bratislava

why haven't i heard more about this city?
2 nights and 1 day and i'm steamrolled.....it's beautiful, the people are amazingly nice, fun and hospitable, and a student can visit a lot of historical places FREE......i like.....
i arrived in teh evening and immediately had plans with some guys who'd also just arrived....the word on teh street was there was a party in an old bomb shelterunder the castle.....i'm not shitting you....an old bomb shelter
i wandered the city in the rain and relaxed in the lounge of the hostel....by the time, our meeting time, had arrived, our crew had grown to 5 members....i'm not even going to try to do the evening justice....unforgettable venue, unforgettable music, unforgettable company.....all in a good way.....i even got lessons on "how to catch the bartenders' eye" by this slovakian guy -- who, by default, was good-looking.........that entertaining and inane conversation produced a BOTTLE of local wine in my hand....apparently, taht's the way the locals do it....such good times!
none of us made it home early -- and also impressively, all the guys danced........
the next morning, my internal clock went off at a ridiculously early 9am......i felt gross and jumped into the shower before anyone else even started to stir....within no time, i was out the door and sightseeing.......by 230pm, i'd impressed myself with my abilities to visit a castle and 2 museums well and in record time (PS i would highly recommend the latter2) .....so i headed to teh bus stop to see some ruins of a castle out of town....before i'd reached the curb, i heard a "hey!"....it was melanie, one of the bombShelter crew....she'd just gotten up and the same venture was her token touring for teh day..........we had instant company............teh ruins of devin castle are picturesque to say the least....situated between the 2 main rivers.....and we arrived just as teh sun was starting its descent onto the horizon....we wandered and climbed and photos were taken in abundance.....thent tiredness and hunger crept up on us....we headed back to town....and after setting up a meeting time for that night, we parted ways.........
after my traditional meal of garlic soup from an edible bowl, i bumped into another crew member, rich, on my way back to the hostel......we wandered some more before deciding to rest in anticipation of a predictably big night out.............
we hung out, the 3 of us, at teh hostel, 'till quite late....talking to a group of locals playing Sorry and drinking....
the first place we went, once ventring outdoors, cuked....after incidences of cigarette burns, unsolicited gropes and beer showers within the first 45 minutes, we left.......we had another option but we were a little lost....a random guy had walked us there (totally out of his way--so nice!)......we asked soem guys at a bus stop how to get there or where to go....within a few minutes our crew had initiated 2 new members -- 2 bratislavians (Andre and Saro)......2 places later, we were relatively satisfied by the music....our new friends were awesome--so awesome!...one spoke some english but it deteriorated as he got drunker....and he was trying to translate for his friend.....we finally left around 4am or so....walked back to our hostel....and in a moment of spontaneity, invited our new friends in for tea....it was 530 or 6am by the time my head hit my pillow....but it was well worth it......
today we all headed in opposing directions