Melby's Travels

These days were pretty chill. I just headed into the city center for a few hours on each day and relaxed and refreshed the rest of the time. One of the things I noticed is that a lot of the workforce, at least in the pharmacy and airport, were pretty young - close to my age (under 25). This might be due to the need to speak English in those jobs, but may also reflect the general workforce in Bratislava. DAY 1 HVIEZDOSLAV SQUARE This is where the cafe was located. There was a LONG and pretty fountain, but I couldn't get a good picture because of the rain. CAFE VERNE Tomato soup - not as acidic as the tomato soups I'm used to it. A little sweet and smoky, probably from bell peppers. Some additional spices also possible. Topped with a dollop of sour cream Duck breast with purple cabbage and crepe - purple cabbage was sweet and sour, almost pickled but not quite, balanced out saltiness and meatiness of duck. crepe was again like pancakes from childhood - very filling, thickest ones...

DAY 1 MORNING - BRATISLAVA I arrived on the night of Aug 5 and only caught a glimpse of Bratislava from the train station to the apartment of Marta, Caroline's great aunt, who graciously let me stay at her place. Her place is among a bunch of housing complexes that are probably from the Communist era or at least part of its legacy. So that was basically all I saw. OLD TOWN The old town had a slightly different vibe to it. It felt more quaint with the medieval buildings, the cafes lining the square, and fun statues.  As we wandered around and occasionally ending up where we started (due to poor cellphone service and general nature of wandering), we decided to enter a pastry shop, as recommended by Caroline's mom. PASTELERIA Kremes - custard base, topped with whipped cream, then a thin layer of puff pastry, and finished with a chocolate top. great variety of textures, with the sturdiness of the custard, softness of the cream, bite of the pastry and chocolate BRATISLAVA CASTLE The...

By the time I got here, the temperatures were already close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, I was pretty set on visiting all the places on the one-day itineraries online. Also in the train station, I saw several signs directed to help Ukrainians (food, shelter, etc) as well as some people to help them. Throughout the city, I've seen more Ukrainian flags than any other city thus far.  First stop... VICTORY COLUMN At the base level, there were models of Berlin monuments, many of which were built to commemorate princes or soldiers who fought in a battle, as well as invoke national pride. Interestingly enough, there were also models of monuments from Rome, Paris, and New York.  On the next level is a mosaic. Then, after several flights of windy stairs, I reached the top level with a view of the city. The TV tower definitely dominated the skyline, along with some cranes. The view from the top confirmed that while Berlin is not the prettiest of cities, it is certainly big and bust...