I do not have much to say today and am going to go to bed soon. My overall impression of Bratislava is that it is a very poor city full of people who take enormous pride in their country's independence. The city is an odd admixture of crumbling buildings, celebratory statues, buildings of historic import, and graffiti, of which there is more than I have seen in any city (at least, in the city center) besides Ljubljana. Bratislava's city center is full of well-preserved national monuments, dilapidated national monuments, beggars, bums, expensive restaurants, cobblestone streets, bars, pedestrian-only areas, identical grey apartment buildings, apartment buildings with multifarious facades, and tourists taking photos. I enjoyed walking through the city center and wished that I had a bit more time in this city, so that I could see the monument built in honor of the Soviet soldiers who freed the city in 1945, but I also feel that one only needs a few hours to see everything of importance here; my only problem was that it was already getting late when I had seen the city center, and the monument to the Soviet soldiers is in the middle of nowhere. I have already seen a similar, and probably better, monument in Vienna, and I might not get to see the one in Bratislava, as I plan to visit Freedom Square tomorrow before taking the train to Brno. Such is life.
The train ride from Kosice to Bratislava gave me exactly what I wanted. I got to the train station early enough to make the 10:15 train, just like I wanted, and spent the next six-and-a-half hours en route to Bratislava. The Slovakian countryside in the early going was a bit like central Austria minus the special effects: while there were no snow-peaked mountains enrobed in mist and cloud, we passed densely-forested trees and a river or two. I fell asleep for part of the ride, partly because I was tired and partly because the cabin had no air conditioning and had windows that would not open; it must have been around 30 degrees (Celsius) in the compartment. I stayed awake for long enough to see all of the highlights of Trencin, touted as one of Slovakia's most beautiful cities, as we passed it in the train, and, while I slept through Trvana, I doubt that I missed much. As much as I praised Slovakia's many-layered culture in Kosice, its strength is much more in its natural setting than in its cities. I expect that this is more a result of its having a small population and weak economy - i.e., a history full of struggles with outside forces that were trying to conquer it - than it is the result of some sort of innate inadequacy on its part; Slovakia appears to be a country full of relatively-happy people that could economically pull itself up bit-by-bit, if it only it abandoned its fancy restaurants and shopping malls in favor of lower-level development: a country has to ensure that everyone has at least a shot at getting a job and a roof over his head before it starts to develop the chic offshoots of a quaternary economy. I would not be surprised if there were a large disparity between rich and poor here (like in many countries, really), but I doubt, based on the country's apparent functionality (in contrast with Hungary's), that corruption is wide-spread here; I expect that the country is merely starting from a disadvantaged position in relation to many Western countries and will always lag a bit behind them.
The only really interesting thing that happened to me today was that I fell into conversation with a woman on the train after I helped her put her suitcase on one of the upper shelves in the compartment in which I was setting - Slovakia is, refreshingly, a country in which women are happy to accept such help from men (I suppose that spending some time in Russian makes one a little fond of chivalry.). The woman had studied Russian in school many years ago, taught me some words in Slovakian, was overjoyed that I was enjoying my stay in the country, and even gave me a small package of cookies that she had with her as a parting gift. I am happy to be leaving Slovakia, as there is not so much to see in the cities, but I would be happy to come back and hike through the High Tatras on a guided tour. I doubt, based on my deep-rooted dislike of Eastern Europe, that I will ever return to this part of the world except in order to take the aforementioned hiking trip, but it has been interesting being here. Slovakia is a bit like a smaller, more self-contained, less screwed-up version of Russia, while Hungary is still stuck in the middle ages and should be avoided at all costs (except for Budapest, which is really just a glorified part of east Austria). Bratislava is the poorest city of the three last capitals that I have seen, but it has shown me that there is some vital, driving force behind Slovakia's culture. I may as well (nominally) end my post with that.
I expect to have more to say over the next few days. I am partly tired today, as I had to switch beds last night in the middle of the night due to an administrative error; I did not take any notes today; and I did not see all too much, as I spent most of the day on a train, which left me with few new impressions. I am going to visit a doctor in Brno (if I can arrange to do so through my hostel) over the next few days if my stomach ache does not go away, as it seems odd to me to have one for several days running without any improvement, worsening, or other symptoms. I would try to describe Slovakian food for you, but I mostly just want to go to bed. Suffice it to say that something draws me strongly to peasant food - I am very fond of eastern European cuisine. Goodbye for now!
"He who dies fighting for freedom is immortal."
The train ride from Kosice to Bratislava gave me exactly what I wanted. I got to the train station early enough to make the 10:15 train, just like I wanted, and spent the next six-and-a-half hours en route to Bratislava. The Slovakian countryside in the early going was a bit like central Austria minus the special effects: while there were no snow-peaked mountains enrobed in mist and cloud, we passed densely-forested trees and a river or two. I fell asleep for part of the ride, partly because I was tired and partly because the cabin had no air conditioning and had windows that would not open; it must have been around 30 degrees (Celsius) in the compartment. I stayed awake for long enough to see all of the highlights of Trencin, touted as one of Slovakia's most beautiful cities, as we passed it in the train, and, while I slept through Trvana, I doubt that I missed much. As much as I praised Slovakia's many-layered culture in Kosice, its strength is much more in its natural setting than in its cities. I expect that this is more a result of its having a small population and weak economy - i.e., a history full of struggles with outside forces that were trying to conquer it - than it is the result of some sort of innate inadequacy on its part; Slovakia appears to be a country full of relatively-happy people that could economically pull itself up bit-by-bit, if it only it abandoned its fancy restaurants and shopping malls in favor of lower-level development: a country has to ensure that everyone has at least a shot at getting a job and a roof over his head before it starts to develop the chic offshoots of a quaternary economy. I would not be surprised if there were a large disparity between rich and poor here (like in many countries, really), but I doubt, based on the country's apparent functionality (in contrast with Hungary's), that corruption is wide-spread here; I expect that the country is merely starting from a disadvantaged position in relation to many Western countries and will always lag a bit behind them.
The only really interesting thing that happened to me today was that I fell into conversation with a woman on the train after I helped her put her suitcase on one of the upper shelves in the compartment in which I was setting - Slovakia is, refreshingly, a country in which women are happy to accept such help from men (I suppose that spending some time in Russian makes one a little fond of chivalry.). The woman had studied Russian in school many years ago, taught me some words in Slovakian, was overjoyed that I was enjoying my stay in the country, and even gave me a small package of cookies that she had with her as a parting gift. I am happy to be leaving Slovakia, as there is not so much to see in the cities, but I would be happy to come back and hike through the High Tatras on a guided tour. I doubt, based on my deep-rooted dislike of Eastern Europe, that I will ever return to this part of the world except in order to take the aforementioned hiking trip, but it has been interesting being here. Slovakia is a bit like a smaller, more self-contained, less screwed-up version of Russia, while Hungary is still stuck in the middle ages and should be avoided at all costs (except for Budapest, which is really just a glorified part of east Austria). Bratislava is the poorest city of the three last capitals that I have seen, but it has shown me that there is some vital, driving force behind Slovakia's culture. I may as well (nominally) end my post with that.
I expect to have more to say over the next few days. I am partly tired today, as I had to switch beds last night in the middle of the night due to an administrative error; I did not take any notes today; and I did not see all too much, as I spent most of the day on a train, which left me with few new impressions. I am going to visit a doctor in Brno (if I can arrange to do so through my hostel) over the next few days if my stomach ache does not go away, as it seems odd to me to have one for several days running without any improvement, worsening, or other symptoms. I would try to describe Slovakian food for you, but I mostly just want to go to bed. Suffice it to say that something draws me strongly to peasant food - I am very fond of eastern European cuisine. Goodbye for now!
"He who dies fighting for freedom is immortal."
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