That Time When Bratislava was the Game-Changer.

I arrive in Bratislava on a Monday afternoon, absolutely wrecked from 3 nights and a whopping total of 8 hours of sleep spread between them, taking an early flight from Dublin. My eyes felt like two hot coals burning in my sockets, my feet were sore (not to mention torn up from some cute new heels), and I was essentially comin' in blind, having done no research on B-lava before rollin' up. In all honesty, I was going off the recommendation of an Aussie I met in a hostel on an earlier vacation: "Bratislava is beautiful, and so cheap." Done deal.

From the moment I stepped off the plane and felt the embrace of warm, humid air--never in my life have I been so thankful for heat and humidity of any kind--Bratislava was a winner. Only good things. I found my hostel, Hostel Blues, (seriously among the best hostels I have ever stayed in, and this year, that number has sky-rocketed) without any trouble. The original plan had been to arrive and then sleep for a solid stretch, but I finished check-in circa 14:00 and saw that a free walking tour began just an hour later, and I couldn't help myself!

I made the right call, and was rewarded with the company of the adorable guide, Sonja, and a Canadian couple I befriended along the way, Sam and Mat. We took in a lot of the main sites (and funny info about the culture and the country in general, like for the Christmas meal many families buy a fresh carp, but have to keep it in the bathtub until the big night!), but these were a couple of my favorites: 

This guy is "cumil" (missing an accent on the C but I donno how to do it), which translates to "the watcher." Apparently, he's supposed to represent the typical Communist-era worker...who isn't too concerned about doing any real work. Sonja is holding a sign that says "Man at Work," if I remember correctly, which they put up after some drunk guy ran over the statue!

SMURF CHURCH!

 Unfortunately, as with most of these walking tour do-jobbies, you don't cover much ground at all. Anything I didn't get to see up-close, especially the cathedral and the castle, I explored on my own time the next day. After the walking tour that first day, the only thing accomplished was a rather robust meal of traditional Slovak fair, enjoyed with the Canadians! On the menu: a Slovak spirit made from pear that absolutely burned our insides, a couple beers, a creamy garlic soup served in bread bowls, and plates of bryndzové halušky, essentially gnocchi with sour cream and sheep's cheese, topped with bacon. 

The castle!

The river Danube, with this UFO thingy that apparently is a restaurant with a 360-degree view of the city. I didn't go up, but I did run underneath it on my final morning. Plus I just think it looks cool. 

 Bratislava certainly proved to be beautiful, and cheap, but it's so much more than that. There's really a buzzy vibe in the air; I think that everyone knows that B-lava is really in the middle of a transformation, with the inevitable end result being that it's going to explode on the international scene. Lots of international companies have already established offices there, and lots of attention is being put on encouraging business and tourism. This is all great for the Slovakian capital, but I think that for tourists, it means go NOW, before things become too discovered, too expensive.

One thing I really enjoyed in the city was how relaxed and just generally manageable it was. Much of it is still composed of the Communist-era cement block buildings, so what little remains of the charming old town is SUPER compact, but packed to the brim with pretty buildings and cute cafés and restaurants. It is so nice to stroll there. Plus, with food and drinks so cheap and so good, you can indulge yourself stopping wherever you feel like. I was lucky enough to go off the beaten path a bit to a huge outdoor beer garden, which was utterly fantastic (paid 8,80 for dinner, with a half-liter beer, and that's on the more expensive side of things over there).

The beer garden, after the sun set

My dinner: a big golden beer and a Slovakian specialty, sheep's cheese perogi with sour cream, frizzled onions, and bacon. Not exactly healthy, but certainly delish. 

I also got back on the workout wagon in B-lava, thanks to the arrival of the ever-active Heather, a Californian and fellow solo female traveller (actually, my whole 6-bed dorm was, so we called ourselves the "Independent Woman Dorm"). She let me come along on an approx. 7 mile run along the Danube to Devin Castle, just outside the city. As this blog demonstrates, I have spent the vast majority of my time this year either traveling or partying, neither of which are conducive to tip-top physical form...so the run was tough, but infinitely worth it. Below are views of the castle, the up close one being from the run, and the one from the river....taken from the river! Ready for perhaps the most exciting thing about my trip from B-lava to Wien (Vienna)? I TOOK A BOAT.

IT WAS SO DOPE. 20 euro for a 90 minute, wind-whipped journey on a high-speed hydrofoil, smiling giddily all the while. A real live boat!

The Luck of the Irish (Doesn't Apply to the Weather)

I was excited for all the stops on my post-TAPIF Eurotour, but Dublin has always been near the top on my list of places to go. In my mind, it appeared to be somewhat like Scotland: lots of green, lots of cozy little pubs, lots of fun accented English. I have never been so happy to be right!

I was in Dublin from Friday, May 1-Monday, May 4, staying in a couple of hostels in a really good location just off the main drag, O'Connell Street I believe it was, and it seemed to be a 3 block radius utterly infested by hostels! It was great. I tried to do as much as possible, doing the free walking tour (or half of one, because the weather was so god-awful that we called it quits halfway through and just went to a pub for hot whiskies, Irish coffees, and pints...), visiting city parks and monuments, and even drinking the required pint of Guinness. You know how they say Guinness tastes better in Ireland? Nope. Still gag-worthy. (Beef and Guinness stew, however...but see for yourself!):

A pint of beer, Irish brown bread, and beef stew with a great big dollop of mashed potatoes, just for good measure. With the chill and seemingly endless rain that was happening upon my arrival, this was one of the best meals of this vacation. 

To note: as the picture above might hint, I drank my fair share of beer in Ireland. I also went on my FIRST-EVER (bit surprising, actually) official bar crawl, organized through the hostel. Well, pub crawl. I was nervous to show up solo, but I made some great friends (4 girls from the U.K., one Canadian chick, and 1 guy from New Zealand formed the dream-team that evening. Oh! And 3 hilarious Italians I had the momentous honor of teaching beer pong to!) and had a blast. I have remarkably few photos as evidence, however, so just take my word for it.

Anyway....

This is Isaac's Hostel, the one I stayed in for all but my 1st night. HIGHLY recommended; the staff goes above and beyond, and they make great recommendations for restaurants :)

Saw about a billion signs for/against gay marriage as I spent ~8 hours walking the streets. The referendum is next week now (late May). It boggles my mind to think that we even need to pause about this stuff, but it's great that laws are changing! GO GAYS GO! 

Whelp. My mission to not eat ice cream until I go to Italy failed miserably when I came upon Gino's, a gelato place in Dublin that was positively teeming with Italian tourists (I took that to be a good sign, and I am so glad I did!). This mouth-watering mountain is a scoop of strawberry cheesecake, and a scoop of caramel. YUM. 

Dublin had beautiful parks! I loved Saint Stephen's Green, but the vast Phoenix Park also took my breath away--and made me yearn to go for a run. Next time...

Couldn't tell you what this bridge is called, but it was my favorite by far. A simple but quite pretty way to cross the River Liffey. 

One last wonderful thing about Dublin: it set in motion the string of events that would sort of denote the theme of this round of adventuring, "Friends all over the world!" Between Couchsurfing, old & new friends (especially TAPIFers, we really are quite the international crew), and hostel buddies, I was not only not* lonely; I was rarely even alone! Easy friendships, some lasting no more than the length of your average free walking tour, are a dime a dozen, but it's a beautiful thing. The ones that last are great, but there's something to be said for travel friends--companionship, when traveling, does so much to make the experience. For example, take the smiley Brits below, celebrating  our final night in Ireland at a great neighborhood pub called The Celt:

Despite minor glass injuries (how did no one in our little group notice the shattered pint glass on the table before we plunked ourselves down?!), a great time was had by all. Especially with live Irish music as the accompaniment, played by the raucous family band "The Shenanigans!"

 The trend of fast friendships continued the whole trip, with the exception maybe of Vienna, but that place was so overwhelming, I was running around like a crazy person trying to see as much as possible in just two days! After Dublin, I left the comfort of anglophone countries for Bratislava, Vienna, and finally, Budapest, effectively leaving cold, wet, gray weather for sunshine and VERY welcome warmth. The south of France has certainly spoiled me...To be continued!

*Apologies for the double negative. Tried to find a way around it but failed. 

10 Cities, 1 Backpack, Oodles of Optimism

I'm on the move! Currently sitting in Isaac's Hostel in Dublin (which I recommend, by the way), and I'm waiting for my laundry to finish, so I figured I'd use my time wisely and get a travel post off. Can't believe it's only been one full week since I've finished in Digne, saying goodbye to my "little village"....

 my students, both young...

and old...(I'll admit, these goodbyes occurred in very different contexts, but in my defense, some of my "kiddos" are aged 18-24, so it was not so weird if we hung out)

And then it was wham-bam-thank you ma'am off to Aix, then Brussels just for like 12 hours, as I left for the airport in the AM to fly to...AMSTERDAM! It was my 3rd time there, which actually surprises me a little, but it's such a lovely city. Quite frankly, I may just have to keep going back until I actually arrive to nice weather. I was lucky to be there for the madness of King's Day, aka the national holiday when people get drunk and wear orange, in honor of their monarch. At least that's what I understood. And there's lots of music festivals, which were apparently created with the express purpose of concentrating and separating the centers of debauchery so that the entire city did not unfurl into unfathomable chaos (it was a good effort but....)

My Turkish friends Yunus and Emir--Met on the Megabus to Amsterdam! Turkish people are astoundingly generous

Dania and I in our neon sunnies, and Eric and Roxy (our fellow Couchsurfers)

Jello shots for breakfast? Seems questionable, as far as ideas go...

Party boats galore

Vondelpark

Then, largely to avoid a return trip to Brussels before my flight from the Brussels airport (to be fair, I've been there thrice, so I feel as if I have given the city enough of a chance to charm me--no dice), I hit up Antwerp and Gent. Both were overnights, and in Antwerp I really just had a late afternoon to explore, but my Couchsurfing host Naim was amazing, and we had a great night out.

In Gent, I had a little more time to explore, and another great night out with my host Didier, as well as two Aussies who were staying at his as well. It was not only great fun (God, I love Australians' accents), but an interesting experience: Didier is a super nice guy, an energizer bunny, and one of the most friendly and optimistic people I have ever met. He is also completely blind. So navigating the city, and bars and clubs and public transport, by his side, was a new thing for me--I realized I have literally never had any contact with a blind person. I'm not going to lie; I was nervous. People can fear what they don't know, and especially when in contact with someone with some sort of disability, I am so scared to say/do something stupid. But, as Didi says, you just have to take advantage of "the infinite resource that is human kindness." Traveling alone, I certainly intend to!

Ghent's historical center, above and below

UPDATE: Dublin was fantastic--I'll do a post about it soon, specifically about how to make friends all over the world/hostel culture. Get excited. Currently sitting in the Dublin airport, awaiting my flight to Bratislava! So anxious to get there, although I'm sorry to say that upon arrival, sleep is my #1 priority.

Sayin' goodbye to D-les-B: My Life, No Longer!

Can't believe my seven months are up! Well, it will amount to a total of exactly 10 months abroad once I finally return to the States on June 20, but seven months as a teaching assistant in Digne-les-Bains. My relationship with Digne has been somewhat complicated, and I definitely underwent a sort of culture shock that came with living in such a small city, and in so much nature. Neither thing is something I am used to, although the nature part is pretty great, I'll admit (though I do miss the particular beauty of a concrete jungle).

I haven't kept up this blog nearly as much as I would have liked, but the lack of wifi is to blame. Honestly, that was quite literally the hardest part of living in France this time around. It's not just watching American shows or pissing away my time on Facebook or websites with pictures of baby animals cuddling, it's so much more than that. Living without wifi basically disconnected me even further from my friends and family, made lesson-planning (and, even more importantly, travel-planning!) a nightmare, and often made me feel socially and technologically isolated--not just geographically so.

When all is said and done, though, this year was great. I did a great thing for myself, and was lucky enough to live in a beautiful, unique place. D-les-B is a gem, and a tiny little corner of the world with a setting and style of life that only a very privileged few will ever experience. I feel honored to be among those folks.

It's a rainy Sunday afternoon in Aix-en-Provence, and as I kill time in a café before heading home to "my tiny mountain village"--"home" for only the next 4 days (!)--I figured I might as well pay homage to the part of France I got to know this year.

This is Digne-les-Bains, France. Population: approx. 16,000 (to be taken with a grain of salt, since that includes the surrounding villages as well). Main attractions: thermal baths, natural landscape & outdoor activities including hiking and mountain biking in summer, skiing in winter.

This is where I live, and where I work. It's the Lycée Alexandra David Neel (a lycée is a high school). I also work at Lycée Pierre Gilles de Gennes, 6 kilometers away (a slightly sweaty 45 minute walk, in other words), and at a middle school, Collège Gassendi. Due to the lack of population, the schools in Digne are boarding schools, so the students live at school. So do the language assistants, aka me.

The internat, aka the dorms. I am on the top floor; my room is on the side facing the mountains.

The school part, with the classrooms and whatnot. 

Aside from Washington, DC, I have decided that Digne is my favorite city in the world to run in. I will miss my runs along the river. When the breeze blows, I can smell lavender.

That speck in the sky is a paraglider. That's a thing in Digne. 

The views on my walk to school ain't half bad, either.

These are my friends, at least the ones I forced to come to experience Digne for themselves. We did my favorite hike, the route of the 3 chapels, and were rewarded with great views of the city, and sore fesses. I will miss this hike.

A ride on the swing at the 2nd chapel is a Dignois right of passage. What you can't see is the cliff that drops off just to the left, making it actually a somewhat terrifying experience. Haven't lost anyone yet! :)

Told you I lived in the Alpes. 

Saturday is a good time to be in Digne, if only for the people-watching and fresh, fig-stuffed goat's cheeses that a trip to the market will reward you with. This may be the only time the place shows signs of life, even though I often feel as if I'm just elbowing slow-moving geriatrics.

bio=organic, in French

 Sunset in Digne isn't so bad either.

Photo post, Vacation Part II: Budapest & Munich

BUDAPEST

MUNICH