I am a little critical of the "I feel like......" verbal tic that seems to be all the rage of the last few years or so, but this post is truly a feeling-based, unthoughtout (again, German has inspired me to create my own compoundwords) response to our day-trip to Bratislava, Slovakia today.
I was prepared to see some Eastern block housing and weird communist monuments mixed in with 18th Century baroque architecture and churches. But I was also determined find Bratislava much better than people warned- I didn't want the stereotype of the ex-EasternBlockCountry to be true. I feel like it was and the best way to explain it is that "they" don't even bother faking it for the tourists. The train station is in complete disrepair, the public spaces are full of graffiti and potholes, the people wore looks of hard lives, and the newer developments are bizarre (see the UFO bridge below). The communist era housing was a stunning sight. From top of the hill of the Bratislava Castle on the banks of the Danube looking eastward as far as the eye could see were block apartment buildings. I wish the panoramic photos turned out clearer. Even the weather played into stereotype and was gray and dismal. It was a frowny-face kind of place. It felt sad. It was exactly what I didn't want it to be and it made me sad that I was sad--but I liked it well enough anyway. The food and beer were good and cheap and there were almost no tourists.
The most fun part of the trip for me was the non-event of crossing a border that would have once been the border between EAST and WEST with absolutely no formalities. We had to look on a map of the train stops to even know that we were stopping at the border. No guards, no checkpoint Charlie, nothing. (The second to last photo was our "border" stop view.)
A close second was looking at the beautiful wind mills from the train-- last photo if you look very hard.
And a close third is the pamphlet that comes with the train ticket entitled "BratisLover" (say it with a British accent) I can visualize the Soviet-era Propaganda Poster to go with it. I feel like Reagan wins if I don't love Bratislava. :-(
'hey,Jude.....take a sad song and make it better....remember to let it into your heart then you can start......Prayer to their Maker and Sustainer such as 'O God Who art the Author of peace and Lover of concord, in knowledge of Whom stands our eternal life,Whose service is perfect freedom......
ReplyDeleteSo interesting. When I saw Maya's photos, I thought, oh, I must be mistaken, since it doesn't look as I recall--meaning, gray, depressing, post-Communist awful. Those apartment complexes are really something, aren't they? But there it is. Soviet rule sucked, but Reagan doesn't win because the Soviets were awful. He can be awful in his own right.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, loved this post.