Bratislava - 19-20 Feb

So, things have got busy again and I've fallen behind a little, but this is roughly what I was doing at the start of the week...

Got to my hostel in Bratislava midway through Monday afternoon, put my feet up for a while and waited for my Aussie mate James (from Krakow) to turn up. He did this late afternoonish, so we decided to go explore the feeding oppurtunities Slovakia's capital had to offer. As we'd decided the Old Town was probably overpriced (at least by Slovakian standards), we took a wander on the outskirts, eventually settling on a place offering a range of "Pfannengerichte" (a German menu was the best they could offer us). Basically these consisted of a number of items, all served together in a big frying pan. My option was the chicken, pineapple and potatoes, which for some obscure reason came with a carbonara sauce. Nontheless, delicious.

Later on we ambled pubwards with an american guy we met at the hostel, ending up in an Irish pub, where conversation rambled over many topics late into the night, and we quenched our thirst with "Kelt" a beer whose pump appeared to be a huge broadsword which had been driven into the bar. How could I refuse? :D

The next day we arose a little later than usual, but still struggled to find anywhere in town that was open to serve us breakfast. Eventually we opted for an odd little place, where my repast consisted of some kind of turkey casserole in potato pancakes. They're funny folk in Slovakia, I tell thee.

The rest of the day was spent casually wandering around Bratislava, taking in the old town, the House of Primates (though not monkeys), the riverside (Danube, I believe), the castle (not a patch on Malbork :P) and the city's soviet war memorial, which we had many a difficulty finding, despite the fact it was on the top of a big hill! No single sight was anything particularly spectacular, but I really liked the "vibe" of the city, if you will. In fact, I was rather keen on Slovakia as a whole - it's a really scenic country, quite relaxed and not too touristy, but still very interesting and with plenty to do, in one way or another. Very glad I included it in my trip :)