Category: Travel

The Foodie Tour – Bratislava, Slovakia

What should you do if you find yourself in a town with great food, and nothing planned for the day? Well, we made a little game out of it. We decided that we would visit as many different restaurants as we could while enjoying a bite to eat and a beverage at each place. It turned into a great way to experience the food that was offered while having a fun day in the process.

The first stop was a coffee shop called Enjoy Bistro. This way we could get caffeinated, and have a quick bite for breakfast. It is located just down the road for St. Michael’s Gate, and offers great seats in the sun in which to watch people as they take their pictures in front of the gate. The coffee and carrot cake were both good, but I am obligated to say that my wife makes a better carrot cake.

After the first stop, we were ready to get into the more serious business of finding local cuisine and enjoy a drink. We traveled a little further down the walking street to Fach (I don’t really know how to say it, but pick the one you are most comfortable with). Once again, there was plenty of outside seating and in the early afternoon is probably when you could start to find a little shade if it is getting too hot out. They do not have a lot of selection with their drinks, but there was good wine and I was excited to see Scotland’s own Brew Dog represented. The food at this place rotates day to day with always having selections that are vegan friendly. We enjoyed a salmon bao that was a perfect amount to share on an adventure like we had set up for ourselves. The wait staff was also really friendly, and when things died down a little bit from the lunch rush, our waiter was able to supply us with some more insight about the town we were staying in.

The gelato shops were just starting to open up for the summer season, and since we had not had gelato all winter long, we had to stop off for a quick cone. There are many excellent choices on the walking streets of Bratislava, but we went to the most convenient one, across the street from Fach, called Squisto. They had a good selection with your typical flavors represented. It was good, but if you want more variety I would recommend walking a little further to the tree lines streets and the bigger gelato shops found there.

The beer gardens closer to St. Michael’s Gate are a different story. There are a few courtyards that can be found off the street, all of them offering cozy places where you can grab a seat and taste locally brewed beer. Sladovna was just a couple of doors down from the gelato shop and the ivy strewn walls offered a great respite. Of course, we jumped right on the beer sampler, so we could have a taste of all the beers the place had to offer. Our stomachs were a little full with all of the food and drink we had had so far, so we only shared a pretzel, but it was warm, soft, and a great pairing with the beer.

The sampler took a little longer for us to get through and it allowed us to digest our food some. By the time we left, we were ready for another bite to eat. This took us to Orbis Street Food. We skipped having a drink at this place because the selection was not that great, but they did have frites, or Belgian fries. They were not as good as they would have been if we had them in Brussels, but they were the perfect food to give us enough energy to make it to our next stop.

That spot was 17’s Bar on the tree-lined pedestrian street at the far end of the old part of town. This was dressed up to look like any biker bar found in the United States, but the pizza, and great beer choices made it feel more like any place you would find in the touristy areas of Europe. The crowds had already gathered, and it was only four in the afternoon on a Friday. I am pretty sure that this place gets really crowded during the high season, so if you are going to make it here, be early. It has a nice shady spot where you can people watch on one of the busiest parts of the old town, so it is well worth the visit. Though we did not try the pizza, it looked really good, and there were times I wish we had.

Despite our full stomachs, we wanted to continue on our voyage, so we looked for a place where we could relax and was off the beaten path. I had discovered Storm Bar online. This was a board game pub, and I had always wanted to visit one of these places. It wasn’t took far from where we were, so we decided to check it out. It was a fun place to go to, and it did not have the crowds that the places in the old town did. The drinks were still really good, and about half the price. I also loved to decor of the place, and if this was a town I lived in, I would have my Dungeons and Dragons group meet there at least once a month to play. They did have a series of games there that you could play for free, but it was not the best selection, and very few of the games had rules in English. Still, we were able to sneak in a game of Ticket to Ride before leaving for our last spot for the evening.

This was the Flagship Restaurant which is situated in an old theatre in Bratislava. This is not in the old town area, but it is a big draw with the tourists. It is the place where you go if you wish to get some traditional Slovakian food. The wait staff is very friendly, the food is really good, and the atmosphere is something you will never forget. It was the perfect place to end our tour of food and drink for the evening, and it made me realize that I should do this more often to places where I visit. It is a great way to get to know a place, and experience all of the food that it has to offer.

So until next time, I hope the next place you visit, you can do the same as me, go on a foodie tour, and tell the tale after it is all done.

Before the Rush – Bratislava, Slovakia

It is early April in Europe. The weather is starting to warm up, but there are still hints of the bitter cold of Winter still in the air. Restaurants, cafes, and bars are struggling whether they should pull out their tables to invade the walking streets of the cities with their welcoming airs, or if they should hold off for a couple more days as they wait for the weather to pass. It would be an activity in futility though because the crowds are not yet here to take those spots and enjoy the comfort of the hospitality that the countries have to offer. They will be here in a month or so, but in the meantime, it is just practice by going through these motions.

It is early April in Europe, and it might be my favorite time to be out here. It feels like the streets in the old parts of town were created just for my delight. The locals wish to avoid the tourists, and the tourists are busy with their lives across the vast oceans. There are no crowds of people blocking my way from looking at the architecture, and I do not have to weave my way through the streets to make it to my destination, a location where I do not even know.

It is early April in Europe, and I can go into a restaurant without a reservation. Though the halls are huge and will seat many people, during the busy season, it is hard to find a place to sit down. The guidebooks all talk about how this is the best place to get local fare in an atmosphere that will make you feel like you are back in medieval times. They have wiped away the dust and are just waiting for those crowds to return, giving me the time to relax and enjoy my meal at my own leisure.

It is early April in Europe, and they have cleared away all of the snow. The lawns are starting to shirk off their brown to display the green that is hidden underneath. Trees are starting to bud, and flowers are beginning to bloom. They give life to the stark brown brick buildings surrounding them and invite people to stroll through them. The gardens will have to wait a little longer because those people have not yet shown up.

It is early April in Europe, and I am lucky to be able to travel here at this time. It feels as if the city has just woken up from a long slumber to greet me. It is still shaking the sleep from its eyes as it prepares for the mad rush that will surely come, but in the meantime, it is here for me to enjoy. I love the feeling of strolling through the town without the crowds and confusion that the summer months often offer in Europe. It is the best time to be here, and I am happy to have been able to come.

A Late Night Arrival in Bratislava

After a day of travel, I was able to wake up this morning to a new country that I have never been to, Slovakia. It is going to be a quick trip, but it is nice to wake up this morning to look out the window of the place I am staying and see a completely different view. It also fills me with joy knowing that I can put aside work for a little while, and lose myself in a new town, Bratislava. I have nothing important on my plate except exploration, and I hope you join me these next few days as I look around to see what this town has to offer.

There and Back Again

First of all, I would like to thank Bilbo Baggins for the title of this post. I had not been thinking much about his story over the last weekend, but these words rang in my head many times during this voyage. Most of the time, I would not recommend making such a quick trip where you fly half way across the world, spend a couple of days in your destination, and then hop back on a flight to make it back home. Add on top of this some inclement weather and it makes for one crazy trip.

But why would I even attempt to make such a trip. There could be no reason why I would mess up my mind by subjecting myself to the trials of jet lag while risking lost luggage, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, and the headache of spending just a short amount of time at a location. Yes, it had to be something worth the voyage to put all of this on the line. But it came down to the next generation of my family starting the marriage tradition which I am sure will continue on for the next decade or so. It was a moment to witness a great event while reconnecting with my family during a joyous celebration. I waffled a few times if I should go or not, but in the end, I am glad that I had made that choice.

There were many times along the way where I felt exhausted. I did lose my luggage along the way, and got rerouted through Las Vegas, adding another leg to an already long day of travel. There were many times where I needed to change plans and buy clothes so I did not look like a slob at the reception, but it just added to the adventure of this weekend. I probably spent more time on planes, and in cars than I did on the ground, hanging out with people. But the time that I did get to spend with those people was worth it.

After all of it is said and done, I am glad to make it back to the place that I call home. I was not gone long enough to really miss the people that I love, but I am still glad to be able to see them again. It was the time that I spent with the rest of my family that allowed that other hole to be filled. The quickness of the trip and the amount of stories that I accumulated along the way made me feel like I was on an epic adventure like Bilbo. So I guess that it was that connections that made me always have the title of his book in his mind as I took this trip. It was really a great experience, and I would do it all over again because even though the payout was just a small part of the adventure, it was one of the greatest I have experienced in recent years.

The Wedding Season

It seems to start earlier every year. Two young people in love find that it is time to take that love to the next level by getting married. This used to be reserved for the summer months with most of the weddings taking place in June. But with the limited space, and resources for this event, ceremonies have creeped on either side of the summer months. It is also no longer regulated to Saturdays, and Sundays. People can be found getting married on Fridays now to the background of a snowy scene. It is the whole reason that I traveled half-way around the world at the start of Spring Break, so I could go and see my niece get married.

In my younger days, I ran a mobile dj company, and spent a lot of my weekends, during the summer months, driving around to various spots in Colorado to play music at various weddings. It got to the point where I knew all of the dance hits by heart, and I had seen everything that could possibly happen at a wedding. It became a cliche to me, and like a lot of people who turn what they love into their profession, I began to get a little jaded about the industry. It amazed me at the amount of money people spent for these ceremonies, and I wondered if they were going overboard a little bit. At the same time, I was witnessing it from the perspective of someone who worked the events and not got to sit back and enjoy them.

It has only been recently that I have gotten to change my perspective on weddings. In the industry, there was talk that on average a person would attend one wedding a year. As a dj, we talked about how we would get sick of certain songs because we knew we were going to have to play them, sometimes, two or three times every weekend. Just because I was sick of hearing “The Electric Boogie” did not mean that the people at the wedding had heard it recently. In fact, it might be the only time they hear it all year long. It was my job to smile and pretend that I was enjoying the choreographed dance that was happening on the dance floor.

Now being one of those people that get to see a wedding once a year, these moments take on a different tone. The bride looked stunning as she made her way down the aisle. I didn’t need to run around the building making sure that everything was in place, and things were happening in a timely manner. Now, I could enjoy my meal, and laugh with the people, enjoy a dance to a song I had not heard in a long while, and make the memories that weddings are supposed to be. It has been a little bit of a challenge to hop halfway across the world to go to this event, but I am glad that I did. It has been great seeing my family again, and participating in this joyous moment.

I don’t even mind that it happened earlier than usual. The snow that caused so many headaches for people to make it to the event, turned into a beautiful backdrop for the wedding. It helped to create memories that people will talk about for years to come, and something the happy couple can tell their kids when they ask about the day they got married. I don’t know when I will get to experience an event like this again, but they are something that I will look forward to just I had like this time.

So congratulations to the happy couple, and thank you for allowing me to see an event from a different perspective. It was truly a great wedding.

A Tour of the World’s Airports

International travel is a challenge to begin with, but if you add a blizzard to the final destination that causes all airports to be delayed over the world, it adds another layer to the experience. My recent trip to Denver was one of these experiences. It just meant an added leg to the journey, and the joys of trying to hunt down a lost bag.

I know that it may not look like it at times during the journey, but I am glad that I was able to eventually make it to my final destination, and only four hours behind the original time. For that, I am impressed by the airlines’ ability to work together, and come up with quick solutions to make this happen for so many people. In the end, it is still a slog, and when I finally made it to my hotel last night, I was a barely functioning human being who needed a shower and soft bed.

There were many times on this voyage where I did not think it was going to happen, and I kept thinking of alternative solutions of how to get where I was going within the time that I needed to make it happen. Navigating airports to find the people that you need is not always easy. My first understanding that things were not going the way I was hoping they would came when I landed in Frankfurt. A text appeared on my phone saying that I had been rebooked on a different flight, and I needed to talk to people at the Lufthansa counter to get my new tickets. For those who have been in the Frankfurt airport, you will know that this sprawling building is hard to navigate to begin with, but to find a certain small counter tucked away in one of its corners is even more difficult. I found a couple that were not being manned at the time I arrived, but eventually I found the one I needed.

They were able to get me on a couple new flights that diverted my more direct route, and get me to snowy Colorado. It was not what I wanted to do, but I was glad that I was able to make it. I had to keep telling myself during the whole journey that this was an adventure and I just needed to go along for the ride. If I let things get to me then it would have been a miserable experience, but because of my attitude, it turned out to be a mild inconvenience. In reality, I have been lucky with all of the travels that I have had, and it has only been this trip that has had problems with it. This was bound to happen at some time, and I should not be surprised that it happened during a blizzard. So I will not let this discourage me from traveling again.

So until next time, adventure is out there, and will come in some of the most unexpected places, so get out there and enjoy it.

Prague on Three Legs

It was not the first time that I had been to Prague, and I hope it will not be the last. The city is a great place to visit, and both of the times I have made it out here, they have been very enjoyable. There was a big difference between the first and second trip though. On the first trip, we were able to get around town rather easily because we were younger and in better shape. This time, one of us had just had surgery and we were forced to make adjustments to go around town.

One of our four legs was in a boot, and we had to either use crutches or a wheelchair to get around. In a city that was made long before handicap accessible was a thing, and streets are still made of cobblestone, we knew that it was going to be a challenge, but should that have been a deterrent from going out and enjoying the city anyways?

There is a lot that can be seen in Prague, and it does not always involve going to museums and cathedrals. A joy can be experienced just by wandering around the streets and seeing what there is to see. We had decided that this would be our goal this time around, and we borrowed a wheelchair to make this an easier endeavor.

It did help to move from one place to another, but the cobblestones were not always easy to navigate, and if the crowds that Prague experiences during the summer were around, it would have added another level of difficulty. Despite this fact, it did change the way I would have looked at this city. Instead of running around to see all of the important sights, I had to pick and choose what I would do, and make sure that they were accessible for the situation that we had found ourselves in.

Because I slowed down, I started to notice little things about the city that I might not have noticed before. The buildings were no longer just about the architecture, but was now also about the art that I could find on those buildings. I could pay attention to the people and the way they moved through their natural day instead of being shuffled around with the crowd of other tourists who managed to come to this place at the same time. In a way, I got to experience more of the real Prague better than if we did not have this small little problem to deal with.

The places that I did go to visit had a different quality to them than the regular sights that pack in the people. One of my favorites was a quiet English bookstore near the center of town called The Globe. It was a little harder to get to because I had to push the wheelchair down skinny lanes of cobblestones, but when we got there, its quiet atmosphere, great adjoining cafe, and collection of books was inviting. I especially loved the collection of English translated books by important Czech writers, something that is hard to find in my travels. I loved the fact that I was able to be introduced to a new writer that I might have never heard about.

If reading is not your thing, there was also the option of many of the beer halls that can be found throughout Prague, the oldest being U Fleku. They all brew their own beer, and in the traditional ones, you are offered two options, light or dark. The beer was also relatively cheap, compared to many other places in the world, and to enjoy it in an atmosphere that recalls up medieval times just adds to the experience. Some of the places will even allow for you to arrange a tour of the facilities to demonstrate to you how they have been brewing beer over countless centuries.

Despite all of the delicious beer that has been enjoyed by countless people over many generations, Prague has also joined the craft beer revolution. There are a few brew pubs where you can whet your whistle with an IPA, stout, or hefeweizen. They are not as plentiful as the traditional beer halls, but with a little effort, we were able to find a couple of them. Most of the time, this took us out of the older parts of the city, but it was nice to see what Prague looked like to the common citizen who lived there, plus, we got to enjoy a couple of good beers in the process.

Prague is a European city that is filled with many different hidden gems. It is part of the reason that it is included on many people’s wishlist when they make their way out to this continent. Even if you don’t have enough time to seek these special places out, there are so many other places to go that the crowds usually go to.

It is a great city, and I am glad that we did not let a little thing like a bum leg stop us from enjoying it. The trip helped me realize that I need to take advantage of any opportunity that might come my way. I might not have had the typical experience that most people had when visiting Prague, but I still had a great time. I’ll just have to come back again when I won’t have to push a wheelchair around.

Until next time, get out there and experience the world any time you can.

Hello, this is car fifty-five; we’re in a truck

One of my all time favorite movies is Blues Brothers. Growing up, I watched this movie over a hundred times, and still, to this day, whenever play the movie again, I can instantly quote many of the lines from it. It was for this reason, that when I told the people that I was traveling with that I was in ” a truck”, I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite moments from that movie. I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation we found ourselves in. I was making my way to our airplane for a recent trip to Prague and I found myself in “a truck”. I even texted this fact to my friends I was traveling with, and was instantly reminded of this line.

To be clear, my wife recently had surgery on her ankle which means that she has to walk around on crutches for awhile. She is doing great, but she is just getting to the point of being weight bearing on it, and that means that she tires out pretty easily. This does not work well when traveling to Europe where everywhere you go, it is best to just walk there or take public transportation. We decided to bring a wheelchair with us to get around town with more ease, but getting that on to a plane is not always the easiest, especially when the company you are flying with is RyanAir.

To be fair, RyanAir was very respectful and accommodating. I usually do not have many nice things to say about the company, but in this case, I do. We had to gate check the wheelchair which we thought meant giving the wheelchair to the people at the gate, and then getting it back when we got off the plane, but this was not the case. Instead, we were pulled from the line, taken to one of those trucks that they use to load food on to a plane, and got to ride on that in order to get on the plane.

We got to skip a lot of the headache that we usually experienced with flying RyanAir and moved through many of the security measure quickly at the airport. Still, it was a little excessive. We just needed to wheelchair put on the plane, so we could get it back when we got to our destination. We did not need a whole group of people dedicated to getting us on and off the plane. Still, there are other people out there that do need this kind of service, and it is nice to know that it is out there. It just shows that traveling does not have to be just for those who can easily get around. Everybody can get out there and see the world, so take that chance while you still can.

Until next time, keep exploring and experiencing life’s little pleasures.

The View over Prague

The city of Prague is one of the top destinations in Europe. It boasts a lot of history, great food, amazing beer, and some of the most interesting sights that can be found in any big city. People flock to this city to check out the Prague Castle, stroll across the Charles Bridge, and set their watches to the Astronomical Clock, but one that is often overlooked is the amazing viewpoint that can be found on top of the Petrin Tower on the top of Petrin Hill.

Petrin Hill stands looking over the old town square on the other side of the Vltava River. It is a little bit of a hike to make it to the top of the hill, but still you can make it to the top in a matter of twenty minutes going at a reasonable pace. For those who do not like to do hikes uphill, there is a funicular that will also take you to the top. It is not too expensive, and it runs every fifteen minutes. Space is limited, so I would recommend getting there earlier in the day when there is less of a crowd.

Once up top, there are many things to see that do not include the Petrin Tower. There is a medieval wall that adds to the atmosphere on top of the hill. A couple of restaurants offer food, and coffees, as well as a beautiful garden that you can stroll through. I was out here in the middle of winter, so the garden was in its dormant state, but I could still tell that it would be a spectacular place to wander through when it is in full bloom.

It is a little cooler on top of Petrin Hill because there is nothing to stop the wind that is blowing. I would recommend dressing in layers if you plan to come up during the winter months, and it would be the perfect place to escape the heat of summer though I do suspect it will be more crowded during those months than what I found when I was up there.

Hiking to the top of the tower is not too stressful either. It was designed rather well with an up stairs case and another one for those descending, so you are never stuck in a place where you have to wait while others pass going the opposite direction. There is even an elevator that will take you to the top, but it does cost a little more to be able to get up that way. The views from up top offer the perfect perch to see all of Prague. It is fun pointing all of the places that you have been and would like to go, and it has one of the best viewpoints of any European city I have been to. It is a little expensive, and during the summer months, I would suspect that it would be pretty crowded. Still, it is a nice little getaway for someone looking to do something a little different on a trip out to Prague.

Back from the Holidays

One of the greatest benefits to being a teacher is the time off during the holidays. The final lessons have been taught, the grades are in, and there is nothing to do for the next couple weeks except get together with family and friends. For an international teacher that amounts to a little more effort than many would think. Two of the days of the break were lost traveling back and forth to the States, and then there is always the headache of jet lag to contend with.

Still, with all of the downsides of getting there, it is still worth getting back to the place where I grew up. There is a certain sense of comfort being back in Colorado that I just can’t get anywhere else in the world. Yet the longer I stay away from the place, the more I feel like I am no longer a part of this place. I am always on the search for those things that remind me of my hometown when I am abroad to feel that same sense of comfort.

It can come in the most unlikely places as well. Seeing a fox curled up under a bush might not be a common thing to see in Colorado, but it is not out of place either. There are many times that I ran into wildlife during my decades of living in the state. I can’t even count the number of times I have come across deer, elk, coyotes, foxes, and raptor birds. They were always something to marvel at when I came across them, but at the same time, I did not believe that I would have to note every time that I did.

I do not come across wildlife in Jordan like I did in Colorado. That is not to say that I am not reminded of that wildlife form time to time. There are the moments where domesticated animals give me the same kind of joy that I would get when I see a fox sleeping underneath a bush. It makes me start to realize that there are not many differences between places in the world. I might sit in Jordan over the school year and miss the place where I came from, but it takes me going there and back again to realize that I can find the same kind of joy no matter where I am in the world. It just takes a matter of perspective, and a shift of attitude. And traveling to my home state allows both of these things to happen. It makes coming back to my current life a pleasurable experience.

I know that I am not the only one that made this voyage over the holidays. I could see it in the airports with their packed in crowds, and people weighing their bags to make sure they could return home with all of the presents that they received. It is a wonderful distraction this time of year. It allows us to take pause and reflect on the life we have and we are living. I am grateful that I am given that opportunity to be able to do that every year, and I hope you find yourself in a similar situation.

Have a Great New Year, and I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with you throughout the course of it. Thanks for reading.