a salad, a beer, and coffee, and the total was 17 euro!

Friday

Friday morning, we took the rickety bus to Hrad Devín (Devin Castle). All the while, we tried to figure out how to request a stop. The bus would violently jerk to a halt at various stops, open its doors quickly, honk, and then slam them just as fast. It took awhile for someone to request to get off; that was when we noticed that she pushed a button on the ceiling! In addition to being scared for our lives because of the bumpy ride, the middle-of-nowhere forest surroundings, and the lack of visible English, we were not comforted to know that the only way to get off of the moving bus was to jump up and push a button on the ceiling. We decided that there was no hope for Katherine, as she could only reach it when the bus was stopped. Good thing we were the last stop.

We arrived a little early, so we took a walk around the nature reserve, which was nice until we were viciously attacked by mosquitoes. We watched the hydrofoils cross the Donaj and the Morava rivers and noticed how the water color changed significantly at their intersection. At 10:00, the museum opened, and we bought student tickets (only 1.3 €). It was interesting, because you can tell how hard Bratislava tries to be an attractive tourist destination. The castle grounds were pretty cool, but they were rather scarce, considering Napoleon blew up the place in the 1800s. We were also suspicious about how much of the ruins were actually ruins and which were rebuilt.


Upon our return, illy (a Starbucks-type chain) was passing out free iced coffee (which was the point where we decided that Slovakians just liked passing out free stuff every day), which was refreshing after our hot bus trip. We ventured on to see the Pállfy palace museum, where they had a neat exhibit on Italian haute couture - dresses made for JLo and Naomi Campbell and a bunch of supermodels. We also went back to the Primate's Palace to see the hall of mirrors and tapestry museum, which was free for students. Finally, we stopped by the Pharmacy Museum at the Red Crayfish, which gained us access to the Museum of Arms and the tower that overlooked the city.

We stopped at a little café near the Hrad for a Greek salad and a Coke, and then back to the hostel to shower before the opera. Although the opera house was pretty and the tickets were cheap (5 € for balcony seats), the production didn't begin to compare with Vienna. I don't remember much of the opera, because it was in Italian and the subtitles were in Slovak, but I did notice the pit orchestra. There was one violinist in particular who was wearing a strapless black dress (which is NEVER done in a professional orchestra, mind you) and had this obnoxious red scarf over her chin rest. What bothered me most was that she came in late at every rest, barely moved her bow, and didn't turn the pages in time for her stand partner, even though it was her job. I have never seen a professional musician who faked the entire performance. And then I said to myself, "The guidebook said that the Bratislava opera was world class??" This is where my skepticism got the best of me. Katherine and I decided that she managed to get in based on good looks and made up stories about her fling with the conductor during intermission.


For dinner, we wandered in Old Town among the drunk stag partiers and the loud American tourists and managed to snag the last table at Pressburg before a couple behind us took it. There, we encountered way too many English speakers, which made us worried about how touristy the restaurant was. Needless to say, the Americans left, and our food arrived. To our enjoyment, the meal was fantastic. I had garlic soup, which is cream-based and traditionally comes in a bread bowl. Katherine had pumpkin cream soup, which was also delicious. I ordered a traditional cucumber salad, and we both had Topvar (Slovak beer on tap). It was a great meal for the price and the atmosphere, and we went back to the hostel with full stomachs and smiles.

What I learned

1. Garlic soup is amazing

2. Bratislavians like free stuff

3. Four inch heels are common, sensible walking shoes

4. Bring mosquito repellent

5. The UFO bridge only looks like a UFO when you see it in person

6. It is okay to apply deodorant while on the job at the post office. Don't expect better service.

7. If you buy animal postcards at a dumpy shopping mall, expect for the cashier to get excited and force you to take a bunch of free ones from a gigantic box. Also expect her to try to practice her English and tell you she lived in London for two years.

Rome: Day 3

On Saturday, Julia showed us the church and student community center where she used to live and study. We had a nice picnic (away from the rain), took a nap in the comfy chairs, and played with the Euro version of Lincoln logs. We then explored the staircases of the theology library.
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We visited the Villa Borghese museum, which was filled with extravagant marble and the famous Bernini sculptures (Appollo e Daphne and David, to name a few).
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After a wet walk through the park, we took a pause at a café to dry off and have an afternoon cappucino. It amazes me how many waiters rattled on in Italian, expecting me to answer. Thanks to my French, I have an ounce of advantage in uderstanding the language when compared to the 100% anglophone. That is not to say, however, that my spoken Italian isn't just as broken and smattered with sign language as any other non-speaker. It takes quite a bit of effort to even guess at the pronunciation of a word. Oh well, I now know what I need to work on.
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Saturday night, we dined at a wonderful little restaurant where I ate the best pizza of my life (mozzarella, zucchini blossoms, and anchovies), roquet and tomato salad with olive oil and lemon juice, and tiramisu with strong espresso and the richest mrscapone that has ever touched my palate. Yum is all I can say.
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Afterwards, we explored la Notte dei Musei (Museum Night), where we saw fluo colums, complete with pink soldiers on horseback and museum lines that stretched down the stairs and wrapped around the block. Because we were thoroughly tired and our shoes had transformed into squishy water vessels, we left the long lines, rejected free, unlimited museum access, and headed to the hostel in pursuit of much needed sleep.

Madrid: Tuesday

So, remember my shoe? I tried to close the crack with cement glue, but the second I stepped outside in the smallest puddle of water, I felt a rush of cold to the middle of my right foot. After walking 15 minutes to the light rail station from Linda's apartment, that foot was completely drenched once again. It's no matter, because later, on my way to the Royal Palace, I attempted to step over a small pond that was collecting at the bottom of the stone stairs. I unfortunately did not manage to evade the puddle, and both of my feet were feeling the full effect immediately. As an added bonus, my right foot emitted bubbles like a rabid dog every time I took a step.
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The first visit on my agenda was the Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian ruin site with a reflecting pool and a great view - albeit foggy - of the city of Madrid. There was also a free museum in the largest part of the ruin structure. It showed ancient Egyptian heiroglyphics and dioramas of possible configurations of the structures in Egyptian times. It was interesting to see the story unfold and learn a little about the significance of each of the gods.
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My quest continued to a church not far from the Debod site. I went down a path through a park, passing the Teleferico and over the train tracks, noting that the entire bridge over the tracks and all of the walls were covered in colorful graffiti. It was amazing to see what people had created over the years, and I'm sure it would not be a recommended place to travel at night. Over the bridge was the Real Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, a church that contained Goya's religious frescoes as well as his burial ground. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, so you will have to imagine his colorful and expressive style on the canvas of the church's ceiling. There was also a video in Spanish about the restoration process, so I briefly sat and watched albeit my lack of understanding.
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After the visit to the church, I was feeling a little hungry and hoping to find a warm place to sit and eat my packed lunch. I came across Principe Pio, a main Metro and train station, that had a giant mall with endless food court and tables. I sat across from the movie theater entrance, where I saw that there was a movie playing with George Clooney and a llama. I'm still not fully updated on the movies that come out in the US, so it wasn't surprising that I did not recognize the film.
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I also took a trip to the Royal Palace after lunch and saw the incredibly elaborate rooms where a bunch of kings named Carlos lived. There were porcelain rooms (where porcelain cherubs and vines covered the walls and ceiling) and oriental rooms and dining rooms covered in intricate silk patterns. There was also a room with a Stradavarius collection: two violins, a viola, and two cellos. This was the first time I had seen a Stradivarius, and, although you could tell that they replaced the tailpiece, strings, and pegs to make the instruments look nicer, I have to say that I was pretty impressed. I especially loved the cello, which was unadorned (as seen in the picture of the violin on the "Stradavarius" link, there is an edging along the face of the violin as well as paintings on the sides) and in pristine condition. It is a shame, though, that they are sitting in a box instead of being played.
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Plaza de Espana was another place that I on my walk around town. I took pictures of the fountain and the large hotel under construction.
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Linda took me to a couple of Asian grocery stores, where I found Sriracha rooster sauce and very cheap noodles and quinoa.
We then went to a more ethnic neighborhood with various Asian cuisine, and Linda took me to an Indian restaurant - 7 euro for a large pappadum with tamarind and mint yogurt sauces, pureed lentil soup with cilantro and lemon, palak paneer, choapati, wine, and Indian tea. Linda ordered pakoras, a chicken curry dish, and basmati rice. Our entire dinner ended up being 15 euro for what had to be some of the best Indian food I have ever tasted.

Madrid: Monday

Linda headed off to work early in the morning, but I woke up around 8 and took my time preparing for the day. I first headed to the Museo de la Reina Sofia, a contemporary art museum that holds Picasso's famous Guernica, many of Salvador Dali's paintings, and an assortment of Spanish and other European Cubist and Surrealist paintings. Not knowing where I was going (as the museum was vast and had many entry points for different rooms), I decided to follow a small group of people downstairs, only to hear a security woman yelling at me in Spanish and telling me that I was entering a secured access. Surprised by her forceful accusations, I apologized in my bumbling attempt at Spanish, and she told me (or what I understood) to go to the information desk if I had any questions (as if that would help, considering just about no one speaks English here). I finally figured out the system and managed to see some incredible 20th century paintings by Picasso, Dali, Picabia, Vazquez Diaz, Velasco, Sorolla, Miro, and Barradas, to name a few.
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I had originally planned to take both an art and city walking tour, but the weather completely drenched any desire to wander for hours outside with a bunch of tourists with bulky umbrellas and flashing cameras. Instead, I wandered past the Prado to a free museum called the Caixa Forum, where I saw the works of Miguel Barcelo. I have to say that this was my favorite museum visit by far - the artist used natural elements to make amazing contemporary portraits and still-lifes. The exhibit contained sculptures, watercolors, and mixed media pieces that were stunning and intricate. He did most of the work on his hands and knees, and his mixed media works were thick with paint and materials of various textures and shapes. It is amazing how his abstract view of natural objects appeared so real at the same time.
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After having seen many paintings, I needed a change of pace and decided to visit the Catedral de la Almudena. Its stained-glass windows were unique in that they were abstract, almost as if they had incorporated inspirations from Dali and Picasso into the creation of the large church. The inside had the standard organ as well as a large altar adorned with gold and silver and pictures of the Madonna and baby Jesus.
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I left the cathedral to find someplace warm and energizing, so I headed to La Mallorquina, a bustling little bakery with my first taste of Spanish coffee. Cafe con leche: 1.20 euro. Can't beat that anywhere! I first bought some yummy-looking pastries (a heart cookie with chocolate and a circular pastry with sliced almonds) which they wrapped in their traditional pink paper and string. Feeling confident that I was able to order pastries with relative ease, I went to the standing bar to order my coffee. The guy behind the counter was a little curt, but I successfully ordered a coffee with milk, which he heated and poured in front of me. I added the sugar and took a sip - absolute heaven. I have never tasted coffee so rich and delicious but so simple and ordinary. Linda had recommended this place the night before while we were on our stroll, and I am very grateful that she did. Albeit my half-frozen right foot, this was the perfect pick-me-up for my dampened spirit.

Russian tribute day

In honor of the Russians (or just out of irony), I ate Russian foods and listened to my favorite Russian composers. Today for lunch, I made my first borscht, which was creamy and the color of rich burgundy. I did not have potatoes (which were supposed to be cooked with the veggies, separated, and then mashed with cream and added to the soup), but I managed to do a similar thing and made a beet mash with heavy cream. The result was a subtle, sweet, slightly salty vegetable soup that was rich in texture, color, and flavor. I enjoy making peasant dishes that only require simple spices like salt and pepper, because you know that the main ingredients are what make the taste so special.



As you can see, the pot was rather large, so I had enough to feed about 15 people. Good thing I have freezer space!



The color is much easier to see in natural lighting.

After eating a delicious lunch, I met Claire and Claudine (one of Florian's friends from Germany who lives in Bourdonnette near Claire) to go downtown for some afternoon shopping. Claire needed some things for her apartment and wanted a good book for her trip to Grenada. I showed them my favorite used bookstore near le Barbare. I bought a biography on Serge Gainsbourg (born to Russian Jewish immigrants), who was a famous French singer in the 60s and 70s, known for his relationship with Brigitte Bardot. There is currently a movie about his life in all the major cinemas.



We returned on the metro with hopes to do something exciting for the evening. There were advertisements everywhere showing the upcoming OSUR (orchestre de la suisse romande) de Genève concert featuring two of my favorites, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovitch. I invited my roommate Sharon to come along with us; it was her first classical concert, and to our delight, we were able to show her a great symphony experience.



It is very rare to find an artist with such passion for his music. This man was one of the most talented and spirited violinists I have ever seen. The group itself was so well connected, and you could see the waves of their bodies moving in unison to the powerful Russian music. If I had known that student tickets to orchestra concerts were cheaper than movie tickets, I would have gone much more often. This will be the start of a beautiful and musical semester.

When Lausanne gives you rain, you hide in your apartment or...?

Today, it is raining, as expected for winter in Lausanne. Claire and I are thinking about going to the movies, but I don't know what to see. Our options look like Le Princesse et le Grenouille (princess and the frog), Sherlock Holmes, and Oceana. We were also looking at museums, and evidently the Roman Museum in Vidy is free for students. I want to take advantage of the free museums the first Saturday of the month (which is tomorrow!), so Claire and I might check out the Musee de Beaux-Arts and the Olympic Museum. What I am really excited about is the Musee d'Art Brut, which re-opens in March. This museum contains art made by people from prisons and mental institutes, and it is the only one of its kind in Europe. The other museum that I want to see is the Fondation de l'Hermitage in the Parc de Sauvabelin, which is supposed to have an Edward Hopper exhibit in June.