beautiful bratislava

okay, so apparently typing while buzzed is a bad idea in that i don't explain things well and i can't type... oops! important things that were missing from the last post... did i forget to mention that the climbing book is in czeck? so when we got out to the rocks we were trying to decipher the little drawings and line them up with giant pillars based off of a little chicken scratch english and tiny pictures with czeck writing! so much fun!

absinthe update: i was "drunk" ALL NIGHT. I would wake up, think "yup, still not normal" and go back to bed. made for very interesting dreams. also, if you are going to drink absinthe, add LOTS of sugar. we put in 2 cubes and stirred for a good 20 minutes and that improved things greatly :)

but on to more important topics!

we are LOVING bratislava! sean picked us up from the busstop and we went home to the 6th floor flat to SHOWER and do LAUNDRY!!!! eep! anne got home and we all went out for PIZZA. my bestest friends in the whole wide world found me GLUTEN FREE PIZZA in the foreign lands of bratislava and it was SOOOOOO TASTY! honestly, it was a superthin crust with yummy toppings and everything! from there we went to visit friends and eat fruit salad. and tried slovakian wine and sodas.... good night with good people!

friday started with a bang! we had polenta pancakes and BACON and chai and lots of fruit. fantastic bacony bits. then it was off to vienna! we visited the graveyard and the musician's graves and the fabulous church there and toured around the market where we ate all manner of fabulous things from thai food and sushi to candied cumquats to lychee soda and both vianeese and italian coffees... yum yum yum... so we are again eating our way through the country we are in.

vienna was beautiful and all, but home was calling and we were beat so we came back and had a bbq with SCALLOPS AND SHRIMPIES and raosted marshmallows and bananas. oh! and vinea, a grape soda that is very wine-like. yum! the weather has been fantastic here with ne'er a cloud in the sky!

oh! oh! on the train back, we got to watch the countryside and it was sooo pretty! and there was a windmill farm! and these kids who were travelling were playing that game where you name things under a theme while clapping your hands and they were great fun! they were doing european capitals and got into an arguement about istambul... it is IN europe but is not a european capital! i only wish i was so fluent in another language that i could have a conversation like that... i am also going to refer to soccer as "american soccer" from now on!

today was busy with devin castle in the morning which was wonderful! it is a castle ruin with lots of great views of the danube and an archeological museum and beautiful walks by sculptures with fields of queen anne's lace behind us...

ate lunch at a grill that made wonderful kolbassa and drank kofala on tap. it is a dark soda made with the water left over from decaffinating coffee... it is not as sweet as most soda, and tastes a little like dr. pepper and is WONDERFUL stuff that packs a kick!

on the way home we walked through old town, enjoying the crazy statues and beautiful sights, and climbed st. michael's gate with weaponry museum, saw a reproduced pharmacy from several hundred years ago, stopped off at a few art galleries (and more coffee of course...) and then up to bratislava castle to walk the grounds, which also has wonderful views. this castle is under major reconstruction now, so we couldn't get inside.

we made it to the mall to see everyone and their dogs and enjoy all the sexy underwear shops... no really, we went to see the movie startrek which was awesome! the movie wasfun, the assigned seats were plush and comfy, the screen was huge, and you can buy wine and beer!

cabbage soup for dinner has left me a little gassy, but it was soo tasty and worth it! and i haven't gassed anyone out yet, so so far, so good! one more day here, and then we head out for the high tatras and slovensky raj (slovakian paradise). the only problem is, i don't want to leave!

love!