Thu
14.Aug.2014
Bratislava, Slovakia
A cold, dark and drizzly Summer this year in most of Europe, certainly in
Bratislava. The weeks of Phoenix-like temperature that I have grown
accustomed to in past years have not happened. we haven't seen three figures Fahrenheit
since I arrived in June. A couple of brief stabs at the high 90's. Today in
mid-August, We are dealing with high 60's, (20°C for the Europeans).
Even on reasonable days, the light has mostly been too hazy for great
photos.
That said, the Old City is as lovely as ever, and the turistas
still love to take each others' photos with the the statuary. Here we are
on Main Square, with the "Frenchman" statue, and the old town hall.
A day trip to Vienna What would Bratislava be without it?
(A standard tour package would do it the other way around.)
Rotten Apple Cafe
The name gains something in translation. In German, it actually says Red
Apple. Languages give ample room for free - even licentious -
association.
A high-rise shopping mall on Mariahilferstrasse, western Vienna's great
shopping street. The top two floors here are a big consumer electronics
chain. Wandering through their CD department, I saw a large, if motley,
assortment of jazz CDs on sale at about half the usual, inflated European
price.
I must have missed some treasures, but I did acquire "essential" sets of Dave
Brubeck and Fats Waller, and Weather Report's landmark
album "Heavy Weather", which includes Birdland, their best-known
track.
A decent day's haul! I needed to return to Vienna the following week with my
(drive-less) netbook computer, so I could use a CD drive at a net cafe (on
Mariahilferstrasse!) to convert my new CDs to play on my phone. I am
listening to Weather Report as I type this.
Back to Bratislava
Fly in the Buttermilk:
That isn't buttermilk that this giant fly is resting on. A disgustingly
realistic, morbidly fascinating sculpture!
A color picture of a black & white scene!
A plaza near my apartment, across the street from the Palace of Justice.
As they say at UC Santa Cruz, Fiat Slug!
A sculpture of mirrored pillars in the same plaza.
The statue of the medieval king of Great Moravia,
Svätopluk, in front of Bratislava Castle.
A memorial of some sort outside the Blue Church, aka St. Elizabeth's. The
text reads "The unborn". Does it refer to ... who knows? My local informant
confirmed my translation of the inscription, but didn't know what it is
about. Mothers killed in wars? Malnutrition? Birth control? Somebody is
mourning somebody else; I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Outside my window, sunrise. Actually earthspin, but you know what I mean.
This is probably my last post from Europe
for this season. I'm outta here a week from today. A night in Prague, then
the long flight to San Francisco.
I'll be two months in California instead of the usual one, dealing with
medical issues, which seem to come with the territory when you have 68
years.
Happy Trails, everybody!