Gettin Down in Bratislava!!

My stay in Bratislava, Slovakia has been soooo amazing! It started off a bit rocky. I arrived by night and couldn't find a bathroom or my hostel for the life of me, but I found my way after walking a bit and was totally relieved, pun intended. It was pretty late and I was tired so I just headed upstairs.

These four Aussies were playing cards in the room so I talked to them for a bit and then put on a movie in my half of the suite (the two rooms were adjoined by a door but to get to my room I had to go through theirs). As I was half way through my movie and half way to sleep, an old-ish Spaniard entered. He flipped on the lights and began to undress.

I was like, "Hi!! Sorry.." And he says, "Ay! Perdon, perdon! Estaba solo..." blah blah blah in Spanish. Luckily I speak Spanish so we small-talked. He was from Zaragoza, a town not too far from Madrid, and his name was Jose. He told me I talked like a Mexican, and did I mention that he continued to undress as we were talking? So strange. So he gets down to his boxers, which were totally hanging OPEN, and straight up PASSES OUT. On top of the covers and everything... I fell asleep soon after, not sure what to make of the encounter.

When I got up, he was already busying about the room, and no joke, he says, "Hi, I'm Jose." I told him that he had already introduced HIMSELF, and was like, "Oh, sorry- I was a little drunk last night.." So all this passes before I even get up on day 1- FABULOUS! I got dressed and ready and headed to this tour of the city. I've found English-speaking tours to be a good way to meet people. Everyone, especially on tours of these somewhat obscure cities, is usually traveling all over and excited to meet others doing the same. So I got down there and took the tour and was SO impressed!

Bratislava is new to the European Union and will have the Euro starting in January. It is definitely a developing city, with ruins from when they were still under communism making up a large part of the cityscape. I definitely predict that this will change very quickly, though. There is new construction everywhere and a lot of old structures are being rehabbed. It will totally be a destination city within 5 years or so.

Anyway, after the tour I bought some chocolate from a place the tour guide told me was, "just like the movie 'Chocolat,'" and headed toward home. I ate some goulash and Slovak dumplings for dinner and got ready for a night on the town. The Aussies from the previous night plus one other Aussie and I watched “The Big Lebowski,” and they invited me to this "crazy club in a bunker" that they had heard about. I didn’t know what that even meant but was totally down.

We headed out and got lost for a bit. I, being the only female in the group, got annoyed and asked a local for directions. It turns out you have to walk till the sidewalk runs out and literally merge onto the highway, staying toward the curb, until there is a gap in the fence. You sneak through the gap, and there is an AMAZING club there, right beneath the Bratislava Castle- I am not kidding!

Even though the place is ridiculously hard to find and there is no sign of it until you show up at the door, it was PACKED! The cover was 150Sk or 5 Euros, but drinks were cheap- 1 Euro for this crappy beer in a plastic cup. Anyway the Aussies bought me a beer and after thanking them and downing it, I made my way to the dance floor.

I can’t even describe... -This place was INSANE! It was packed and people were all kinds of twisted- some sweaty and dancing, others swaying half-dead-drunk, while this blonde with dreads lectured about everything from the evolution of “Jungle” music to Iran’s nuclear program, while a red-faced guy in a pink tutu with flashing pink bunny ears jumped around the room like a butterfly on crack... In a word- HEAVEN!!

I was so hooked. I danced FOREVER! The strobe was so intense you couldn’t tell if people were dancing all jerky-posed on purpose or if it was the lights. You couldn’t tell if you were dancing or just keeping your balance on the muddy, cheap beer-soaked floor. You couldn’t tell if you were in love with the guy who could dance so well, or even who was who, at all.

In the midst of all this, the plus one Aussie comes over and grabs me by the shoulder, “I think they want to go.” he says. “Ok, cool.” I say, and we pack up and leave.

My heart was pounding and I’m on the highway by one side of this beautiful bridge that crosses the blue Danube. What just happened??

-H*

Pics from Bratislava: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144476&l=f22ca&id=22001348