53. - 55. Day (29.9.22-1.10.22)

I boarded the train in Prague to go to Bratislava in the afternoon. I was feeling a bit under the weather and my nose was running. On the train, I made plans for my time in the capital of Slovakia. I wanted to go to saunas the next day and relax while my host Oleksandr was at work. With a bit of delay, I arrived at the main train station in the city on the Danube. My Ukrainian friend was already waiting for me there. Together, we walked into the city center and when I answered yes to the question if I was hungry, Oleksandr took me to an interesting restaurant. The people were sitting together in the church of an old monastery and eating the hearty Slovakian food. After a while of searching, I could find something on the menu that I could eat as well. Together, we devoured our meal and had a beer. Afterwards, we rode our bikes to Oleksandr's apartment and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up, but my strength had left me. Slowly, I made my way to the kitchen and explained to my friend that I would have to abandon my plans for the day to rest. Oleksandr showed me how to operate the television and showed me the tea compartment in the kitchen before he left for work. So, I spent the day watching Lord of the Rings and pouring pitchers of tea. In the evening, I felt a little better and went to a vegan restaurant with my host, which a colleague had recommended to him. However, afterwards I had to end the evening to take care of myself.

The next day, I felt well enough to agree to Oleksandr's suggestion to take a stroll through the city. In the afternoon, we set off and started our little tour with the castle. From there, you have a wonderful view over the city and can observe the development of the metropolis based on the changing architecture. Slim art nouveau residential blocks are overshadowed by brutalist Soviet administrative buildings. Bratislava, also known as Pressburg, has belonged to various countries in the past, and this cultural change is also reflected in the cityscape.

After enjoying the view enough, we started our descent back to the city center. On the way, we passed an interesting statue of a witch. Oleksandr told me that we didn't need much time to explore the rest of the city, as it is not particularly big. So, we comfortably strolled through the streets and alleys and actually explored everything in a short amount of time. In the evening, we had arranged to meet with a Dutch sibling couple, with whom we had beer, played foosball, and discussed German and Dutch brewing art. We didn't say goodbye too late, as I was still feeling sick.

The next morning, I said goodbye to my host early to go to the train station. I was still not fully recovered, but I was already feeling much better. Luckily, I also caught an empty compartment on the train and could comfortably ride along the Danube to Budapest.