These are some quick shots from Bratislava, Slovakia, where
Mike, Bijal and I ventured on Sunday. We only took a quick day trip, but that was enough, as we saw the sights we wanted to see within 3 hours - including lunch. The old town area is very cute, with lots of nice terraced cafes, colorful buildings and impressive churches. There is also a large castle and fortress, which seemed barren, but gave great looks out to the other side of Bratislava, which hosts communist block housing clusters. A Slovakian woman told us that it holds the highest concentration of people in Europe - perhaps I should fact check that one? At the very least, I can say that I've seen where my great grandparents are from. Also, this trip made me realize that Mike and I usually take pictures of the pretty areas of the cities we visit, which are the minority, so perhaps we should start taking pictures of the seedy areas to give folks at home a more accurate picture of what we see. For instance, I took a nice picture of the performing art hall in the downtown, but neglected to photograph the multitude of homeless beggars in the train station, all the graffiti, and the drunk men who tactlessly yelled things at Bijal and I - which makes me thankful sometimes when I can't understand the language.But, besides Bratislava, a lot has happened recently. Here are some links to my life. First, are links to some of the first stories I had published at Where Budapest Mag:
http://wherebudapest.hu/2007_08/book_of_the_month.html
http://wherebudapest.hu/2007_08/cool_pools.html
And here is a link to all of Michael and I's pictures from our trip to Germany with Mr. Klein two weekends ago (and, if it looks like we spent the whole trip with a beer in hand, that is a fairly accurate depiction - it is Germany after all.)
http://colorado.facebook.com
The trip to Germany was wonderful. I wish we could have stayed longer. My German roots became very evident while I was there, as I marveled at the cleanliness, order and efficiency of the country. After Hungary, it was quite comforting to be in a more organized society. Michael of course hates rules, so he teases me all the time about how I should be living in Germany, because I am terrible at even crossing the street when I'm not supposed to. But, anyway, Mark (Mike's dad) was there on business, so we met up with him in Frankfurt for a weekend. We stayed in Mainz, an adorable, lively college town just outside Frankfurt. Mark and Mike showed me all their favorite spots, like a brewery/restaurant that is in a cave where the city used to store their ice and used the cave as the village refrigerator. We also went on a boat tour on the Rhein River, where we were inundated with castle views. The next day we saw Heidelburg, which I also loved. It had a very impressive castle that we tromped around, and enjoyed their downtown area too. I wish we had stayed longer, but I'm very happy I got to Germany. Perhaps, I'll write more details about it later, rather than the overview, but that's enough to understand the pictures.
I am in the midst of Berlitz teacher training, where I've been spending my days in a classroom with other Americans (almost all New Yorkers), Hungarians, British, a Peruvian and one Aussie, learning the "Berlitz method" of teaching foreign language. It sounds like a war strategy to me, but I go with it. I have met some great people, and will actually be making a steady income soon enough, which I am very thankful for. But, just to complicate things, a job I want in Colorado as an entertainment reporter just opened, so now I have to figure out if I'm ready to leave Europe to take the job if it's offered . . . stay tuned.
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