Bratislava

after our hike, the slovaks took me back to bratislava, where we spent a few days walking around the city and sitting in wonderful, dark, smoky bars. bratislava has a beautiful medieval old town surrounded by a bunch of very modern buildings. i dig it. peter likes it because of the "mess." i have to agree.

for lunch on my last day in bratislava, peter made me the national dish of slovakia in his dorm kitchen. bryndzové halušky, which i've been hearing about since june, is potato dumpling with a sheep cheese called bryndza, with something like kefir to drink. he was convinced that an american wouldn't like bryndza, but it was delicious (though not vegetarian...peter used less bacon fat for my benefit).

then we went to Hrad Devín, a castle on a cliff over the Danube, which had an extensive history before it was destroyed by napoleon's troops. and then to Slavín, a memorial to soviet soldiers on a hill covered in huge fancy houses that overlook the whole city. it was dark, and we ate chocolate and drank grapefruit juice, and i said goodbye to bratislava, for now.

(the bottom picture is peter's)