Our first new country other than Austria since our arrival!

During Orientation Week, the day before classes started and on my Dad's birthday :), Adam, Charlotte, and I volunteered to get on a bus at 5am (!!!) to tag along with a small bus full of students who needed to go get their visas.  These students had either signed up to come here for the semester at the last minute or they were transient students coming from another university.  As a result, their paperwork was not in order.  Therefore, the office administrator has to take the students to the Embassy to get their paperwork squared away and get the visas.  She generously offered to allow us to tag along so we could explore a new city/country before the start of classes.  It was still dark as we boarded the small bus.  Charlotte seemed confused as to why we were going somewhere in the middle of the night.  Here she is looking out the window snuggled next to her Dad.

After a quick stop at McDonald's (YUM!), we enjoyed watching the sun rise as we drove east for about 2.5 hours or more.  It was a long ride but the bus was comfy!

Charlotte dozed off and on throughout the ride to Bratislava, Slovakia.

Once we arrived, we said goodbye to the students.  Here is Charlotte with the office administrator, Andrea, who is amazing for both the EDU Dept. and the university!!!  I sent her this picture later which she printed and hung up in the office on campus.  So sweet!!

In case you can't tell from the pictures, it was sooooo cold in Bratislava!  We were thankful for the blanket Charlotte wrapped herself in in the stroller and our gloves/hats/scarves! 

You can get a sense of the fog from this picture that is on the other side of the gate at the top of the hill.

Foggy view of the Danube River - - the UFO Observation Deck is in the center of the bridge to the left in this photo.

We wandered the city in the Old Town district and found ourselves at the Bratislava Castle.  According to Wikipedia:

This castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava. Because of its size and location, it has been a dominant feature of the city for centuries.  The location provides excellent views of Bratislava, Austria and, in clear weather, parts of Hungary. Many legends are connected with the history of the castle.

We enjoyed the view of the city and the river but the morning fog kept us from seeing too much.  It was inside this castle that we realized we would have to pay to use the restroom (equivalent of 80 cents)...something we were surprised to learn!

Here are some other fun facts about Bratislava Castle according to Wikipedia that we didn't know at the time given we were there too early in the morning to go inside the building:

The castle building includes four towers (one on each corner) and a courtyard with a 80 m (260 ft) deep water well. The largest and tallest tower is the Crown Tower on the southwest corner. The 47 m (154 ft) tower dates from the 13th century and for approximately 200 years beginning in the mid-1500s housed the crown jewels of Hungary.^[1] The exterior walls and inside corridors contain fragments of old Gothic and Renaissance construction elements. The walled-up entrance gate from the 16th century is still visible to the east of the main entrance. Behind the entrance, is an arcade corridor leading to a large Baroque staircase which, in turn, leads to the exhibitions of the Slovak National Museum on the second floor. The west wing of this floor houses the 4 halls of the Treasure Chamber (opened in 1988) with a collection of the most precious archaeological finds and other objects of Slovakia, including the prehistoric statue called the Venus of Moravany. The third floor houses the exhibition on the History of Slovakia. The first floor in the south wing of the building houses the rooms of Slovak parliament — the National Council of the Slovak Republic - including furnishings from the 16th century. The northern wing of the building- the former Baroque chapel, houses the Music Hall in which concerts are held. The courtyard includes the entrance to the Knights Hall.

You guys, in looking at the Wikipedia site on this castle, especially under the History tab, I'm blown away by how oooooolllldddd this castle was!  It was around long before Jesus' time!!!???  Also....another familiar name is linked to this castle!  We had learned about Empress Maria Theresa of Austria at Melk Abbey during our day trip and now, according to Wikipedia, it seems she also lived at this castle!  See below:

When Maria Theresa of Austria became the queen of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1740, she promised to the nobles of the kingdom that she would have a residence both in Austria and in the Kingdom of Hungary – that is in Pressburg Castle. She kept the promise and spent much time in Bratislava.

Other fun facts about this only female ruler (who birthed 16 children!) of Austria under the Hapsburg Dynasty for 40 years with regard to Bratislava Castle:

Major changes inside the castle (in the rococo style) were begun in 1760. The new chief designer between 1761 and 1762 was Franz Anton Hillebrandt. A new single floor building for the kitchen, servants and horses was added to the western wall of the castle. Because the water supply for the castle was not sufficient, Maria Theresa had Johann Wolfgang von Kempelen build a special water pipe drawing water from a tank in the town at the Danube bank using pumps. The stairs throughout the castle were rebuilt with a lower gradient, on Maria Theresa's request, to enable her to ride her horse upon them. The result of these changes, as for the exterior of the palace itself and the site gates, was very similar to Bratislava Castle as we know it today.

Over the years, due to wars, change in power, and trying to change the land to be used for other things, the castle fell into ruins until 1953 when restoration efforts began in earnest.

After walking around the outside of Bratislava castle, we came down off the hill and ventured over to St. Martin's Cathedral that lay in the shadow of the castle.  This church was impressive in size as it is the largest and considered to be one of the oldest churches in Bratislava.  It was also the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary from the mid 1500s to the mid 1800s!

The high spire apparently served as a tower fortress back in the day and the church's present look was based on restorations completed in the late 1800s since it had been damaged from fire, war, earthquakes, and other disasters.  Yikes!  We also learned that the church is undergoing damage from the heavy vibrations from all the traffic on the nearby bridge that replaced a seminary.  The other interesting fact about this church is that it was built on top of a cemetery meaning there are catacombs and crypts below the church.  We saw some skulls and skeletons through a glass section of the floor to the right of the altar that dated back to the 11th century!!

Charlotte wasn't a fan of the bunny and felt she was "too high" on the sidewalk by the steps here!

Props to Adam for carrying the empty stroller down all these steps as Charlotte and I examined the graffiti art on the walls of the staircase.

As we exited the church and left the castle area, we saw a really cool looking tower on the bridge that crossed the Danube River!  Adam does not like heights so there was no way we were going to go to the top of the building but later, I learned it has an amazing view of the city, especially at night!  This structure is called the UFO Observation Deck...how funny!

Next, we wandered from the church in and out of shops until it was time to meet up with the students and Andrea for lunch.  We checked out a candy shop, found a dessert place so I could try my first Bratislava Roll (it looked like a soft pretzel but was hard with a cracker-like texture that had some sort of rolled nuts in it).  I'm still on the hunt for a soft pretzel around these parts!  I think my favorite part of this city was all the winding alleyways, cobblestone streets, and the overall unique vibes to this city!  Afterwards, I learned from a colleague that there is a Blue Church where the outside and interior of the church is baby blue!  If I ever find myself in Bratislava again, I definitely want to see this building in person!

Coffee and vanilla chocolate!  Yum!!  Finally found something sweet 

Bratislava Roll

Take a closer look...pots and pans hanging from a clothesline?

There were random pieces of artwork all throughout the deep rich history of the city in Old Town where we spent the majority of the day until reconnecting with our group by the huge Primate's Palace.  We then walked over to the Bratislava Flagship Restaurant for a yummy lunch!  Here's the website so you can see some amazing pictures of the building and of the food!  

http://www.bratislavskarestauracia.sk/en/

It was here that we found our favorite lemon beer!  If only we knew the name of this yummy goodness!  Ever since that lunch, when we go to the local grocery store down the street, we pick up a can of lemon beer in the hopes of reliving those refreshing cold sips of the beer that tasted like lemon soda!  ;)

So far this right here (pic on right) has been our favorite version of Schnitzel!  ;)

Cool décor and vibe to this restaurant and oooo that lemon beer!!  

Once we all finished lunch (Adam had a delicious Viennese Schnitzel that used veal while I had an okay tasting pierogi dish), it was time to pile onto the bus and head home! 

What a terrific day of exploring and seeing new sights on the day before classes started!!

Illegally using the escalator with the stroller on the way back to the bus....oops!