Bratislava

Dad and I took the bus to Bratislava, which is only about a half-hour's drive from Trnava. We walked around in the old city, which developed around a castle during the Middle Ages, like so many other towns in Europe. Many of the buildings there were rebuilt during the eighteenth century and look like buildings in Prague. You could say the Bratislava is Prague Light. We visited a museum showing items from the history of Bratislava, starting with a model of the old town made of copper. One of the first exhibits had tools found in the area dating back to the Stone Age. The museum itself was in a building that used to be the castle. We found an exhibit displaying instruments of torture in the dungeon. Areas in the upper floors displayed art artifacts from various periods, including weapons and coins. A tower with a clock on it took us up where we got a great view of the old town. Back in the old town, we saw other fascinating sights. There is a church there that was once bombarded by canon fire. One of the canonball is still stuck in the wall. It has been left there intentionally, as a kind of momento. The old town was once surrounded by a wall with four gates. The wall is mostly gone now, and the only gate remaining is one called St. Michael's gate.

After our visit to the old town, we took a boat ride on the River Danube. The boat ride started by a steel bridge built during the communist era. It has a just one suspension arch which looks like an A-frame leaning toward the land at a strange angle. There is a disk-shaped restaurant at the top of the arch. It looks like a UFO ran into the arch and got stuck in it. The whole effect is aggressive and unattractive, as if the Communists were trying too hard to impress the world and failed. It's close to Bratislava Castle, which is currently being used by the government as an office building. The Parliament building is next door. During the boat ride, we saw a couple of guys on jet skis rocket past the boat. One of them wiped out. After he righted himself, he wiped out again. We all found it rather entertaining, since the guy didn't get hurt.

While we were waiting at the bus station for the bus back to Trnava, Dad and I saw a guy trying to pull the grill off the bottom front of a vending machine. He looked like a yound punk. I don't know what he was trying to do. We didn't do anything about it. I was showing Dad some of the video I had taken with my camcorder. The young punk came up and started talking to us and pointing at my camcorder. It seemed he thought I was taping him. We tried to tell him that I wasn't taking his picture. He didn't go away at first. I thought I might have to kick his butt. He wasn't as big as me, so I didn't think it would be hard, but he eventually left us alone.

Back in Trnava, Dad and I waited for Anna to bring my stepbrother Louis and his family to Trnava from Vienna Airport. We waited at Trnavsky Dvor, a restaurant and bar across the street. Dad said this place was an empty lot just a few years ago. Now it's an open air tavern made of red bricks and unvarnished wood. When this place gets crowded, people start sitting in the empty seats next, according to Dad. Later, that's exactly what happened. A lovely woman named Eva and her friend, Egil, sat with us. Eva was curious about Dad. She thought he was Japanese. Dad explained that he's Filipino. We had a few beers with Eva before Dad left to check on Anna's progress. Egil and Eva told me that Egil was working with her on translating a book of her poetry from Slovak to Norwegian. I had no idea I'd meet a published poet there. Several times during the conversation, Egil would make speeches about how the European knows his own heritage but the American must struggle to find out who he is. I had to agree as someone of mixed race who grew up in America. Often when Egil would pontificate about society, Eva would give me a playful smile, as if to say, "Isn't it funny they way he goes on like that?" I told her the one Japanese phrase I know: "Nihon go'a hanase masen," which means, "I do not speak Japanese." She laughed and told me the phrase which means, "I do speak Japanese." We hit it off right away. I got her phone number. We agreed to meet the next week, after she was finished working with Egil.

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