Remember when you were a kid and you used to play the “don’t step on the lava” game? Don’t act like you didn’t partake when you know you totally did. The game was fairly simple. Your feet were never allowed to touch the ground and navigating your pirate ship (which somehow could withstand 1000 degrees of molten heat) meant hopping from one piece of furniture to the next. It’s funny how kids’ imaginations work, because it actually felt like something was on fire during that game or that it really was hot.
We didn’t exactly play “don’t step on the lava” when we visited Bratis”lava,” but the city’s name and the searing heat of a hot summer day sure did take me back to my youth. When you can feel the heat of the concrete radiating upwards, you might as well be on an imaginary pirate ship. When the town’s thermometer says it’s 118 degrees outside, you might as well be in a good ol’ fashion game of “don’t step on the lava.”
Frank and I took the train from Vienna to Bratislava. The city happened to be on the way to our next destination of Budapest (yet another reason why train travel in Europe is amazing: everything is connected!).
We had an entire day to see Bratislava and we did most of that walking very slow on account of the fact that we didn’t want to pass out from a heat stroke. Our first stop was:
Grassalkolvich Palace
The President’s Palace The changing of the guardsWe made it to the palace just in time to see the changing of the guards. Have you noticed that the more “totalitarian” a country is or was historically, the more rigid the changing of the guards is? The march is more uniform and has more angles, the positioning of arms becomes more lined and there is generally a use of bayonettes or swords.
The changing of the guards at Grassalkolvich Palace was no different. The first time I ever saw a changing was in London. There was music and a ton of people watching the jazz show. Slovakia doesn’t mess around with that “entertainment” debacle. This was all business, pure and simple. The fact that they were doing this in triple digit weather shows that guard changing isn’t a show; it’s a lifestyle.
Inside Archways
inside the archway Or you might find a cool frog in the archwaysThere are quite a few archways in Bratislava that lead to houses, businesses and so forth. And, they’re spectacular. Seriously, walking through the archway is like a whole new world of beauty.
The “Hmmm” Artwork
Have you ever stared at a piece of art and thought: “hmmmm”? Bratislava seems to be full of art like that.
Hmmm. Yet another hmmmm moment. Hmmm. I’ll bet this art is politically charged.Bratislava Castle
The Castle sits atop a hill. It was a 118 degrees outside. You can take a guess how we took that walk.
Very.
Slowly.
From here, we had a pretty amazing view of all those red-roofed houses in Bratislava. We sat for about twenty minutes taking in all the beauty.
Then we got up.
It was at that moment that we realized we had both left fairly sweaty ass-prints on the bench. “Oh no,” I said aloud, “people are going to think I wet my pants.” But, I was not alone, because as others got up from benches, I noticed that they, too, had wet their pants.
Bratislava castle in the background what a view!Share your favorite childhood game!
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