Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Bratislava

On our long weekend in November, my friend Amy and I decided to visit neighbor country Slovakia and see Bratislava.  It's the last "close" city that I haven't visited yet, and it was interesting.  There's a reason I hadn't rushed to Bratislava - there isn't much to see there.  The people were amazing and the food was fantastic and really cheap!  However, in terms of sights, there wasn't too much to do.  We literally saw the entire downtown area, walked across the Danube and back (including a trip to the top of a lookout tower) in about 3 hours!  The city is known for its famous sculptures, so we had fun finding them and enjoying this quirky town.  I think going back in the summer when the outdoor cafes are open would make it even more fantastic!




Random gate hanging above a walkway


Caught by Paparazzi

We literally had just walked past this minutes before - how did we miss it with the huge sign?




Hans Christian Anderson

The infamous UFO bridge - modern and a bit odd

Not sure what this is a monument to but it looked interesting

Free WiFi sponsored by the Taiwanese government?  Sure!  Sadly - it didn't work!  This is on a parkbench overlooking the Danube.








Castle






View from atop the UFO bridge


We were experiencing high smog levels at the time of our visit, which didn't do much to enhance Bratislava's beauty.
It kind of looked exactly like what I used to think of as "Eastern Europe" even though this area is really Central Europe. 




One of favourite parts of Bratislava - Mayer Cafe - amazing coffee and cake!

Narrowest building in Central Europe (according to our free guidebook).  We saw many people with the same guidebooks out and upon finding this and other sights, look at each other with the knowing look of: "really?  That's it?" There was a lot of hidden beauty in this city.

An odd memorial in our hostel - no clue what it is memorializing

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Moravian Wine Tasting

The first weekend of November, I went to Letnice and a small town nearby in far southern Czech Republic to the region of Moravia - which is known for its wine.  We toured the castle and park grounds and saw the beautiful fall colours and then did some wine tasting.  It was a wonderful weekend with co-workers!
Letnice Castle

Letnice Castle

Letnice Castle

Funny friends

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden - love the eastern influence in the architecture

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Castle garden

Giving everyone a sample

The whole group in the wine cellar