First, last Friday night my friend Ridge and I were treated to bowling Slovakia style. This included a lot of drinking and me calling it a night after about 2.5 hours. I woke up the next day a bit more tired than usual, but felt much better as I arrived to Bratislava. (I also had a usual American pick-me-upper at noon, when we visited Mickey D’s for lunch.)
(just hugging ole Napoleon)
Bratislava was a beautiful city along the Danube. It included historical sites, embassies, old churches like St. Michael’s Cathedral and of course a castle. My host family and some of their closest friends took me in the village van, which is a nine person cargo vehicle. Anyway, I enjoyed Slovakia’s city and their ability to teach me about their country’s rich past.
Later on Saturday night, their family friends had us over for a Goulash Party. This meal was one of the most wonderful I had tasted since arriving to Europe. The father, Atilla, cooked the meal for about 3.5 hours in an iron pot over a fire. The meat was so tender and the vegetables added a tremendous amount to the pot.
(Atilla's Famous Goulash)
On Sunday we went to Esztergom, Hungary, where we visited a large cathedral. This place was built high up on the hill and was hope to the graves of many cardinals and took pride in Pop John Paul II’s visit in the mid 1990s. It was a beautiful day looking down on the border city, which was split into half when Slovakia was formed.
Following our visit to church, the family drove Ridge and I to a wine festival that included about 30 from around central Europe, a bunch of food, local dancers and musicians. My dad treated Ridge and I to about 10 tastings and it is an understatement that we were feeling on cloud 9. (By the Way: The chardonnay was really good.)
And if you want to see anymore photos, here dozens more on facebook. (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?cropsuccess&id=2341990#/profile.php?id=2341990&v=photos)
Take care,
Marc
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