The first weekend in September was our first weekend where we had no commitments to school, so naturally our whole group decided to jet-set away for our first set of weekend trips. Hannah, Adri, Andrea, Ian, and I went to Bratislava, Slovakia. Because I have been to Bratislava once before with the Seattle Girls’ Choir in 2009, I acted as de-facto tour guide for our group. We stayed at an awesome hostel on the outskirts of town, within a fifteen minutes walk of the pedestrian city center.

Our cute little hostel had nice, plain beds and brightly colored bedding. Very comfortable!

On our first day, we got our bearings by drinking beer and eating some hearty Slovakian food at a local cafe. Adri also made friends with a street performer.

House beer.

Someone made me laugh!

It was yummy.

Noodle dumplings with sauerkraut and buttermilk.

Pierogi-style dumplings.

Potato pancakes.

Noodle dumplings with very rich bacon.

Adri’s new friend! Photo by Andrea Pakula.

Ice cream after dinner!

We were all tuckered out from our day of walking, exploring, and traveling, so we just went to bed that night. On Saturday, we went to visit the castle that overlooks Bratislava. Even though the castle itself isn’t much to look at (it was rebuilt after a fire while Slovakia was still part of Czechoslovakia and under communist control), the views from the castle are outstanding.

The view from the castle.

The UFO structure in Bratislava. On the other side of the Danube is the newer part of Bratislava.

Overlooking the Danube.

The signs up to the castle. Photo by Andrea Pakula.

Then, we went on a tour with a local guide. We purchased TI City cards, which are widely available in Europe. Usually sponsored by the city, the cards are inexpensive but give travelers awesome discounts at restaurants, museums, and hotels/hostels. The one we had also gave us a free tour of the city and free public transportation for our time in Bratislava. After the tour, we went to a spa and got pedicures. But these weren’t just any pedicures, they were fish pedicures!!!

Please don’t mistake my calm look in this picture as actual calm. I giggled and screamed for the first five minutes of having my feet in the tank! Photo by Andrea Pakula.

Little fishies eating away at our dead skin. Photo by Andrea Pakula.

From above.

Andrea and Ian giggling about the weird tickly feeling! Photo from Andrea Pakula.

The best part of the weekend, though, was  going to Sky Bar. The bar serves lots of specialty vodkas from around the world. We had great drinks, awesome food, and a lot of laughs while we enjoyed the incredible views. It was one of the best nights I have spent abroad so far.

The view from our dinner table.

Andrea!

Hannah and Adri!

It was the golden hour–perfect lighting!

We’re not great at posing for photos…

…but at least we have fun together. 🙂

The vodka flight that Adri and I split.

One of the glasses was chilled, the others were cold but not freezing.

The frozen White Russian I had with dinner.

Yum!

Andrea’s fancy mint water.

The view from the very top floor of the bar once it got dark.

Bratislava was beautiful at night.

The other high in the sky bar in Bratislava (it was too expensive for us!).

Hanging out at the bridge.

Laughing!

Confusion?

All in all, a great night.

On our final day, we lounged around the city center and enjoyed ourselves. Sometimes the best travel days are the ones without any plans. Actually, scratch that, we had ice cream. That counts, right?

Ice cream was enjoyed many times during our weekend in Bratislava. Photo by Ian Cox.

Overall, it was such a lovely weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. More posts about a weekend in Prague and a birthday are on the way. Leave a comment if there is some aspect of life in Vienna that you would love to hear about!