Two Days in Bratislava

Our first stop on our current trip was Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, a country that came into existence in 1993 with the (peaceful) separation of Czechslovaki into Czechia and Slovakia. We flew from Bilbao to Vienna, and from there it is only an hour train ride to Bratislava.

Bratislava is a relatively small city (population around 475,000), and has that type of a feel. We did think the city had very good public transport including trams and buses, which we used extensively. On our first full day in town, we did a walking tour of the city that gave us a good introduction to the overall layout and some of the history.

So, what did we learn? First, during the Hungarian Empire, when Buda (the capital) was taken by the Ottoman Turks, for hundreds of years, Hungarian kings were crowned in St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava (then known by its German name, Pressburg).

Although not vert visible in the picture, at the very top of the steeple is a gold crown on a pillow representing the use of the Cathedral as a coronation church.

We also learned that during the Napoleanic Wars of the early 19th Century, French troops attacked the city with cannons from the other side of the Danube river destroying many buildings, but never entered the city. As a result, the statue of the French soldier in the main square has his eyes covered since he never saw the city. Cheekily, the statue was installed in front of the French embassy.

Finally, we learned that one of the main synagogues of the city (among other buildings) was destroyed in 1967 by the Communist government to build a bridge over the Danube. Many people tried to stop the destruction of this beautiful and historic building, but in the end "city planning" won out over history. Today, the city's Holocaust Memorial stands near the site of the old synagogue.

After the tour, we walked up to Bratislava Castle, which sits on an elevated spot above the city and the Danube.

We did not feel that the castle did a very good job presenting the history of Slovakia, but recognized that Slovakia may be stuggling to describe its own history separate from Hungary and later Czechia, which leads to a less than coherent narrative.

The next day, we hopped on a bus near our hotel, and in 15 minutes were in Devin, which is home to the ruins of Devin Castle. Fortunately, compared to the cold  weather of the day before, we had a beautiful day to explore the  castle grounds.

The elevated site on which Devin Castle was built overlooking the confluence of the Morava and Danube rivers has been settled since the Bronze Age. Later, the Celts and Romans were here, and there was some form of castle/church here from at least the year 1000. Over time, it was an important part of the Hungarian kingdom as it was a border site with the Germanic kingdoms to the north/west.

The grounds of the castle are very beautiful, and there are parts of some buildings remaining, but as we have noticed with so many castles we have visited, we found it difficult to picture what the castle might have looked like in its heyday.

One of the most interesting things at the castle was an exhibition about Devin's role as part of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. At this location, the Danube is the border between Slovakia and Austria, which was part of the west. Therefore, during the Cold War there was a strong effort to keep people from attempting to leave Czechoslovakia, which included physical barriers such as barbed wire fences, but also put the town of Devin (at times) in a restricted zone prohibiting anyone from visiting without permission from the government. As time went on, Devin Castle was opened to tourists, which made the job of the Border Patrol more difficult. There were numerous attempts of escape in the Devin area between 1948 and 1989, some of which were successful, but which also led to at least 42 deaths.

After returning to Bratislava, we went to the City Museum, which is in the old City Hall building. Among other things, this allowed us to climb up in the tower we saw on our tour, and learn a bit more about the city and its history.

And that was our visit to Bratislava as we caught a train the next morning to Budapest (about a 2.5 hour ride). Much more on that soon.

Hasta pronto.

Jeff and Shana

“The Routine” vs. “On the Road”

Having spent the past 3+ months in San Sebastian, we’ve had the chance to reflect on what it means to be at home and in our routine, as opposed to on the road and living moment to moment. Clearly there are benefits and advantages to both. If we had to choose, seeing as we love to travel, being on the move would likely win out.

Our routine here is simple – we’re at the gym 6 days a week, at yoga 4 or 5 days a week (Shana), cooking and eating most meals at home, reading a lot, keeping in touch with family and friends, going out with friends here, enjoying local events, planning next trips, and watching whatever might catch our fancy, which for the next several months will be baseball. Sleeping in your own bed and being in your own space are a pleasure.

But the road is calling. We are about to embark on a 17-day trip to Bratislava, Budapest, two smaller destinations in Hungary, and La Rioja, Spain. And then I’ll be going to Galicia for a 4-day art and architecture tour with the Guggenheim Museum. April will be full of adventure, and we are looking forward to it. While there will be several long travel days involved, the planning process has made us excited and hungry. (Budapest is quite the foodie destination.) There will be lots of posts coming about what we encounter.

In the meantime, March was not dull. I was in Bilbao for an introductory meeting for the Galicia trip and saw two exhibits that were interesting. The first was “Master Works on Paper from Budapest,” an assembly of drawings, etchings, etc. from the extensive collection at the Fine Arts Museum in Budapest, which we will be visiting. It included works by da Vinci and Raphael, as well as Van Gogh and Degas (seen below).

The exhibit detailed the history and evolution of drawing through several centuries. Drawings can be a final product but may be a draft for a future work. There were some reals gems, and I enjoyed the lavender display background, which was an unusual choice but worked for me.

The second exhibit, “Tarsila do Amaral. Painting Modern Brazil,” featured a female artist who is considered one of Brazil’s finest artists. She led an interesting life, partially in exile during the Brazilian dictatorship, and is beloved. Her works were colorful – a nice contrast to the drawings.

I also went to a Real Sociedad game, our local La Liga team. Their season has been a bit frustrating, but at least they won. Of course they were playing the last place team. Still, there are certain invitations that should not be declined.

Finally, we had the pleasure of meeting and hosting Oliva, a very cute dachshund, one evening. She will be spending a few days with us in April. We can’t wait to enjoy her company.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

Local “Winter” Fun

We’ve had a mild winter thus far, which has allowed us to be outside a lot. And since we love walking on the beach, especially off-season when dogs are allowed, it has been an enjoyable few weeks. Short sleeves, bare feet, and sunscreen during February are a real treat.

We did a bike ride to Pasaia on a beautiful sunny day, through which we confirmed you can bike there as quickly as the bus trip. When we returned to town, we sat in the sun at a bar enjoying a well-deserved beer, as if it were summer. The surfers were enjoying the day as well.

One Friday evening we went and saw a jazz group, Soul Cream, that was essentially auditioning to perform at this summer's Jazzaldia. We gave them two thumbs up and perhaps we’ll see them again come July.

On a Wednesday afternoon we headed to Bilbao to enjoy a pintxo tasting experience at Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao, the one-star Michelin restaurant located at the museum. This event for museum members was a chance to enjoy the haute cuisine and local wines at a bargain price. It was a casual event that included the chef and winemaker discussing their creations.

We loved having the museum practically to ourselves during the late afternoon before the tasting. We found the “Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom” exhibition to be interesting, especially since his style is not something we typically enjoy. His unique choices were compelling, especially in the sports themed pieces. The museum recently moved the giant sculpture, Soft Shuttlecock, to a new location. This presentation is more whimsical, but perhaps less elegant.

Finally, we visited the San Telmo Museum here to see “Ipuscua, 1000 years. From Ipuscua to Gipuzkoa, 1025-2025,” an exhibition examining how Gipuzkoa (the province where we live) evolved geographically, culturally, and in name. We learned a lot and were pleased that we understood everything as the exhibit was presented only in Basque and Spanish.

Jeff is standing where San Sebastian sits on the large terrain map. The stone sculpture is the Olazabal family coat of arms from circa 1600. Golf fans may be familiar with this Basque name, whose family is thought to be one of the earliest settlers in the province.

As March arrives, we’ll see if the weather holds, giving us more opportunities to be out and about exploring locally.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

Sidra and The San Juan

Another winter tradition in the Basque region is cider (sidra) and the cider house (sidreria) meal, which includes unlimited sidra. Last week, we went to lunch with our friend Maje at a nearby sidreria. As usual, we went by public transportation, which included about an hour of walking each way, which was very beneficial given how much we ate (and drank).

The sidreria we went to was very traditional with long shared tables and large vats and barrels of sidra. The room filled up completely as the afternoon went on.

One thing that was different about this sidreria, compared to those that we have been to before, is that the meal included spider crab (centollo) as one of its dishes. Although Shana did try the crab, she did not appreciate it the way that I did.

On the other hand, we all enjoyed the steak (txuleta) so much that we actually ordered a second one, although that may have been overdoing it a bit.

Note that all of the other people at our long table were part of a large group of 13 or 14 people, which is very common at sidrerias. The whole experience is communal, especially the line up to fill your glass.

Continuing with the subject of sidra, we learned this week on our visit to the Albaola Istas Kultur Faktoria museum in Pasaia that the tradition of sidra goes back a very long way in the history and culture of the Basque region. The museum is dedicated to the San Juan, a Basque whaling ship that sunk in a storm off the coast of Canada in 1565! So, what did we learn, and how does this relate to the sidra tradition?

The Albaola museum has a great exhibit on the building of the San Juan, including where and how the various parts were made; but also on how the San Juan was found in Red Bay, Canada in 1978 and the process of the recovery and study of the ship after more than 400 years.

Also interesting were the exhibits discussing what was involved in the 16th century whaling industry, including the importance of sidra, which was the primary beverage on the voyage because water in barrels tended to become undrinkable. The need for large quantities of sidra for the whaling (and also cod-fishing) voyages led to the creation of a huge sidra industry in this area almost five centuries ago. And you can see it is still thriving today.

The most impressive part of the museum however is the reconstructed San Juan itself. Workers have been creating a full size recreation of this ship for over a decade, and it is expected to be finished this year. The plan is to sail the ship back to Red Bay (where hopefully it will not sink this time).

It was really very interesting to learn about the huge industry that was created around shipbuilding and whaling in the 16th century. Then, as now, the key was energy -- whale oil was used to light lamps all over Europe, and the Basques were some of the original and most successful whalers. 

We're not sure why it took us more than 7 years to get to this local and worthwhile museum, but we're glad we finally made it. We'll look forward to seeing the San Juan launched as planned one day soon and be sure to toast the voyage with a glass of sidra.

More to come soon.

Jeff and Shana

Winter Festivities

The holiday season finally came to a close in San Sebastian. First there was Tres Reyes (January 6), aka Three Kings Day or the Epiphany, which celebrates the end of the 12 days of Christmas when the three kings arrived with gifts for baby Jesus. This is when Spanish children get most of their presents. But here in San Sebastian the festivities don’t end until January 20 with La Tamborrada, the city’s saint day and annual 24-hour drumming festival.

It is our first winter in San Sebastian in three years, after traveling the past two, so we have been readjusting to wintertime. Thankfully, the weather has been relatively mild so far. One of our favorite things to do is walk on the shoreline at low tide and see all the dogs enjoying the beach, as they aren’t allowed during the summer season. We’ve enjoyed several stellar walks, including one in mid-December with warm, beautiful conditions.

For Jeff’s birthday last week, we visited another favorite place, the Villa Antilla Hotel in Orio. Not only did we enjoy the spa’s water circuit, but the stay gave us the opportunity to be away the night of January 19, when the drumming starts at midnight and keeps going until midnight on the 20th. The weather on the 19th in Orio was stunning and we enjoyed a lovely walk near the beach.

We returned to San Sebastian on the 20th to enjoy the musical spectacle. Our friend Angela, who is American, had joined a newly formed Tamborrada group that had the perfect route and time to march – midday along the La Concha pathway. Many Tamborradas are a fraught affair, with cold, rainy, windy weather, but this year’s weather was perfect. Our apartment sits directly above a popular pedestrian street where a group played about every 30 minutes, validating our decision to spend the night away.

We stopped in at Constitution Plaza, the most prestigious place to play during the festival, to see my yoga teacher’s group perform.

This year’s event set new records for participation, both by children and adults. (The kids’ groups have a parade at midday.) This local tradition is in no danger of going away.

The music stopped around 10:30 pm where we live, which was helpful, other than the one random person that continued banging away on their own for a bit longer. We were able to sleep eventually.

This weekend we were out and about, and although the weather was less than ideal for us, we still enjoyed walking along the coastal path, while surfers took advantage of the waves in the La Concha Bay below, which is not normally a surf spot.

Winter’s pleasures will mostly be enjoyed locally. The cider season has opened and we’re looking forward to some adventures close to home, while planning out next trips.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff