Greetings from Győr

Photo from the internet; not my feet :-)

Sensing eager appetites, I slowly dipped my feet into the water, and instantly felt the tingling sensation became greater, soon occurring all around both of my feet.  Between toes, and on the soles of my feet, I fought the urge exit quickly from the fish doctor’s office.  Believed to have originated from Turkey, fish massages have become quite popular in Asian cultures (and is actually banned in 15 US States), and claim to be good for your health because fish nibbling dead cells stimulates nerves and assists blood circulation.  Although I am unsure if this experience was effective, if was definitely odd, and did make me cringe at times.  However I do not feel I am ready for the full body fish massage that is offered at other locations.

Located 1 hour outside of Bratislava, the city of Győr, Hungary lies halfway between Vienna and Budapest.  During the Ottoman occupation of in the late 17^th century, Győr's commander thought it would be futile to try to defend the town from the Turkish army, so he decided to burn the whole town instead.  The Turks found nothing but blackened ruins, and give the city the nickname Yanık kale or "burnt city".  Eventually, the town was rebuilt and surrounded with a castle and a city wall, with lots of new buildings built in Renaissance style.  Today, the population of Győr is about 130,000, supported by a large Audi manufacturing plant, and small university.  While the city is tiny, it definitely has a charming atmosphere, with the square packed with numerous outdoor restaurants and ice cream stations.  Also located in the town is a large water park which was perfect to cool off on a warm summer day.  While I was consistently slow racing down the water slides, I did manage to swim 5 whole laps (100 meters each), although not consecutively but rather over an hour period as I still need long rests between, but improving.  The weekend trip was definitely a nice and relaxing, and I am looking forward to visiting again in the winter time to enjoy the hot springs, but I will probably pass on becoming fish food. 

On your mark, Get set, Go!

  The wheels screeched against the pavement with every tight turn around the arena.  As I pressed further down on the gas pedal, I felt a slight nudge from behind.  While I thought I was in a competitive battle with my colleague, apparently others behind felt I was holding back the pack.  As I have witnessed, Europeans, especially Slovakians, are very competitive and aggressive drivers, and the go kart track is no different.  Even with a pair of racing gloves and a helmet, I was not ready to push the kart to the level of competition which others desired. Furthermore, without any seat belt, I believe the helmet was actually wearing me for protection.  Although I have not driven on many courses, this was by far the best, with challenging turns well padded for any incident; the races were very safe races and a lot of fun.  Even with limited driving experience over year, I managed to stay in the middle of the pack, breaking the 50 second mark for a lap once while the leaders were consistently in the 46-48 seconds per lap range. 

  After the completion of the races, the team gathered at one of the outdoor restaurants at the nearby lake.  While some decided to head for a swim to cool off, I was not ready to jump into a lake with high voltage power lines crossing above.  We enjoyed traditional Slovak sausages with mustard and fried dough, but my event planning strategy could use some improvement.  My original thought of holding a team event on the 4^th of July US Holiday was so that we could leave work early to enjoy the day. And that happened, however, we all needed to be in the office the next day, and with team events running late into the night, the homemade wine, which tasted great, kept flowing and Croatian shots, which tasted terrible, kept being toasted.  The next day was very long at the office, with very little appetite for lunch.  Everyone on the team had a great time, and we are all looking forward to the next event.

  Finally, after successfully identifying 15 of 16 candies from a candy line-up (no, it was not a set-up with all samples being a Twix bar), I consider myself to be a candy expert and I think most of the friends and family will agree that sugar is a staple of my diet.  I also know that they changed the $100,000 Bar to 100 Grand, and that most candy commercials have swirling chocolate except Skittles.  But in recent weeks, my candy knowledge has taken a step in the wrong direction.  All stores and vending machines in Bratislava have the typical US candy consisting of Snickers, Twix, Skittles, and M&Ms, but no Hershey’s products, although I have my secret store for peanut butter cups.  However, I never could find my current favorite, the elusive Milky Way bar.  I was always intimidated by the Mars bar which is found throughout Europe, because I thought was a dark chocolate, but finally gave it a try.  To my astonishment, the Mars bar in Europe is actually a Milky Way in the US!  And, it turns out that Milky Way bar here, is actually a 3 Musketeers bar, but in a much smaller version and different packaging.

Candy Quiz - I only used the pictures, and not the written description.

The lake, with crossing power lines at the top

Zipping through Zurich (and Vaduz, Liechtenstein for a passport stamp)

  The evening was cool, and rain continued to fall harder and harder.  As I pressed on down the street toward my hotel, I saw the tram approaching.  Of all places to find an ATM, one would think Switzerland would be the easiest, but at the time when you need one the most, it seems the hardest to locate.  Arriving to the country less than one hour ago, and with no local currency in hand, I decide to ride my luck and hop on the tram.  Unlike the US, or even London and Paris, the central Europe (Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia) public transportation system relies on the honor system.  With no gates or turnstiles to pass in order to board, the only requirement is you stamp your ticket at each entry if you do not have a pre-paid monthly or mobile ticket.  The tram was quiet as I boarded to head 3 short stops to my exit.  As we began to move, I notice in the front of the tram a strange person approaching a fellow passenger.  I begin wonder if he is checking the tickets, and frightened by large fines for non-ticket holders, I slowly depart the tram at the next stop, unfortunately 2 stops behind where I should have exited. 

  Located on the northwestern tip of the lake, Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland home to 400,000 people, and an additional 1.5 million in the surrounding area (and equally as many cars as people).  The predominate language in the city is German, with French being spoken more frequently in the western part of the country, and Italian in the southern part of Switzerland.  Apart from watches and army knives, the city is one of the world's largest financial centers nestled between the Alpine Mountains.  While I was not ready to expand my offshore banking into Switzerland, I was looking forward to exploring the lake, surrounding architecture and landscape.  Recently rated the most expensive city in the world, I definitely was given the sense that this was a country where a person could easily drain their large, hidden offshore account in a short time.  Beautiful boats sailing across the lake with the natural beauty of the sky make this a relaxing place.

  While I still covet that illusive Swiss passport stamp, I was not leaving this trip without something.  I decided to take a day tour of the local area, which stopped in the Principality of Liechtenstein.  Rolling, lush green hills with mountain rocky tops, the ride down to the south part of the lake toward the Alps was beautiful.  However, being in the mountain region does have a downside, as the weather can change instantly.  In the summer, a sunny day could turn into a downpour within minutes, then sunlight again a half an hour later.  Stopping along side the hills we did some hiking and found domesticated goats resting, with the exception of the small baby goat, who seemed to have a lot of energy climbing rocks and jumping around.  Entering Vaduz, the capital city of the landlocked alpine country of Liechtenstein bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east, I immediately proceeded to the small tourist station for a passport stamp.  Unlike their European allies, Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince with a population of 35,000, that has the world's lowest external debt, second lowest unemployment rate in the world at 1.5% (Monaco is first), and highest gross domestic product per person in the world.  While the city is nice, it is extremely small, and has only a few shops and restaurants which sit below a large castle at the base of the mountain.

  The weekend ended with a short flight back to Vienna, and a 50 minute bus ride home.  However, Swiss Air definitely made it a little unpleasant; first through extending the flight by circling the airport which is always enjoyable during times of turbulence, but also by forcing me to check my carry-on bag for the second straight time of flying with them, and will probably not fly with them again because of it, even if they provide in-air ice cream.

Bratislava by Bike

  The paths became narrower, and the waist high vegetation slapped against my legs while rattling the spokes of the wheels.  With each new turn came a more remarkable sight of rolling hills covered by numerous trees.  Riding down steep embankments of rocky terrain with my group of nine other colleagues, I found myself in the middle of the pack (not bad for a person who comes from the flat plains of Chicago), however I became further separated due to the different speeds and aggressiveness of each rider.  Twice approaching the cross roads, I decided to wait for the two others behind me for direction before proceeding.  The mosquitoes were vicious in the shady forests of Bratislava, and the longer you waited, the more they attacked.  Upon arriving to the third cross road of the path and a paved road, being further separated from the group behind me than before, and staying on the “C” path the entire ride, I chose to keep pursing the challenges of the path. 

  Surely I must be on the right path, as my phone remained silent.  Relief that I was on an actual path set in somewhat as two other bikers passed, albeit heading in the opposite direction.  Suddenly, ring, ring…."Bill, where are you?"  I respond with, “I am on the path, where are you?”  "At the bar."  Damn, I should have turned at the cross road now back 2 miles.  Now I was in for an additional 10 km of fun, with no water, and darkness falling upon the sky.  While I was in no need of food because I swallowed a couple nice size bugs (I definitely have to learn to ride with my mouth closed), water would be a problem.  Each crossing of a puddle I made a mental note of where I might be able to find something to quench my thirst.  I eventually made it to the end of the path before darkness 30 minutes later, and met my group at the bar where I had a large beer, cold ice tea, and most important, a chocolate ice cream bar waiting for me.  The next weekend, I made sure to purchase a water bottle and holder.

  While the roads and automobile drivers in Slovakia can be aggressive, the bike paths are a whole other world.  Set off apart from the street traffic, Bratislava is surrounded by miles of paths.  From steep tree-lined hills and traitorous rocky mountains, to flat paths surrounded by fields and small lakes (and long the Danube River), there is no shortage of motivation to explore the area on a bicycle.  Arriving in two boxes in mid-spring, I was effectively able to build my city/mountain bike while disregarding the incorrect directions for a 10 speed racing bike I was sent.  I even completed the bike with spare parts!  I was out and about soon after, but this is one instance where I regret living on the 5th floor of a building with a very small elevator, as I must carry up and down the stairs each time.  And unlike the US, the ground floor is actually 0, so it is technically 6 floors in my book.  But the paths are like none other, where I can bike through Slovakia, down to Hungary, and across to Austria, all within a couple hours ride.  You do not even notice when you actually cross over the border to other countries, which seems odd given 23 years ago, these countries were very different.  The routes, only assessable by bike (or roller blades), will take you all the way through to Vienna, and along the path, there are numerous bars and restaurants to re-charge, and also a couple lakes to relax.  My team mentioned the one lake I passed near the Hungary border was a nudist beach; however I failed to notice anything that would have indicated such.

  Biking in Bratislava is definitely enjoyable, and I am really looking forward to exploring Slovakia, and the neighboring countries more throughout the summer and fall.  Even Bob Dylan bikes through Slovakia while on tour (2010).  Since relocating to Europe, I have already lost 7 lbs, and it was not because of my brief attempt at P90X.  But during my recent three week trip back home to visit family and friends, I was able to put back on over 4 lbs with quality Chicago cooking.  Back to the trails.  Happy 4^th of July, and I hope to get back to my 2 blogs a month!

Bob Dylan on the Bratislava bike path

Passing through Praha (Prague)

 With my stomach growling, I passed by the restaurant a second time, to see if a larger crowd may have gathered.  When it comes to eating sushi in an unfamiliar city, unless the place is recommended by a friend, I typically gauge the quality of the food of unfamiliar restaurants based on the number of people inside, and in this case, it was pretty empty while next door, TGI Friday’s was hopping.  In this instance, I decided to go with something I was more familiar with, and selected  Potrefena Husa for dinner, a traditional Czech establishment with locations throughout Prague and Bratislava. Beginning my 8^th month here in Europe, I have become more accustom to local foods vs the traditional American chains which I would originally gravitate towards.

  After an easy 4 hour train ride from Bratislava, I arrived in the Czech Republic capital city of Prague.  Embracing the challenge of exploring an unfamiliar city (I did travel to Prague 5 years ago), I decided to navigate the city and find my hotel without the benefit of a taxi.  While there might be a shortage of city maps during the critical time you need one, there was no shortage of signs directing you to the nearest McDonald’s every 500 meters.  I eventually found my hotel, although it took a little more than an hour, but I was able to get a nice layout of the city.  While I was in town for three days of classes, I decided to arrive early and enjoy the sights and sounds of one of Europe’s gems.

  Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava River, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people.  Prague is a political, cultural, and economic mecca of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus then also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.  It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia.  On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with Prague remaining the capital of the Czech Republic, and my current residence Bratislava becoming the capital of Slovakia.  While the split was peaceful, the countries still remain rivals in sports, and I was cheering on Slovakia’s win over the Czechs in the ice hockey championships to head into the finals the night before arriving. 

  Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of twentieth century Europe. My favorite attractions, as well as most visitors, are Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, and the Astronomical Clock.  I also took time to find the different locations of where the beginning scenes of Mission Impossible were filmed.  My favorite view was looking down on the Charles Bridge from Prague Castle after climbing the circular staircase up St. Vitus Cathedral.  With so many stairs, I actually had to stop half way to catch my breath.  Also, while dinning in the outdoor restaurants in the Old Town Square, you can observe sounds and motions of the Astronomical Clock, which was built in 1410 is oldest one still working.  And any trip to Prague would not be complete without sampling Czech beer brewed at some of the oldest and finest establishments in Europe.  While the intent of the trip was for work, I did get a chance to network with colleagues from around Europe and experience some of the finer things of the city.

  With all the history and beautiful buildings, Prague is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world, however, I would not recommend walking the streets with a rolling luggage bag while searching for your hotel, as the cobblestone sidewalks are not convenient for wheels.

Mission Impossible Building