(Bratislava, Slovakia-continued)…

As we were saying, the people looked much different in Bratislava than in Papa. Mainly, the styles were much different. The skirt and shorts length for the women dropped about four inches. There were not as many vividly red hair colors. It is important to note however, that many of the people were tourists. We heard a lot of people speaking English (with American accents)! There was also a large group of Asian tourists, and we also heard German and French being spoken around us.

As we continued on the path towards the Bratislava Castle, we realized that we took some wrong turns. We had to back track a little, but this just meant more sight-seeing! After crossing a bridge, built for pedestrians, the trolley and cars, we began to approach the castle. The beautiful aroma of cedar filled the air as we walked up a large cedar staircase to the back of the castle. Immediately we encountered a sign which gave details about the castle’s history, which was first recorded in 900 AD, and the reconstruction in 1953 after a devastating fire.

We walked on the grounds of the castle which was mostly under construction, but the view was spectacular. From the high elevation, we were able to view the entire city which was a spectacular sight! The reconstructed castle consists of an outer wall which looks original, surrounding the new architecture which was gated. Not being able to enter the castle did not really matter, the outside was fantastic!!

Walking back down the hill towards downtown, we took a different route from when we came up. This route lead us to a narrow cobble stone street with multiple restaurants and shops. We continued along this antique path, which lead us to the “old downtown.” Strolling down the cobble stone streets of this historic city, felt like walking on a movie set…it was unbelievable! The streets looked just like photos we have seen of old European towns. Tall old buildings towered above us as made our way through the maze of shops and cafes.

Hungry for lunch, we decided to eat at a little restaurant called “Twenties”. There was outside and inside seating available, the heat encouraged us to sit inside! We entered the dimly lit restaurant and heard Michael Jackson! The old restaurant and the modern music was a bit at odds, but it worked. We chose a table by the door and ordered 2 virgin mojitos that were wonderfully refreshing!! The menu consisted of authentic Slovakian cuisine like dumplings, cheeses, meats, etc. We ordered two traditional Slovakian meals: Slovakian dumplings with sheep cheese and bacon, and a bowl of cooked veggies, potatoes and cheese. Both dishes were delicious and the portions were very large! Again….the mojitos were excellent!! They were full of a plethora of mint and fresh lime…they were perfect!

After lunch we continued on the cobble stone streets and walked into a couple of tourist shops. Most items were fairly expensive, especially because the Euro is worth more than the dollar. We are used to being in Papa where our dollar goes a long way! As we walked the scenery began to change from old to new. The shops and restaurants we passed were new and bustling. We then entered a large town square surrounded by both old and new buildings. Small open-air stands were situated in the square selling mostly souvenir items. A beautiful old fountain was at the center of the square, it was a marvelous sight.

We then decided to try and find our way back to our car! We had wondered around so aimlessly, it was a fun challenge to find the parking lot. On our adventure back to the car we ended up on top of the Danube River, about ten blocks away from the car! LOL!! Though we were a bit displaced, we knew what land marks we were looking for the find our way back. Great advice—identify landmarks that will guide you back and act as your North Star—preferably a church steeple, because these can be seen from anywhere in the city!!

We spotted our North Star and began heading in that direction. This path took us by ornate statues, art and water fountains. In addition, we passed by another open-air market and a large shopping complex. Something interesting we have noticed, in both Hungary and Slovakia, people actually use the water in the fountains. In Papa we have seen people wash their hands and feet, as well as drink from a fountain (with clean water), in Bratislava people had their feet in the fountain, cooling off.

We finally found the parking lot, but stopped for ice cream before going to our car. Choosing ice cream was interesting, the young man behind the counter did not speak any English and thought we had ordered when we hadn’t. We ended up holding ice cream cones of an identified flavor. Happily it was great, and we think it was rum raisin… but we can’t be sure! Lol!

Not ready to leave, we headed into the shopping complex which was like a large department store with Tesco (a grocery store) on the basement level. The prices were very high but we had fun looking around. After hearing two people speaking English (from America) we stopped and chatted with them. They were retirees from Florida there on a guided tour; this explained all of the American-English we heard!

When we finally made it back to the parking lot, after five hours of wandering the streets of Bratislava, we examined the machine that would take our ticket to exit the parking lot. We watched as cars scanned their ticket in the machine, the gate open, and they drove off. A bit confused, we wondered why no one was paying…but we hoped we wouldn’t have to either! We got in the car, drove to the exit, scanned our ticket and …..nothing….scan the ticket again…nothing!! OH NO!!! We were not sure what to do, so we backed up and parked. That is when we saw a “Parking Machine” sign. A man was using the machine when we approached. We watched as he scanned his ticket, paid, and was issued a new ticket. Following by example, we did the same, paying 10 Euros for 5 hours ($12.95).

With new ticket in hand, we returned to our car, again rolled up to the exit, scanned our new ticket and…the gate opened. Brilliant!!

We entered “home” into the GPS, and took the shorter, highway bound, route home at 130 km per hour (which is the speed limit on that highway). After an hour and 20 minutes we were home-sweet-otthon.