Bratislava, Slovakia

The thing I love most about Europe is that you can take a day trip to another country. So that's exactly what I did. I hopped on the train at 7:45 am and headed to Slovakia! I had to change trains once to get there, but I'm pretty much amazing at the train system by now, so it wasn't a problem. I arrived in Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, at around 9:45 am. Pretty much the instant the train pulled into the station it started raining. But I have a cute little umbrella Henry bought for me that fits perfectly in the pocket of my purse, so I was all set. I stopped by the tourist info to get a map and a free guidebook and then the ATM to get 1000 korunas for the day and then I headed out with my map and my umbrella. Sarah's guidebook on Slovakia recommended this little book store/coffee shop called Next Apache. I found it on the map and it was on the way from the train station to the old town, so I stopped in for a break from the rain. It was the cutest place ever! Really cozy and eccentric. There were old couches and cute little tables and chairs and it had tons of books. And most of them were in English! I was tempted to buy a few, but I already have a bunch of books I'm carrying around with me, so I just got a coffee and planned out my day in Bratislava. By the time I was ready to go, the rain had pretty much stopped, so I headed into the city. I was passing under the St.Michael's Gate (a big archway under the tower of St. Michael's church that basically leads into the old town) when I saw a cute little lady selling jewelry. It was all hand made by her (I knew because she was making some as she was sitting there waiting for customers.) So I bought some really cute earrings. Then I walked around the town and saw all the cool things the guidebook told me to see. Bratislava has all these cool statues kind of hidden around town. There's a man in a manhole, a man leaning on one of the benches in the main square, a paparazzi guy taking photos around a corner, and a man with a top hat waving to people on the street. So I had a good time walking around town finding all the statues and taking pictures with them. I also enjoyed the main square and some of the other beautiful buildings in town. In the main square there's a random painting of a man dressed in black on the outside of the old town hall. There's also some measuring tools attached to the old town hall that people used to use to measure their goods before they bought them to make sure the merchants weren't cheating on the price. I thought that was kind of cool.

Bratislava also has a big castle right next to the old town. So I hiked up to it and walked all around it. The castle itself was closed for refurbishment right now, but I enjoyed the view of the town and the Danube river from way up at the castle and it was still a beautiful walk. I also saw the narrowest house in town. The frontal face measures only 130 cm.

I walked a few blocks out of town to see the "blue church" and I'm really glad I did because it was super cool! It was a beautiful blue color both inside and out and I loved it! I would totally go to church there! Sarah's guidebook mentioned a vegetarian restaurant outside of town, so I decided to hike out there for some good veggie food. But when I got out there I found that the restaurant no longer existed. So I ate at the restaurant that is there now and had some amazing stuffed mushrooms! So it all worked out. :-) Then I headed back into town and saw the Grassalkovish Palace. It is a huge palace where the President of the Slovak Republic works. There were two guards out front guarding the building and standing absolutely still. That would be a tough job. The palace had a really cool fountain out front with a globe-like thing in the middle of it. In the back of the palace were some beautiful gardens where I sat and read my book for awhile. Then I made my way back to the train station and headed back to Hungary. I definitely enjoyed my day in Slovakia. :-)