Tue 02.Jul.2013
Bratislava, Slovakia
A week both ordinary and adventurous since I last checked in.
On the one hand, I am in a familiar place, same old apartment, familiar routine,
and weather mostly either too hazy or cloudy for good photos.
On t'other hand, my credit card was suddenly cancelled, I ran down my cell phone credit
talking to the bank about the card, which of course was no longer available to re-charge
the phone credit. (No toll-free calls from Europe to US 800 numbers; I had to call
the regular number. I'm just glad that I could even make that work.)
Skype proved able to call the bank's customer service, and much cheaper than the
temporarily credit-less phone. The bank FedEx'd me a new card to replace the one that appeared
to have been compromised, and I didn't even mind having to spell Bratislava for
their customer service agent.
Something Old
We've been here before. To re-establish where we are, let's look at some familiar old
sights.
Try saying Slovak National Theater without prepending the words lovely old.
In two words, im-possible, as Sam Goldwyn is supposed to have put it.
Strangely few few people have been photographing this popular fellow the couple of times
I have been to his street corner. He is still here though, the arguable star of the Old City
statuary brigade.
These humble critters still hang out down the block from my apartment, across the street
from the Palace of Justice. The palace itself is a drab communist-era blob that does not
merit a photo, though one of its fountains will get a couple.
The star of the Old City, the Great Cliche of the tourist brochures, St Michael's
Gate. Who can argue with it?
Something New
There are new things to see, little though I thought so at first. And new angles on
old stuff too.
Roland Fountain in Main Square, magnetic epicenter of tour groups and
individual sight-seers.
Hviezdoslav Square - still a mouthful, as ever - is a constant show of people and
performances. The day I arrived, there was an "international crafts fair" going on.
Slovak Subtitles on a movie ad sounds intimidating at first, but actually it is
encouraging. It means that the movie is being shown in its original language. If it was
made in English, you are in luck. The alternative to subtitles is Slovensky Dabing,
or sometimes Czesky Dabing, which mean exactly what they sound like. For an
English-speaker, that is a much bigger problem.
A new view of Bratislava Castle, from a bridge over the Danube west of the
center of town.
I had never crossed that bridge before. The far end sits almost right on the former
iron curtain, the communist-era border fortifications.
Nowadays a major international cycle trail goes through here, braving the memory of
artillery, and the presence of a zillion mosquitos. Most of the cyclists I met were
speaking German to each other, presumably Austrians. Their home country was walking distance
from the spot.
An entertaining display at that crafts fair back in Hviezdoslav Square.
Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, ...
The book shop / cafe where I hang out evenings sells mugs.
What do you call chili con carne when Spanish isn't an option?
The civic sculpture brigade have expanded their numbers and territory. Here they
are at the mall.
Something Blue
An all too brief nod to the beautiful Blue Church, formally St Elizabeth's.
We'll probably see more of it; I'm kind of a sucker for it.
Some day I should check
out the inside (so to speak). Could any interior really live up to the whimsical exterior?
OK, we are back in Slovakia for the next couple of months.
Ciao!