I've been putting off this blog post for a week now.. so here it goes..
First off, no one should take this personal I'm not trying to be mean only recording my observations. I know plenty of people that have gone to Slovakia and loved it. I, on the other hand, definitely did not.
*Quick History Lesson - Slovakia was extremely Communist until 1989. Hungary was also but there is a difference on how the two countries have recovered both physically and personally.*
For the first two nights we stayed in Zilina (close to the Poland border) at a dorm. We hung out with the other Erasmus students and I had a great time while in the dorms. The town and the locals were a different story. After learning that I was American every Slovakian decided it would be a good idea to tell me how much they hated Americans and thought Americans were so stupid. My first night I had some traditional Slovak food - bryndzové halušky, Sheep cheese, noodles, and something they called bacon but it totally was not bacon. I didn't want to be rude so I forced myself to eat half of it but the more I ate the more disgusting it was. I took the loss and ordered another dish..
the crew.
erasmus group in Zilina, Slovakia
the nasty Slovak cuisine
our room in Zilina
The last day/night in Slovakia we stayed in Bratislava. I stayed in my first hostel! I also got "traveler's tummy" for the first time and thought I was going to die in a hostel in Bratislava.. no joke.
It's a real downtown feel there. Most of the people in the city are tourists. I actually met more Americans in Bratislava than I have my whole stay in Europe so far. Some buildings were real Euro-chic because now that they're in the EU they're really trying to step up their game but most places are really run down. Graffiti everywhere, buldings falling apart, streets in desperate need of re-paving.. The buildings look like what abandoned buildings back in the states look like.. It was a real eye opener and total culture shock.
the President's Palace
a normal street and building
St. Martin's cathedral, where all of the Hungarian kings were coronated :)
the square
the square
my bed in the hostel. how exciting!
view from the top of the castle. the sky was beautiful that day.
the castle
I'm glad I went for the experience and the people I went with are great. I don't think I will go back though. I wanted to kiss the ground when I got off of the train in Budapest.. and if you've seen the ground in that train station you know that's saying a lot..
