Bratislava

A city that definitely shouldn’t be overlooked if you are in this part of the world.  Although it’s quite spread out across the Danube, all the action is in and around the old town and the riverfront.  Old school mixes with goth and new.  We are warned by our airbnb host about the lady on the first floor and the need to be quiet when using the stairwell.  This has never worked well in previous buildings with the kids so this time around requires some liberties in storytelling.  I warn them that there is a witch on the first floor who hates noise and she will come out and get little children if they make a racket.  Naturally Zach is very skeptical of this story but Kaia and her imagination fully buy in. Never thinking we would actually run into this lady, I make up all sorts of things to keep the kids entertained, only to then meet her and her dog on the stairs the first day.  Thankfully for me, she is older, her face looks like it has spent years scouring at people and she never smiles.  So it actually adds to her legend while we are in Bratislava.

While we are here, Gareth sets off for one of his crazy walks in the heat (13km this time) and the kids and I do some school work.  Gareth is really invigorated by the city.  It's a very green city, and they have put a lot of effort into outdoor activities, like the cycle trail that runs alongside the river but is covered by forest, or the giant water fountain specifically for playing in on hot days, which is a mecca for the most kids we have seen in one place all summer.  For the middle of August this place is not busy, we never had an issue finding a restaurant to eat at, although I did try to take us all to a Lesbian bar without knowing, however we didn’t stay as no kids allowed and no food served.  The place we eat at is Italian, the music playing is by Kylie Monogue (I should be so lucky).....

Bratislava Castle is so different from all the other castles we have been to on this journey.  The castle has fallen into disrepair many times over the course of time.  However the more recent restorations have allowed it open to the public, and like the story of Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia, this castle had a man who became obsessed and dedicated his life to its restoration.  There is nothing fancy or elaborate about the interior of this castle.  All walls are plain and white, the ceiling has very basic gold detail patterns, a complete change from what we have seen in western European castles.  It's kind of like a museum inside with artifacts from the area and giving the history of Bratislava and where the double cross which adorns their coins and coat of arms, even their hockey uniforms comes from.

Moving into slightly more modern tourist things to see, we make our way down the castle steps and walk across one of the many bridges to the UFO tower, and yep,  a total tourist trap and really not worth it.  Deciding that we need to do something just for the kids, we make our way to the downtown mall and go to an arcade for the afternoon.

On our last night here, we eat at the “famous Solvak Pub” and order traditional dishes.  The garlic soup that comes in a bread container is delicious, however eating that much garlic in one sitting has us farting all the next day.  I really like the creativity of what people do with potatoes here.  It's a staple of every meal, and my pork strips come in a plat - so it's all a bit unique, but delicious all the same.  The kids are just stoked it's not pizza.