Bratislava

We didn't know what to expect of Bratislava. You can only tell so much from a map. Arriving at the train station I had a few minutes of panic that maybe this was a bad choice. Unlike the architectural gems in Budapest the Bratislava train station is more like a down-market greyhound station if you catch my drift. But by the time we arrived at our accommodations our opinions had changed.
I found an awesome apartment/hotel called Ma Maison, on www.lastminute.com and it lives up to the description. Totally modern, beautiful, clean and in a fantastic residential neighborhood. Plus, we're just a few minutes from the old town and castle.

The contrast between Budapest and Bratislava is dramatic. I've been trying to articulate what makes the difference and it seems to be many features. Bratislava has a fantastic vibe, it is ancient and modern, at times you feel that you are in an American city but then you are next to Roman ruins. Because it is built on a hill it feels more dynamic. Plus, the sky is so blue and air clean.

Another cool feature is that this city has not yet been hit by high tourist trade. This is sure to change in the next few years. The old town is just that, very old. The Bratislava Castle was rebuilt by the Soviets in the mid-1900s after being hit by bombs in WWII. It will be undergoing renovation over the next few years.

Continuing our Jewish theme we visited the Museum of Jewish Culture and found an orthodox synagogue. We tried to get into the old Jewish cemetery which was barried under rubble during WWII and was dug out in recent years. Unfortunately it is only open by appointment, but it may be possible for us to visit tomorrow. There is a haunting holocaust memorial on the edge of old town which is a ghost image of a destroyed synagogue. The Jewish area of the city was further demolished when a bridge was built across the Danube in the 1970s.

For my birthday dinner we went to Ches David which is a Jewish-themed restaurant. Old world cooking which was interesting although I'm not into chicken livers. However dessert rocked which made my birthday feel like a birthday.

Other good news is that almost everyone speaks some English.

This final image is the highway which runs through the old town and over the Danube. You can see the old Roman wall on the left, St. Martin's Church in the middle distance, a modern office building across the river and the top of the bridge (observation town in the space ship portion) that crosses the Danube.

Budapest Day 1 - more photos added

My journey started with an interesting exchange at Gatwick airport. When checking in at the gate the airport representative read my passport and asked if Kweskin was from Poland or the Ukraine. "These are my people" was my first thought. How cool to be going to Eastern Europe.

Cool it is indeed. Cold that is. But the day started with a warm bit of humor when we saw a dismantled communist-era statue being pulled up the Danube River. You may be able to make it out in this photo. Even locals were pulling out their mobile phones to document this moment.

But mid-day the sun did come out so the afternoon was wonderful. My mom and I started our adventure by visiting Parliament - from the outside. Tickets to tour go on sale at 8am each day. You miss it, you have to try again the next day. That's okay because we went across the street to the Museum of Ethnography. Today the museum was open free to the public and was filled with kids on a fieldtrip. What fun! We had a wonderful time and were impressed by the modern exhibitions - one on the history of blue jeans and another on the origins of musical instruments. Plus, the kids were great fun.

We walked along to the Nyugati train station and found probably the world's most elegant McDonalds called McCafe which was in a four star setting. This entire space is the McCafe.

From there we made our way to the Hungarian State Opera House and took a tour of the facility. I was suprirsed by how small it was and that almost every seat was superb. The size of the stage is actually twice the size of the auditorium. Plus, ticket prices are fantastic - as low as 2 Euros to see a performance.

Next was St. Stephen's Basilica and then back to the hotel for a brief rest. Now we're heading out to dinner.

Having a hard time uploading images as the internet connection in hotel room - or my dad's laptop, perhaps the combination of both - are not moving very quickly.

I had brought a whole lot of Euros since being part of the EU I figured Budapest was on the Euro. Well, they aren't really. The HUF is very much the currency of choice. A pack of gum costs 250 HUF and I have a 10,000 note in my pocket. All day mom and I were converting prices to Euros then GBP and then into dollars. How often do you get to spend 10,000 on anything in one day?