Weekend in Bratislava

This past weekend had relatively good weather (i.e. it wasn't pouring rain) so I took the opportunity to get out and about in Bratislava.

Saturday:

Apparently it was Gay Pride day in Bratislava because many people were walking around with little rainbow flags.  There was some sort of demonstration in the main square which I later learned was a conservative anti-gay rally.  Someone had thrown tear gas at the crowd which is why the police came out in force.  But when I walked by things were pretty calm, just a row of police in front of some protestors holding banners. 

I walked by St. Elizabeth's church, known for its blue color.  It really does look like Smurf Cathedral.  I wanted to take a look inside but there was a wedding going on so I just took a quick peek.  No bridesmaids or groomsmen I noticed, although it looked like a traditional Catholic wedding.

 

On to Eurovea.  It's Bratislava's newest shopping mall, completed in March 2010.  What's unique is that it is on the riverfront, with cafes and restaurants offering outdoor seating overlooking the water.  There is a great bike path that runs along the river - I imagine Eric and I will riding our bikes down here often (once our bikes arrive)!  I like that some of the restaurants/cafes offer giant beanbag chairs you can lounge on, they looked really comfy!

On the way home I got a nice view of the UFO bridge at sunset.


Sunday:
Walked up to Slavin monument, a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died "liberating" Slovakia after WWII.  It's on a hill so the view was nice.  The houses in that area, on the hill, are pretty nice as well, with floor to ceiling windows to enjoy the view.

I walked over to Horsky Park which is a forested area with hiking trails.  Not really what I had in mind so I didn't stay too long (I wasn't exactly wearing my hiking shoes).  But I did see some wildlife while I was there.

2 weeks in...

Today is Tuesday, May 18, 2 weeks since our first full day here in Bratislava.  It's actually gone by really fast!  I'm getting adjusted at work and meeting new people in the office everyday.  It's going to take some time to get to know people but everyone has been very nice so far.  When I got set-up at work, they gave me a new log-in, new password, phone id, phone pin, copy machine code, after-hours pin, Blackberry pin and password.....it goes on and on.  So needless to say, I avoid certain doors and don't use the copy machine (and rarely my phone) because I can't keep all the passwords/pins straight!

Eric and I moved into our apartment a week ago.  Since then, I've been to the grocery store 4 times!  I don't have a car yet so my trips are limited to what I can carry (or put in my backpack).  It's about a 5 block walk to the smaller market and about 10 blocks to the Tesco mega mart.  I only call it a mega mart because it's like a department store, with perfume and cosmetics on the ground floor, clothes and electronics on the upper levels, and a big grocery store in the basement.  A few observations:
1.  The cheese and yogurt selection are much more extensive, a big plus for me.  I currently have 5 kinds of cheese and 4 kinds of yogurt in my refrigerator!  Yes, that includes Bresse Bleu, my favorite!  They are big on sheep's cheese here, not that I care for it too much.
2.  Great bread selection - there are at least 10 different kinds of fresh rolls, even in the smaller market.  And they are super cheap!  I have 3 kinds of bread in my bread box...
3.  Sizes - things come in smaller sizes, i.e. 1 liter of milk, 100 grams of jam...much more convenient for me since a) I'm cooking for one right now and b) I have to carry it all home!
4.  Chocolate - they take it serious here.  Like an entire aisle dedicated to all different kinds of chocolate.  Needless to say, I'm in heaven!
So in case you're keeping track, I've stocked up the kitchen with milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, bread, wine, and chocolate! 

Otherwise, the apartment is coming together.  I've unpacked everything from our suitcases but am experiencing a serious hanger shortage.  It started raining Saturday afternoon and seriously did not stop until Tuesday afternoon.  So haven't been out and about too much.  Tried out the washing machine and the drying rack (no clothes dryer) - so far so good!  But I do miss my husband and wish he were here.  This is the best I can do until I go back to San Jose...

Apartment

13 May

Here are a number of short videos of our apartment:

entry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfQuJNHhf0w

dining and living http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBV489p6AV4

hallway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYLG5Dno4g

kitchen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3M84I2eN8U

terrace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2rl7aVe8w0

bedroom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUmgK_PT4xk

exit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw905vyLIQE

Second week

10 May

Back to work for Alexandra today, we had a great time over the weekend in Vienna Austria. I'll be making some additional posts about Saturday and Sunday later. I thought I would post an entry since we just got back from dinner at a great little pizza place very close to Sulekova. Whoever is the first to visit us in Slovakia, we'll take you to eat here. Incredible crust on the simple but very flavorful pizza. The salads were also very fresh and flavorful. I can't wait to go back to Pilgram's on Kozia.

There is a great little walk up the street that will take you to a memorial and cemetary on top of a hill overlooking Bratislava. I was up there early today. Good views of the city from two sides of the hill.

First weekend

7 May
Friday was spent sleeping in until past 1200. A decision was made for our apartment in Mytna after one last look at it. The couple that lives in the building currently will be going back to the states at the end of June. They have been very helpful in giving us useful information. We spent a couple of hours at their place Friday evening before heading into Old Town to walk around and have dinner. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the most active nights for people to be out. We pasted numerous groups of men and women out on bachelor and bachelorette parties. Most seemed to be from the U.K.. We ended up at a restaurant across from the U.S. Embassy called Rio. Great place for Brazilian food! Big restaurant on the ground floor and bar lounge under. Saturday we will be going to Vienna and returning Sunday.

Our plans are to ride on a passenger ferry along the Danube River into Vienna and then return Sunday evening on the train.

Apartment hunting

6 May
We had an appointment to meet with an agent to help look at furnished apartments around Bratislava. The guy looked like Michael Bisping of the UFC, that said he was very helpful in setting up four places to look at. All were close to the area that Alex will be working in. The first two were near an open air market that we will be going back to for shopping. Of all the apartments we thought one of these was a yes. The last two were too dark and too big. Our decision was to go with an apartment that was in the same building as Alex's PwC collegue. Five minutes to the Dell building and ten to the PwC building. We will be moving on Tuesday from the Mamaison Hotel in Sulekova across the city to Mytna.

After a busy day of looking at apartments we had a good evening attending the PwC Spring Party at the Harley Davidson Saloon. The saloon was located across the city to the east from where we were staying. Luckily a trolleybus line ran directly from our niegherhood in Sulekova to the location of the saloon. On the way over I saw a guy pulled over on the main street of Namestie maja having a pee in a tree planter on the street. Funny to see while riding past on the bus, it was still light out around 2000 hours.

So we get to the party right around the time everyone else is showing up, a number of riders on the bus were also going to the party. Since the party was at the Harley Davidson Saloon, there were a number of people in costume. Leather jackets, short skirts of various prints, tight jeans, tee shirts, bandanas and racing gear. One guy was dressed in a driving suit and had three other workmates who dressed as pit girls. The party was catered with barbeque and was an open beer and wine bar. A little about the saloon, it had every piece of flair that you could think of when describing a biker bar. Boxing ring, stage for dancing, covered beer garden, wooden siding, picnic tables, concrete floor, signs for Jack Daniels whiskey, a native American statue but no motorcycles. I asked around if anyone from PwC had a motorcycle, the answer was no. A guy did show up on a scooter. We ate, we had some beers, we talked to people, more beer, met some more people, missed the last bus at 2300 hours, had another beer and decided it was time for us to leave. Thursday night was now early Friday. By the time we got back to our hotel it was past one a.m.. The party was still going strong, it had moved inside from the beer garden to the dance floor. We met a number of people from PwC: some named Dano, two Peters, Gaba and Andrea.

Our first holiday in Europe

Cinco de Mayo

We spent today walking around looking at the city. Bratislava has a famous castle, Burg Bratislava, above the city that has been part of the landscape since the 800's. We crossed the Danube River to the south and walked around a large shopping center and got caught in the rain. A short bus ride back across the Danube dropped us off in Old Town again where we waited out the rain in a underpass foot tunnel. See Alex's post for the celebration at Hacienda Mexicana. Tomorrow we look at apartments to move into for our 2 year stay. We have been staying at an extended stay hotel called Mamaison.

Looking Around

4 May

Alex went to the office today, it's an easy 15-20 minute walk across the center of the city from where we are staying. As I was coming back from the PwC office, I met a woman who asked me for directions. First in Slovak then in English when I said English. That was pretty funny, I had a map and let her look for the place she was going.

I spent some of the afternoon walking around looking for the Post Office and the US Embassy. The US Embassy is the only embassy with a fence and guards outside the building. Americans are on somebodies list.

Alex and I decided to have some Slovak cuisine for dinner so we went into the part of the city known as Old Town. Old Town was the original area for the city and has been known by many names depending on who was in control: Brasleavespurch, Brezalauspurc, Posonium, Pressburg, Pozsony, Prespork and Bratislava. There is always a meat in the meal and some dumpling or potato. We had some bread with cheese made from sheep milk to start our meal. Very hearty meal, that tends to stick with you. Always beer or wine with the meal.

Finally here

3 May

By the time we finally arrived in Bratislava it was Monday, 3 May, around 2100 hours. We had a 45 minute car ride from the airport in Vienna which is a little more than 45 km from Bratislava. Along the way we had to cross the border from Austria to Slovakia and slow down to pass by a single car accident. It should be noted it was raining lightly. We did see one motorcycle rider on the way also. Looking at the time it took to get to our destination and the distance traveled, our rate of travel was better than 100 km/h. More like 130-140 km/h.

The driver did a great job providing us with some information on the sites we passed by quickly: windmills, truck stops, the border, and the landmarks of the city of Bratislava. All this while smoking 2 Camels and playing the radio. It was funny to hear the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" by Burt Bacharach as we made our way to Bratislava. I think it was BJ Thomas singing the version we heard.

My back is...

2 May

I thought the flight over would have been more taxing on my body, leaving SFO at 2100 hours and arriving in Munch 10 hours later wasn't that bad. I was able to sleep off and on during the flight and I could get up and move around once we were at altitude.

Lufthansa had two meals and numerous snacks with drinks throughout the flight. I would say that drinking water is the way to go. Being on a plane for that long really dries one out.

After landing in Germany, there was some walking around and passing through customs before lining up to board the flight from Munich to Vienna. Going through the boarding gate didn't put us on the plane, instead we got on a bus for a short ride out to the middle of the tarmac where we boarded the plane. It was a 50 minute flight into Vienna. Looking out the window of the plane it was interesting to see the country. Varing fields of green and yellow covered much of what we could see. We found out later the yellow crops were sunflower seeds, which are harvested and used for oil.

Hello Bratislava!

We arrived in Bratislava around 9pm Monday night, after a flight from SFO to Munich, a connecting flight to Vienna, and a 45min drive to Bratislava (in the rain). 

Tuesday was my first day at work.  I got my computer, BlackBerry and my own desk!  I met many new faces and everyone seems very nice, I will try to remember all their names (there are several Alexandras I've already noticed). 









Wednesday Eric and I played tourist and did our own walking tour of Bratislava - the castle, old town, Aupark (shopping mall)...  We were caught in a downpour and got soaked! 

 In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we went to the Hacienda Mexicana and had a shot of tequila.  The menu was quite varied (yes, quesadilla, fajitas, burrito but paella, hamburger and lasagna???) but the food was not bad.

Goodbye San Jose!

We had a great send off our last few days in San Jose.  Thursday night the PwC crew met up at the Wagon Wheel for some drinks and good times.  My teams pitched in to get me an iTouch and Flip as going-away gifts.  I love them and have used them extensively already!  The iTouch in particular is awesome, I've downloaded a Slovak language app, Skype, Oanda currency converter and some fun games (and Facebook of course!). 

Friday night my friends and I met up at the Chicken Coop.  We had a great time, it was soooo awesome to see everyone! 

 Saturday was dinner at Kyoto Palace with Jeremy and the Paulsons at Kyoto Palace.  I love that place - we all left stuffed!