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Bratislava is a very pretty city, don't get me wrong. I am fully aware that it's my own fault I didn't have a good time there. But anyway, here's what happened:
Scott and I were only in Bratislava for three nights; two full days. We arrived from the High Tatras with a huge load of dirty clothes, and our heads full of the blogs we should have been writing the last few weeks. So when we discovered that our hostel had free laundry and internet I got my hopes up. I should have known that both would be hot commodities. That night we spent hours waiting for the internet in a crowded and loud common room, and we never got to use the washing machine. By the time we escaped the building to look for some dinner, there was freezing rain everywhere and it was so late only the greasy gyro stand was open. The next morning wasn't much better. We moved to a new hostel, which also had free laundry, but the machines took so long that we spent 6 hours waiting in a dark and dingy common room, pretending to have fun playing cards and drinking beers. So I spent much of my first 24 hours in Bratislava whining and complaining.
Once we got into the sunlight, I saw that the guidebooks did not lie. The Old Town is precious, full of cobbled streets and cafes on every corner. In the main square there are statues hiding everywhere--in a sewer hole, leaning on a bench, or disguised as Andy Warhol. We also discovered a really great used English bookstore which plays great music and serves the world's best hot chocolate. I could appreciate all these great things from a distance, but my lingering irritablity made it difficult to enjoy the moment.
On our final day, I began to get my enthusiasm back. On our way to Bratislava Castle I noticed the change in myself as I giggled and skipped around. The castle grounds weren't that interesting, but they provided neat views--of the beautiful Old Town, and the conformity of the Communist blocks across the river. When we walked back into town, we realized that we had already seen most of it on our first day. Having enjoyed plenty of small towns the last few weeks, I felt I was finally ready for another big city. Next, the excitement of Budapest...
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