experiencing eastern europe
November 27, 2006 by peaceluvbug00
Filed under Advice, Air, New Blog Location, Train, Travel
here are some things i learned during my awesome trip to Bratislava, Slovakia this weekend:
1) always leave ample time for traveling by train and bus to an airport; you never know how much traffic there might be or the weather conditions!
2) try to buy a roundtrip train ticket especially if traveling through Milano Centrale because it is such a huge train station and you can save time if you already have a ticket ready
3) bus #61 in Bratislava goes from the airport to the city center and tram #14 takes you to Patio Hostel (we learned this in a difficult fashion). a bus ticket costs 22 SKK, but you can get away with no ticket at all (all you rebels out there!)
4) Slovakia was formerly part of the USSR, so no commie jokes, please.
5) really, all you need for a weekend is about 5000 SKK, which is about $184.
6) Bratislava is not as touristy as other European cities such as Milan or Paris, so don’t expect everyone to speak English. yes, most of the young people do speak English, but you should always try to speak Slovak because it’s just the polite thing to do.
7) Slovakians, as well as pretty much any other people, don’t like loud Americans who draw attention to themselves. therefore, try to blend in rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.
traditional slovakian food consists of a lot of sausage, dumplings, and poppy seeds. as well as weird combinations of these things. Vinea is a traditional drink… more like an aperatif which is delicious. oh and get a cheap sandwich from one of the 24-hr stands at like 3 am. SO good. 
9) i have heard that Americans smile way too much, but i really realized this in Slovakia. don’t expect everyone to smile back! i think that’s definitely a big cultural difference.
10) GO TO BRATISLAVA! i loved the fact that it wasn’t smothered in tourists 
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My name is Anil, a traveler and travel enthusiast. I created foXnoMad to connect with other travelers, discover their world, and share what I’ve learned about mine.
I heard about the smile thing in an anthro class once…remind me to tell you the story sometime