Bratislava & Brno
As students at Riverside, Ben and Garrett have had some spectacular opportunities to travel with school groups open this year. Trips out of Czechia include athletic meets and tournaments, academic competitions, and cultural trips. The first one took place back in October.
Among the fall offerings for the junior high's extracurricular activities and clubs was Calculus Café, in which junior high school kids met once week at lunchtime to discuss and solve math problems. Students who performed well in the club were invited to join the Riverside team at the Maths Olympiad in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Karl and I strongarmed gently encouraged Garrett to participate in the Calculus Café, and we're pleased to report that he actually tolerated enjoyed it! Just before the fall mid-term break, Garrett and his teammates skipped a day of school and traveled to Bratislava for the competition.
Since none of us had ever been to Slovakia, we took advantage of this opportunity to check out the capital. Karl also needed to meet with some folks in Brno, so we planned to stay two nights in Bratislava and then spend Monday in Brno before returning home.
Karl, Ben, and I headed down on Saturday morning, the day of the Maths Olympiad. (We were super proud of G for taking part in the event but figured he wouldn't really benefit from us being there in person, doing the wave and cheering him on and whatnot.)
Some communist-era art greeted us at Bratislava's train station.
From the station we jumped in a cab and made it to the international school just in time to see our boy and his two teammates among the winners in their age group.
Sebastian is actually 10 and was bumped up to join this group when another boy got sick and had to miss the trip, so he was punching above his weight (and must have landed a few hits!). Rade is a friend of Garrett's from our first year in Prague when they were in Year 1 together.
We scooped up Garrett, dropped bags at our hostel (more on that later), and headed downtown for the evening. The weather forecast wasn't great for Sunday, so we wanted to see all that we could while it was clear.
"Remember, you — the living — '44, when those who were prepared to die rose against fascist death. Loyal sons with chests bare protected (??). Their action bronzed the dawn that Stalingrad spread across the horizon." (Rough translation per Karl — could not find a translation on the web! Let me know if you've got one.)
Got the boys some refreshments.
And went in search of dinner.
We happened upon a festival with music and all sorts of food stands. Dinner: ✓!
Afterwards we strolled through the old town.
The Old Town Hall complex features some beasts that look sweet ...
... and sinister.
Back to SNP Square to catch a tram to the hostel.
A word about our accommodations: Ew.
We realize how wonderful and luxurious it is to have this year abroad in Prague, with its opportunities to visit other European destinations. And given that we want to see a lot of places, we tend to reserve rather modest lodgings and eat on the cheap whenever we travel. Typically we'll look for budget-friendly apartments or hostels where families can get a private room, which may or may not have a private bath. We like to have kitchen facilities available so that we can fix and eat a simple breakfast before heading out for the day. And mostly we've landed eminently adequate lodgings, occasionally charming even.
But our hostel in Bratislava shut down that trend right quick.
From the outside it looked not unlike a block of jail cells. There was no manager or staff onsite. We were sent instructions by text, which included a code to the front door and directions to find our room. (Not the only time that's been the case, but previously we'd never required staff intervention.)
Shower curtains hung against one wall in the foyer (hiding what, I have no idea). There was a TV on the wall opposite the shower curtains, and it was blaring away as we arrived, both in the afternoon and in the evening. And a family had spread themselves throughout the common area, from the kitchen to the TV, with food and drink.
Our room was just around the corner from the entryway, and it faced the direction of the TV. The unisex, shared bathroom had showers that were blocked off by curtains (not doors).
Color us unimpressed. I won't get into all of what happened after "quiet hours" started. Suffice to say — following a near-shouting match between Karl and the half-drunk dad figure of the resident family, and texts to the "24/7" staff who asserted that there was nothing they could do — we ultimately informed the management that we would be leaving in the morning and not returning the next night (for which, unfortunately, we'd already paid). Honestly, though? I wasn't unhappy that we had a reason beyond aesthetics to leave our cell block.
Maybe we should have paid more attention to the name of the place.
Bye, bye, Hostel Lemon! Could not get out of there fast enough.
We left in search of breakfast. As it happens, Bratislavans don't really go out for Sunday breakfast or brunch. Not that we could discern anyway. We went from one eating establishment to another that promised breakfast food (including the place that G and the Riverside crew ate on Saturday), but none was open. Well, almost none.
Starbucks didn't let us down! By the way, if you're planning to consume your drink or meal at a European Starbucks, you get an actual mug and plate with stainless steel utensils, rather than a to-go cup and a bag. I think it might be an EU mandate to reduce paper and plastic waste? Certainly makes you feel better about your latté, and it's much more civilized.
We dodged raindrops on the grey, drizzly day to see a few more sights before skipping town. (When we bailed on Hostel Lemon, we thought it best to just move on to the next city.) The first was the monument to Ľudovít Štúr, the founder and ideological leader of the Slovak national revival movement during the first half of the 19th century.
During Štúr's short life — he died at 40 due to complications following an accidental, self-inflicted gun-shot wound — he was a poet, teacher, journalist, publisher, philosopher, linguist, and (briefly) member of the Hungarian parliament. Štúr advocated for Slovaks' rights to their own language, schools, and political independence within Hungary. He was the author of the Slovak language standard which eventually led to contemporary Slovak literary language.
The Holocaust Memorial stands on the site of the former Neolog Synagogue, which was razed during the communist era to make way for a highway and the New Bridge over the Danube. A depiction of the synagogue is etched on the granite wall behind the monument. The memorial was erected in 1996 as a reminder of the 105,000 Slovakian victims of the Holocaust.
We made our way up to the castle.
Our climb gave us a better vantage point of the New Bridge and the UFO tower on it (as it's known locally).
We declined the opportunity to pay €6 a piece to go up in the UFO. Though, now that I think of it, €6 really isn't that much to pay to go on a UFO.
As the rain started in earnest we left the castle, grabbed sandwiches at Subway, and caught the train to our next destination.
Once we realized we were heading to Brno a day early, we jumped online to find a nice place to make up for Hostile Lemon. Booking.com came through for us this time!
Now this is more like it!
All this, just for us.
And the view is even lovelier.
Garrett exasperatedly demanded wondered aloud why there were so many statues of naked people everywhere. A recurring theme this year.
We wanted to visit Brno for two reasons: Karl had a meeting scheduled on Monday morning in preparation for the January-term class that he would be co-leading. And our friend Eliana was studying at Masaryk University for the semester. Arriving on Sunday afternoon allowed us to connect with Eliana for dinner and an evening stroll through the city.
Eliana showed us some entertaining statues and sites in the old town. In front of the Supreme Administrative Court is the Statue of Justice, which inspired a fraternal chase. Naturally.
Right across the street from Justice is the equestrian statue of Margrave Jošt.
Initially nicknamed The Giraffe, the Jošt horse became infamous for an anatomical feature other than its height — its jaw and sternum.
Specifically when viewed from below the horse.
Before we turned in for the evening, Eliana took us to see the legendary dragon of Brno.
On Monday, we visited Špilberk Castle.
Built in the 13th century, it transformed into a harsh prison during the Habsburg empire and then converted into a barracks in the mid-1800s. During WWI and WWII it was used again as a military prison. In 1960 it became part of the Brno City Museum.
We spied a nice view of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Headed over to the cathedral for a different view.
Karl went to Mendel University for his meeting, I deposited the boys at a fine eating establishment (okay, they ate at Subway *again*), and I ventured out to document some of the architectural adornments of the city.
Caught our ride back to Prague.
Giving us a couple of hours to lie to and deceive each other through endless rounds of Coup.
Among the fall offerings for the junior high's extracurricular activities and clubs was Calculus Café, in which junior high school kids met once week at lunchtime to discuss and solve math problems. Students who performed well in the club were invited to join the Riverside team at the Maths Olympiad in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Karl and I strongarmed gently encouraged Garrett to participate in the Calculus Café, and we're pleased to report that he actually tolerated enjoyed it! Just before the fall mid-term break, Garrett and his teammates skipped a day of school and traveled to Bratislava for the competition.
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| Garrett is the kid who's slightly obscured in the back. I'm afraid he's also the one giving bunny ears to his classmate. <sigh> |
Since none of us had ever been to Slovakia, we took advantage of this opportunity to check out the capital. Karl also needed to meet with some folks in Brno, so we planned to stay two nights in Bratislava and then spend Monday in Brno before returning home.
Karl, Ben, and I headed down on Saturday morning, the day of the Maths Olympiad. (We were super proud of G for taking part in the event but figured he wouldn't really benefit from us being there in person, doing the wave and cheering him on and whatnot.)
Some communist-era art greeted us at Bratislava's train station.
 |
| Sputnik makes an appearance in this socialist-realist mural by František Gajdoš. You can learn all about it here. |
From the station we jumped in a cab and made it to the international school just in time to see our boy and his two teammates among the winners in their age group.
 |
| Sebastian, Rade, and Garrett won 3rd place overall in the 11-12YO age group. (Let's not get too worked up about how much taller G is than the others. He's kind of freakishly tall, yes, but his hair had a lot of loft that day. I think it's really just hair.) |
Sebastian is actually 10 and was bumped up to join this group when another boy got sick and had to miss the trip, so he was punching above his weight (and must have landed a few hits!). Rade is a friend of Garrett's from our first year in Prague when they were in Year 1 together.
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| Garrett and Rade at the Year 1 end-of-school picnic. Awww! |
We scooped up Garrett, dropped bags at our hostel (more on that later), and headed downtown for the evening. The weather forecast wasn't great for Sunday, so we wanted to see all that we could while it was clear.
 |
| Memorial to Slovak uprising against the Nazis during World War II. |
"Remember, you — the living — '44, when those who were prepared to die rose against fascist death. Loyal sons with chests bare protected (??). Their action bronzed the dawn that Stalingrad spread across the horizon." (Rough translation per Karl — could not find a translation on the web! Let me know if you've got one.)
Got the boys some refreshments.
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| For the rest of the evening, Ben made a point of featuring his Pepsi bottle in any picture I took of him. |
And went in search of dinner.
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| At SNP Square |
We happened upon a festival with music and all sorts of food stands. Dinner: ✓!
Afterwards we strolled through the old town.
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| Statue of Pavel Országh Hviezdoslav, a poet, dramatist, and (briefly) member of Czechoslovak parliament. |
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| In front of Ganymede's Fountain and the Old Slovak National Theatre |
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| Statue of Hans Christian Andersen, erected in honor of the author following his 1841 visit to Bratislava. |
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| Fall evening on Hviezdoslav Square |
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| Photo cred: Garrett |
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| Napoleon, leaning over park bench in the Main Square |
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| Delicious. Refreshing. Pepsi. |
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| Hot cocoa and treats at the Schokocafe. |
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| Pawer's House, Part of Old Town Hall |
The Old Town Hall complex features some beasts that look sweet ...
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| ... let sleeping dragons lie ... |
... and sinister.
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| Snake-y serpents — not my thing. |
Back to SNP Square to catch a tram to the hostel.
A word about our accommodations: Ew.
We realize how wonderful and luxurious it is to have this year abroad in Prague, with its opportunities to visit other European destinations. And given that we want to see a lot of places, we tend to reserve rather modest lodgings and eat on the cheap whenever we travel. Typically we'll look for budget-friendly apartments or hostels where families can get a private room, which may or may not have a private bath. We like to have kitchen facilities available so that we can fix and eat a simple breakfast before heading out for the day. And mostly we've landed eminently adequate lodgings, occasionally charming even.
But our hostel in Bratislava shut down that trend right quick.
From the outside it looked not unlike a block of jail cells. There was no manager or staff onsite. We were sent instructions by text, which included a code to the front door and directions to find our room. (Not the only time that's been the case, but previously we'd never required staff intervention.)
Shower curtains hung against one wall in the foyer (hiding what, I have no idea). There was a TV on the wall opposite the shower curtains, and it was blaring away as we arrived, both in the afternoon and in the evening. And a family had spread themselves throughout the common area, from the kitchen to the TV, with food and drink.
Our room was just around the corner from the entryway, and it faced the direction of the TV. The unisex, shared bathroom had showers that were blocked off by curtains (not doors).
Color us unimpressed. I won't get into all of what happened after "quiet hours" started. Suffice to say — following a near-shouting match between Karl and the half-drunk dad figure of the resident family, and texts to the "24/7" staff who asserted that there was nothing they could do — we ultimately informed the management that we would be leaving in the morning and not returning the next night (for which, unfortunately, we'd already paid). Honestly, though? I wasn't unhappy that we had a reason beyond aesthetics to leave our cell block.
Maybe we should have paid more attention to the name of the place.
 |
| I thought we only had to worry about lemons with regard to cars. |
Bye, bye, Hostel Lemon! Could not get out of there fast enough.
We left in search of breakfast. As it happens, Bratislavans don't really go out for Sunday breakfast or brunch. Not that we could discern anyway. We went from one eating establishment to another that promised breakfast food (including the place that G and the Riverside crew ate on Saturday), but none was open. Well, almost none.
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| Croissants and hot beverages all around! |
Starbucks didn't let us down! By the way, if you're planning to consume your drink or meal at a European Starbucks, you get an actual mug and plate with stainless steel utensils, rather than a to-go cup and a bag. I think it might be an EU mandate to reduce paper and plastic waste? Certainly makes you feel better about your latté, and it's much more civilized.
We dodged raindrops on the grey, drizzly day to see a few more sights before skipping town. (When we bailed on Hostel Lemon, we thought it best to just move on to the next city.) The first was the monument to Ľudovít Štúr, the founder and ideological leader of the Slovak national revival movement during the first half of the 19th century.
 |
| Štúr's philosophy was, "My country is my being, and every hour of my life shall be devoted to it." |
During Štúr's short life — he died at 40 due to complications following an accidental, self-inflicted gun-shot wound — he was a poet, teacher, journalist, publisher, philosopher, linguist, and (briefly) member of the Hungarian parliament. Štúr advocated for Slovaks' rights to their own language, schools, and political independence within Hungary. He was the author of the Slovak language standard which eventually led to contemporary Slovak literary language.
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| Pamätaj ... remember. |
The Holocaust Memorial stands on the site of the former Neolog Synagogue, which was razed during the communist era to make way for a highway and the New Bridge over the Danube. A depiction of the synagogue is etched on the granite wall behind the monument. The memorial was erected in 1996 as a reminder of the 105,000 Slovakian victims of the Holocaust.
We made our way up to the castle.
Our climb gave us a better vantage point of the New Bridge and the UFO tower on it (as it's known locally).
We declined the opportunity to pay €6 a piece to go up in the UFO. Though, now that I think of it, €6 really isn't that much to pay to go on a UFO.
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| Watch your step out of the gate! |
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| Svätopluk, the greatist king of the Great Moravian Empire |
As the rain started in earnest we left the castle, grabbed sandwiches at Subway, and caught the train to our next destination.
Once we realized we were heading to Brno a day early, we jumped online to find a nice place to make up for Hostile Lemon. Booking.com came through for us this time!
Now this is more like it!
All this, just for us.
And the view is even lovelier.
 |
| View from the bedside |
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| Straight out the kitchen window |
Garrett exasperatedly demanded wondered aloud why there were so many statues of naked people everywhere. A recurring theme this year.
We wanted to visit Brno for two reasons: Karl had a meeting scheduled on Monday morning in preparation for the January-term class that he would be co-leading. And our friend Eliana was studying at Masaryk University for the semester. Arriving on Sunday afternoon allowed us to connect with Eliana for dinner and an evening stroll through the city.
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| After dinner at Moravia Square with Eliana |
Eliana showed us some entertaining statues and sites in the old town. In front of the Supreme Administrative Court is the Statue of Justice, which inspired a fraternal chase. Naturally.
 |
| This guy reminded us of a Minecraft figure. |
Right across the street from Justice is the equestrian statue of Margrave Jošt.
Initially nicknamed The Giraffe, the Jošt horse became infamous for an anatomical feature other than its height — its jaw and sternum.
Specifically when viewed from below the horse.
 |
That's one way to get teenaged boys interested in city art.
|
Before we turned in for the evening, Eliana took us to see the legendary dragon of Brno.
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| I know, I know — it's a crocodile. Just roll with it. |
On Monday, we visited Špilberk Castle.
Built in the 13th century, it transformed into a harsh prison during the Habsburg empire and then converted into a barracks in the mid-1800s. During WWI and WWII it was used again as a military prison. In 1960 it became part of the Brno City Museum.
We spied a nice view of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Headed over to the cathedral for a different view.
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| Mural across from the cathedral |
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| From the bell tower |
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| Špilberk Castle |
Karl went to Mendel University for his meeting, I deposited the boys at a fine eating establishment (okay, they ate at Subway *again*), and I ventured out to document some of the architectural adornments of the city.
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| More nudity |
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| Gnomes and she-devils |
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| Chickens! |
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| Train nymphs at hlavní nádraží heralding the locomotive wheel. (Or, Karl asks, are they nymphs in training?) |
Caught our ride back to Prague.
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"Hostile Lemon" will be the name of my next band.
ReplyDeleteYou're going to have to take up an instrument, what with all them bands you're starting.
DeleteGreat detail! So glad you've overcome inertia and are blogging again!
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs and great travel log. What an amazing opportunity. FYI in American Starbucks you can request a ceramic mug for your beverage if you are staying in the cafe. Or you can bring your own and get $0.10 off your drink. Apparently the difference is in Europe they proactively give you the option.
ReplyDeleteWow, I had *no* idea you could get a real mug in the US Starbucks — they could do a better job of promoting that! I did know about the discount for bringing your own. Starbucks recently announced that for the next three months at about 25 London stores they are charging 5 pence/single-use cup. They offer a 25-pence discount if you bring a reusable mug. They're trying to get data to see what incentives will move the needle on folks bringing their own. Thus far it's remained less than 2 percent of customers (all this according to a company press release I read online).
DeleteWonderful! Reminds me I need to get working on Dane's study abroad!
ReplyDelete