Sun 08.Jul.2012
Bratislava, Slovakia
The train from Italy arrives now at a nowhere Viennese station I have never seen
before. It used to arrive at South Station, before they tore that down two years ago.
I assume that when the still-under-construction new Main Station opens, we can
arrive there.
I exchanged goodbyes with my new Pakistani friends from Dubai, and set off
to find the prefabricated sheds that serve as a temporary South Station. Three
stops along the Viennese BART, there it was, and in minutes we were off across
the endless Danube plain toward Bratislava.
Rail connections to Bratislava from Vienna have been beefed up. A train
every hour on the hour, up from six or seven per day last year. They have
added a few Austrian stops too. Almost as if this will someday be a Vienna BART
(err... S-Bahn) route.
The train stops for a few extra minutes in the last Austrian town, Marchegg,
to change operating crews. From here on, Slovakian Rail is driving our train,
and the Austrian crew will pick up the next train going back to Vienna.
Meanwhile, we cross the border river Morava (March in German, hence
the name Marchegg, "Moravian Corner") ...
... and sure enough, here we are! Bratislava Main Station is about 15
minutes ahead.
When I checked my email, there was a note from my Bratislava landlord,
who had tried to meet me at the station. That is, he met the train I had
expected to be on, before the earthquake near Bologna disrupted all of the train
traffic to Austria. I called him on Skype, made my apologies, and he came and
got me at the wi-fi cafe in the old city where I was calling from. Bleiben
Sie da! "Don't go anywhere!". I didn't.
Once settled in though, I headed to the mall for shampoo and soap. After two
nights and days under way, I needed a shower something fierce. I don't remember
why I went to the mall for that stuff instead of to the chain drugstore around
the corner; there must have been something else I wanted too.
When I was freshened and fit to go out in public, I took a stroll in the old city.
The long promenade of Hviezdoslav Square had a new set of artworks, mostly
sculpture, and the familiar old strollers, tourists, chess players, cafe sitters,
you name it. And of course the lovely old Slovak National Theater gracing the east
end.
Good to be back.
A bit odd; from the front, this looks like a cheap porno crotch shot.
While from this angle, it looks more like squatting on the can. It somehow
works better in aluminum than in flesh and blood.
This is a long square, facing near enough west that the late sun casts
an almost idyllic light along the south side.
My window faces roughly eastward, so I can see the pre-dawn light in the
sky if I am up at such an hour. An internally illuminated billboard has had
a different movie ad for me each year. This time it is "Ice Age 4", dubbed in
Slovak. Last year it was Harry Potter 8, which I did indeed see here when it
opened.
At one of the modern shopping malls, an interesting skylight ...
... for an underground shopping area.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf