Down the Danube ...

... or "United We Stand!" The topic I would like to write about today is a rather complex one, even though on the surface it is a mere account of my most recent weekend getaway trip. Beneath that, however, it touches several points of view that are essential to me.

First, the idea of actually going on a trip rather than staying at home has matured within me for the last couple of weeks. Throughout spring there is a number of holidays that permit staying home from work (or school, for that matter) for one or even two days per week. Namely, there are: Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, the Ascencion of Christ, Pentecost Monday, and Corpus Christi. Good Friday and Easter Monday frame the Easter weekend and extend it to a whole four days off. Likewise, May Day (May 1) 2012 was a Tuesday, which inevitably led to the introduction of a so-called bridge day (on the preceeding Monday) at my company, meaning that you are not allowed to work without a special permission of the works council (the workers' representative body), and that your pile of already committed overtime will shrink accordingly. Likewise, in 2012 the Ascencion of Christ and Corpus Christi happened to be Thursdays, leading to bridge days on the respective subsequent Friday. (Yet Pentecost is nominally "only" a three-day weekend ...) I did enjoy this significant extra time off, yet on most occasions I was taking it rather easy, going on day trips, if any. Then I decided to do a little more traveling, and so I started looking around for a suitable destination.

Now, since I was having only four days at my disposal, travelling very far (say, to Hong Kong) was still out of the question. Also, since I would like to put my camera to a good use, it was clear that I was going to do some sightseeing. That limited my choice to European cities. Having visited three out of four of the largest cities of Germany (Berlin/3.4 m, Hamburg/1.7m, Munich/1.3m) within the past six months, I was aiming at some place outside Germany. At this point a rather geeky hobby of mine comes into play: collecting coins. Since the implementation of the Euro as the legal tender in many member states of the EU, I have been an avid collector of the coins of all the participating countries. While the bills (5€, 10€, 20€, 100€, 200€ and 500€) are entirely identical regardless of the country of origin, the coins actually have a common obverse, but a reverse with a national design, representing the country that has minted them. (German Euro coins, for instance, feature an oak leaf on the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins, and a stylized eagle as a reminiscence of the Imperial Seal on the 1€ and 2€ coins.) So I decided to pick a place that has the Euro (which also liberated me from losing some money at an exchange booth), but from where I didn't have a full set of coins yet. At this point I started to calculate the distance and travel time of various destinations via Google Maps, from which I learned that I could either go to Ljubljana, Slovenia (and visit the Italian cities of Venice and Trieste along the way - the former is a classic destination, and I happen to have a friend in the latter), or to Bratislava, Slovakia (and visit Vienna, Austria, on the way, as the two are less than 40 miles apart).

Finally I came to my senses and realized that the Slovenian trip is still too packed for a single four-day trip, when almost half of that time is consumed by mere travelling. So I booked a hotel in Bratislava, which turned out to be 4.5 stars; but since I made my reservation over a web site particularly devoted to finding hot deals, I got it for as little as 150€ for three nights! (I am inclined to say that in New York City you won't even get a spot under a bridge for this low price; but then again, NYC does have the Brooklyn Bridge, doesn't it?) The train ticket also turned out to be affordable (250€ for the round trip), so I was quite excited about my plan, and defintely looking forward to the trip in advance! Not only would I get to see more of the world, but I would also reinforce the bond between the people of the EU, especially by travelling beyond what used to be the Iron Courtain.

On Thursday, after getting up very early and riding the train from Oberkochen to Bratislava (via Vienna) for almost 9 hours, I arrived at "Bratislava hl. st." (hlávna stanica, or main station). Fortunately the hotel was just next to the station (which is why I picked it in the first place; the 4.5 stars ranking I noticed only later), so after checking in I still had some time to explore the city. The area around "hl. st." is not the most picturesque one, but after walking for about 15 - 20 minutes you can reach the old town, which kept all the promises the Wikipedia page on Bratislava as made to me ... Some say that among the Danube metropoles Bratislava may be the most overlooked one. Certainly Vienna and Budapest (and also Prague, which isn't on the Danube) are more prominent destinations. That is why I felt being exposed to just as much architectural beauty, but a bit more off the beaten track. I particularly recommend the old town hall, the main square, St. Martin's cathedral, and above all: Bratislava Castle. So, as far as old stones go, I got what I came for. Turns out getting the Slovak Euro coins is a tad more difficult. Perhaps it is due to the touristic nature of the capital, or maybe due to the relatively small size of the country - I think whenever I got coins as change after paying for something, in more than half of the cases the coins were from somewhere else, such as Austria, Italy, or (especially disappointing) even Germany. I tried hard, meaning I went to one grocery store twice to specifically target getting the small coins as change, but in the end I had to leave without both the 1€ and the 2 cents coin. (Fortunately I have obtained them before, in Germany, so my collection of the Slovak coins is complete nevertheless.)

As to the appearance of Bratislava in its entirety, the old town doesn't fall short of any expectations. The area around the central train station, however, is not the nicest, and could use a bit of a brush-up; especially the sidewalks would require the replacement of the concrete patchwork by a continuuos cover. I know that it is unfair to pick on that, because in the grand historical picture it was the west (namely former US president Ronald Reagan) who forced the Soviet Union and its satellite states, to which Slovakia (as part of the now divoced Czechoslovakia) belonged during most of the second half of the 20th century, into an arms race that eventually led to the bankrupcy of the east, and the money invested in weapons is now unavailable for the building and repairing of the streets of Bratislava. - In other words, instead of complaining about the shape of the streets (which I admit isn't actually so much worse than some places in Berlin, and which really didn't irk me as much as I am writing about it), I would rather like to stress on the simple fact that there seem to be post-communist and pre-communist areas in Bratislava (near the central train station, and around the old town, respectively). And after all what I really matters is that Slovakia, among many other countries, has abolished Communism, and joined the community of the European Union. A phrase from the far side of the Atlantic Ocean comes to mind, "United We Stand". Because in the long run the European Union means just that: standing together. I direly hope this paradigm won't get overlooked in the recent turmoil created by fiscal incompetency across Europe.

Let's not forget that I also spent one day (Friday) in Vienna. Still motivated to ride more trains and run across another city (which actually is about four times the size of Bratislava), I took many photos also in the Austrian capital, which does have a wealth of historic sites of striking splendor. A mere day trip could never be enough to grasp all of that.

Saturday was meant to be another day at the old town of Bratislava, but after so much walking on the two days before, I decided to take it easy, sleep in, and go straight to a sports bar were the (soccer) matches of the 2012 UEFA European Championship are shown. It seemed that all the international soccer fans were crammed into that place; and despite the loud cheers for several different teams, it all remained entirely peaceful. Still, I sort of resent too jingoistic cheers for Germany, so I left for the hotel when they were on for the second match.

On Sunday I was already required to leave. However, due to my taking it slow the day before, I managed to get up several hours before the scheduled departure from Bratislava. Thus, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of extra hours in Vienna, which allowed me to experience the beauty of a few more buildings that I now consider "must-see". Then from Vienna onward I was back on schedule, which brought me home to Oberkochen in the early evening.

I was a bit exhausted (yet far from as much as I had imagined), and instead of going back to work the next day, I would have been ready again for another vacation. - Meanwhile, let's enjoy together my personal favorites of the photos I have taken on that trip ...

hotel room in Bratislava

Bratislava is dubbed the "little big city"

Bratislava city hall

Bratislava main square (hlávny namieste), opposite the city hall

another side of Bratislava hlávny namieste

Bratislava, third view of hlávny nam., facing the French embassy

Bratislava, St. Martin's cathedral (after the Roman officer who shared his coat, and later became a bishop)

Bratislava Castle, front view (at sundown)

Bratislava nóvy most (new bridge), with UFO restaurant

Bratislava, St. Martin's cathedral from atop the castle hill

Vienna, (upper) Belvedere Castle (front yard)

Vienna, Belvedere back yard

Vienna, looking down to the lower Belvedere

Vienna, Soviet monument

Vienna, "Naschmarkt" (naschen = to eat tidbits)

Vienna, St. Stefan's cathedral (the heart of the city)

Vienna, Prater amsuement park

guess what: a Zeiss planetarium in Vienna, right next to the Prater entrance

Vienna, Schönbrunn Castle