Bratislava (it's in Slovakia, in case you were wondering)

Nestled at the intersection of Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia is the little capital city of Bratislava. In our research for this trip, both the Budapest and Vienna travel guides suggested that it made for a great day trip from each. Since it sits directly in line between Budapest and Vienna, we opted for a 24 hour layover and booked a couple rooms in a hotel in the heart of the old town.

As our time was brief and the old town is quaint, I'll keep the writing to a minimum and tell our story through images....

Sitting atop Old Town is a castle. A castle that looks like what a 5 year old would draw or create on a beach.

The bridge across the Danube is called the UFO Bridge because of that saucer like restaurant that sits on the supports.

Couple fun statues spread about old town

Bratislava old town looks a lot like many European Old Towns...

How can you not love a bachelor party hazing. This fella was actually pretty good at the recorder. Even made a couple Euro. Was fun listening to the group sing and dance.

Should have bought this hat. How handsome

Just on the outskirts of old town is the Blue Church. Aptly named. Ranked as one of Nicole's favorite churches in all the world. It has a sort of marshmellowy pillowness to it that makes it soft and inviting. (Of course, La Sagrada Familia is number one)

Other random thoughts:

• Zane says his feet and calves are hurting more. Not used to all the walking as he sits at a desk all day in school. I'll admit, we've logged some serious steps on this journey. I've got several blisters as well.
• As I look at how old and established much of Europe is, I wonder how well they can adapt to a future of more technology and artificial intelligence.
• Mom makes interesting comments and musings out of nowhere. 
• During our road trip to Bratislava, she cut a period of silence with a random statement... "Where do you suppose all our excess lard goes?" She tried to explain her stream of consciousness that got her there, and it had something to do with seeing a cow in a pasture, I think. (note, a day later, there was an addendum to the comment. Something about the difference between tallow and lard. Clearly the question is haunting her.)
• Yesterday, there was a very brief conversation about why it's necessary to use toilet paper, and not to throw standard paper towels in the toilet. While we were getting ready to check out of the hotel the following day, my mom disappeared for a bit into the bathroom. We peered in and she was swirling her finger in two drinking glasses, one with toilet paper, one with a paper towel. She turns and says, "See, look how the toilet paper dissolves so much, and the paper towel is all clumpy. You know, if you have a theory, you should test it." I thought to myself, the cleaning people are going to come in and wonder what the heck happened with these two glasses, and dump them in the toilet....

Bratislava final thoughts: 

We can see why it's suggested as a day trip from Budapest and Vienna. It's quaint. Again, probably wouldn't return, but glad we got to see it.

Next Stop: Vienna