czechoslovakia
Sep. 3rd, 2006 | 05:04 pm
After Rebecca graduated from Smith, she moved to Brno, Czech Republic, to teach English, and also made some friends in Bratislava, Slovakia, so we decided to take a trip to the former Czechoslovakia while she was here. Bratislava, or Pozsony as the Hungarians call it, was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, but the Treaty of Trianon after World War I greatly reduced Hungarian territory and Bratislava became part of Czechoslovakia. The city is a short two-and-a-half-hour trip from Budapest.
We made it to Nyugati Train Station in Budapest about 15 minutes before our train was scheduled to leave. We found the international ticket windows and from each extended lines of at least 100 people. We rushed to the front and asked a few Italians if we could cut in line. They agreed. A Scot told us he had been waiting an hour. We stood there for about 5 minutes and the line didn't move, so we opted to buy our tickets on the train.
We had a compartment to ourselves and the conductor didn't come until we neared the Slovakian border. When he discovered we didn't have tickets, he decided to charge us the amount from Budapest to the border, and did not give us paper tickets or a receipt. Once we were traveling through Slovakia, the Slovakian conductor made his way to our compartment. Rebecca speaks some Slovakian and told him we did not have tickets. She told us after he left that he asked her to name a price for all three of us. He agreed to the price on condition that he did not issue us paper tickets.
Bratislava is a charming, ancient European city on the banks of the Danube. We walked from the train station to the old town and Rebecca led the way to a dark, cavernous restaurant for lunch. We checked into our hostel after eating some traditional Slovakian food and relaxed for a few hours before meeting Rebecca's friend Sacha. Sacha gave us a tour of the old town, which was crowded with outdoor cafes and restaurants, street performers and meandering pedestrians. She took us to a few bars where we tried traditional Slovakian liqueurs. We also visited a club Rebecca went to when she was in Bratislava before and we ended up running into the same friends of Sacha's that Rebecca met the night she visited the club years ago.
The next morning we checked out of the hostel and caught a train to Brno, Czech Republic. Rebecca wanted to revisit the city she lived in for almost a year. It is also the birthplace of writer Milan Kundera. We wandered through the cobblestone streets, had coffee and read books at a cafe, got ice cream cones, went to a traditional Czech beer hall, drank Czech beer and ate Czech food. At sunset, we returned to the train station and were whisked through the misty countryside on a modern train that originated in Hamburg, Germany.
( pictures )
We made it to Nyugati Train Station in Budapest about 15 minutes before our train was scheduled to leave. We found the international ticket windows and from each extended lines of at least 100 people. We rushed to the front and asked a few Italians if we could cut in line. They agreed. A Scot told us he had been waiting an hour. We stood there for about 5 minutes and the line didn't move, so we opted to buy our tickets on the train.
We had a compartment to ourselves and the conductor didn't come until we neared the Slovakian border. When he discovered we didn't have tickets, he decided to charge us the amount from Budapest to the border, and did not give us paper tickets or a receipt. Once we were traveling through Slovakia, the Slovakian conductor made his way to our compartment. Rebecca speaks some Slovakian and told him we did not have tickets. She told us after he left that he asked her to name a price for all three of us. He agreed to the price on condition that he did not issue us paper tickets.
Bratislava is a charming, ancient European city on the banks of the Danube. We walked from the train station to the old town and Rebecca led the way to a dark, cavernous restaurant for lunch. We checked into our hostel after eating some traditional Slovakian food and relaxed for a few hours before meeting Rebecca's friend Sacha. Sacha gave us a tour of the old town, which was crowded with outdoor cafes and restaurants, street performers and meandering pedestrians. She took us to a few bars where we tried traditional Slovakian liqueurs. We also visited a club Rebecca went to when she was in Bratislava before and we ended up running into the same friends of Sacha's that Rebecca met the night she visited the club years ago.
The next morning we checked out of the hostel and caught a train to Brno, Czech Republic. Rebecca wanted to revisit the city she lived in for almost a year. It is also the birthplace of writer Milan Kundera. We wandered through the cobblestone streets, had coffee and read books at a cafe, got ice cream cones, went to a traditional Czech beer hall, drank Czech beer and ate Czech food. At sunset, we returned to the train station and were whisked through the misty countryside on a modern train that originated in Hamburg, Germany.
( pictures )