Bratislava

I looked into opening my own hotel here. Turns out that it costs a little more than a nickel. The train ride here took me through the very eastern European, Communist, concrete block apartment buildings in the massive suburban sprawl around the city. I didn't find a old man sponge bathing himself or a dog guarding a human hand for food, though. So that scene from Eurotrip could be accurate (aside from the twenty year lag in pop culture).

The historic city center is actually quite different from the communist influence that sprawls out from it. Consisting of mostly pedestrian cobble stone streets, the center has cafes, bars, museums, churches, and landmarks. The most prominent of them is the Bratislava Castle perched above the historic center. The best part about this town, though, is that it is, except for us few backpackers, practically devoid of tourists. The castle was deserted while I was strolling through its courtyards, and the streets and cafes were full of locals. I hope the word doesn't get out of this place. Nothing can suck the culture out of any place better than massive amounts of tourists, especially tour groups.

After seeing all the sights here, I went back to my hostel to find one of the best atmospheres of any hostel at which I've stayed. The few of us English speaking backpackers pretty much all gathered in the back garden of the hostel for a few beers before the mass of us went out to see what nightlife Bratislava had to offer. Aside from having many of the hottest women I've seen in all of Europe, there were some decent bars including the Irish Pub there and the dance club on which we ended up on a boat in the Danube. It was a lot of fun.