Travel Monkeys » Bratislava

Plum Dumplings - Bratislava, Slovakia

Becky — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:35:07 +0000

My friend Scott is 1/4 Serbian (if I remember right), and he likes plum dumplings. They sound so innocent don’t they. A nice little desert dish you can whip up in a jiffy right? NOPE! I was with his wife, Jen, the one time I remember her making plum dumplings for him. It took forever. I think she only makes them when she loses a bet or an argument. We were in the kitchen for hours. By the time they were finally done, I didn’t even want to eat them. It was years ago, but I remember them being big fluffy dumplings around a huge ole’ plum. They looked weird and tasted weird. Maybe that memory is clouded by the exhaustion of making them and the fact that what I thought they would taste like after hours of slaving away in the kitchen, didn’t compare to what they actually tasted like. Anyway, here in Slovakia, while at the Slovak Pub, I actually saw them on the menu! (I also saw them on the menu in Prague, but they were way overpriced). Thinking of what Scott would do had he been here with us, I ordered them. So what were they like? Well, they weren’t exactly like Jen’s as they had a plum paste in the center instead of a whole plum, and they were therefore a whole lot smaller, but they were similar enough. They also had them all decorated with drizzled chocolate, powdered sugar and some sort of sweet crumbly cheese, that when Jen made them she didn’t use, but all in all they were pretty yummy. I told Jen that when we came home I would help her make another batch just so I could get a newer comparison. Either my memories from long ago were skewed, or maybe plum dumplings are just an “acquired taste”. If so, I think that it is a taste I have now acquired. Oh boy, Scott will be happy!

My Slovakian Prison - Bratislava, Slovakia

Becky — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:32:26 +0000

Today I woke up early. I had still not adjusted to the time change that happened yesterday. The sun was shining through the windows as it was a beautiful day. I was going to take a shower early before the mad pre check out rush. I had to pee first so I went to the bathroom first. Bathrooms and showers aren’t always together, it depends on the hostel. Anyway, I didn’t have my contacts in yet and things were a bit blurry so after sitting down on the toilet and looking at the door, my heart sank. The inside doorknob was hanging from the door unattached. The door was shut, and now there was no way for me to open it again. AARRGGHH! I tried to reach the inner mechanisms of the outer doorknob so I could turn it, but in doing so, I pushed it (the doorknob) further away from me and then I heard it fall on the floor on the other side. F**K! Now what? Well, I then started pounding on the walls with my hands and then with the room key, but it was too early and there was no one nearby that was up to hear me. After that I climbed up and opened a window in the bathroom and started screaming out the window. I thought that Chris may be able to hear me as the window to our room was open and the bathroom was kind of close to that window. Chris though is a sound sleeper and it was no success. S**T! So then I started violently shaking the door and stomping my feet and screaming at the top of my lungs. I was actually getting quite panicked. Finally the front desk dude and Chris, who finally through layers of sleep heard me screaming his name, came to my rescue. I don’t know how long I was in there but it felt like hours. By the time they found me I was near tears and just ran past them to the shower. It was horrible. That was the closest time in my life I have ever come to a panic attack and I now have a true appreciation of what those that suffer from them must feel every day of their lives. It sucked! Damn the Patio Hostel in Bratislava I say!!!!! Damn them!!!!!!

Bratislava!!! - Eurotrip and Absinth

Chris — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 11:23:47 +0000

Guess where I am? Bratislava!! Where the heck is that? It’s in the country of Slovakia. Where the heck is Slovakia? Next to Austria, about an hour east of the city of Vienna. That’s where! Also the place of the famous absinthe scene with the green fairy in EuroTrip the movie. Look at my other EuroTrip blog. I love this movie.

Well, Bratislava is a true Eastern European major city. It is not like Prague, which is so western. People here look different and have that Eastern European look. Girls are hot and slim. Not to mention, things are cheaper. I’d say about 10% cheaper than in the states which makes it about 30% cheaper than the rest of Europe. They use crowns here. You get 28 Slovak crowns for $1 American dollar. While in Prague you get 22 Czech crowns for a buck. So unlike the movie you don’t live like kings but you can save some money.

The hostel costs about 525 Slovak Crowns or 15 Euros or $19 US for one bunk in a shared room and meals were about 7 Euro. Considering most bed in hostels costs about 20 Euros, it wasn’t to bad. Of course, if you want really cheap go to Thailand. In Thailand, private rooms were available for about 15 Euro for two people or you could get your own private suite at a 5 star hotel for about $60. Whoo hoo! A good meal off the street was about $1. You can’t beat Thailand for its prices or people.

I met a an old flat mate of my good friend Jeremy’s while he lived in Paris for 6 months doing bike tours at Fat Tire (link). A California guy named Nick. He had gone expat and has his own bike tour business in Bratislava named every so nicely Nicks Bike Tours at www.sdjkfdsjdkjfd.com (find that link).

It was a guys night out. Becky stayed in to blog and knit. Spending 2 months with your lover 24/7 can get tiring. You need some alone time. So I met up with Nick and a cool French friend of his who loves techno music and a hopping we went. It was a blast. We drank some local Slovak beers and of course did the almighty green magical drink….ABSINTHE!!!

Oh my god that shift is poison. Its worse than Grappa. The stories are true in that it was defiantly green. You can’t just drink the shit straight or you will die, or just puke your guts out. So you have to put some sugar on a spoon, dip it in the Absinthe and set it on fire. After that you then dip the spoon in to the drink and then watch the baby burn for a few seconds. This is key! You need to burn off some of the alcohol or else. Then you slug back the double size shot. When I swallowed it, oh did it burn. And it kept burning. Then it burned some more. After that I drank water and ate peanuts for the rest of the night. I was pissed drunk at that point and started to dance to techno along with his cool French friend.

With Nick’s guidance I managed to stumble my way back to the hostel in the wee hours of the morning and into the lower bunk bed with Becky. She told me I reaked of alcohol. She said she could smell it coming from my pores. The rest of the day I did nothing but lay in the bunk bed to recover my hangover. This was Bratislava. There were no sights. There were no castles. There weren’t even any stupid churches or museums. There was just abisnthe and a weird famous statue sticking its head out of a manhole. Loved it!

Nick was a great host and friend. I met several locals and many of his pretty female friends. Nick if you ever come to South Bend, and I am not sure why you would , you’ve got a place to crash anytime.

Chinese Restaurants are Everywhere - Bratislava, Slovakia

Becky — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 18:31:15 +0000

I don’t know what I expected in Europe. I guess I was naive in thinking that just because I am in country “X”, that they only serve the cuisine of country “X”. I mean come on, this is the 21st century, of course these people are going to want more than the cuisine of their mother land. With that said, I have come to learn two things.

The first is that Chinese people are the hardest working and farthest reaching restaurant owners that I know. They are everywhere! When in doubt, head for the Chinese restaurant. They are all pretty universal, I.e. buffets at noon, menu in English, plat du jour. The only thing in Europe is that unless specified, assume that all side dishes are not included (rice etc. must be ordered separately.) We have now eaten at Parisian, Slovakian & Viennese Chinese restaurants and have not be unhappy with any of our choices. The one in Bratislava was particularly delicious. In Paris, it was initially weird being approached by a Chinese server speaking French with a Chinese accent but once she realized that we were not French, she switched into English with a Chinese accent. Amazing! I feel so inadequate only knowing English, and barely enough Spanish, to get me by. Languages in Europe flow like water. People always know several, especially in the larger cities, and can switch between all of them easily and fluently.

The second thing I have learned is to be wary of Mexican restaurants. There are not enough of them and just because you have a hankering for a chimichanga, Dorothy, you ain’t in Kansas anymore. We have now eaten at ones in Scotland and Venice, mainly because they are the only ones we have seen. Just trust me on this one though, they are going to suck. I don’t think Europeans know what “good” Mexican food is, because if they did, they wouldn’t tolerate this food. Of course, scarier is that they may really think that Mexican food actually tastes like what they are serving. YUK! As a side note Chris wants to interject that he actually liked the Mexican restaurant in Scotland for some reason, but then again, he is just crazy. There were no free chips. Come on who doesn’t serve free chips? LOL