Bratislava | Salzburg | St. Wolfgang | Vienna (8/1-8/9)

Summer has come and gone and I haven't blogged or beached. How sad! I did take a work trip to Austria in August, which I book-ended with fun weekends with friends. I figured I might as well drop a quick post with some pics and a few highlights.

I started things off by flying from NYC to Vienna (business class baby!) and then hopped a bus over the border to Bratislava, Slovakia to visit an old friend from the Barcelona days. For those who haven't already heard me talk about Branislav and his photos photos, check 'em: www.kropilak.com.

Some quick background from our friends at Wikipedia: Bratislava is the capital of the Slovak Republic and, with a population of about 429,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries, and it and Vienna are the two European national capitals closest to one another, at less than 60 kilometres (37 mi) apart.

We spent the weekend touring the old town, checking out some bars near the foot of Bratislava Castle, hitting up a few parties including one under the UFO restaurant near the Nový Most bridge and lounging on a dock at a nearby lake. Of course I chowed down on bryndzové halušky a traditional Slovak meal of small potato dumplings topped with sheep cheese and bacon. Holy heavy, batman. I could barely eat it! Saturday night Branislav and I intended to go out but somehow managed never to leave the house. Instead we killed a bottle of Bacardi and Kofola (Slovak cola) while tag teaming house and techno all night- Branislav on turntables and me on the iPod. Was an absolute blast!

Bratislava:


After the weekend, I left Slovakia and made my way across Austria to Salzburg by train. Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) is famous for it's baroque architecture, shopping and Mozart sites, making it a very popular tourist destination. To be honest - it was a bit too touristy for me but I was only there for 24hrs so no harm done. From Salzburg, I made my way to St. Wolfgang, a market town of 2,700 people right on the northern shore of the Wolfgangsee (lake). I stayed at the Scalaria, a fairly ridiculous event hotel. My room had a lovely view of the lake and mountains. I stayed there all week plowing through business planning meetings and Red Bull all day every day (-;

Friday I made my way back to the city, this time Vienna. I was fortunate enough to be greeted at the train station by a friend of a friend who chauffeured me her apartment where I'd be staying for the weekend (while and her boyfriend were out of town). Isn't that convenient! I wandered around the city by day and night without much purpose (which was great!) and came across a lot of great architecture, food and fun. One of the highlights was a party at Pratersauna a one-time "sweat'n'bang" park sauna converted into a dope indoor/outdoor party spot (with a pool!).

Salzburg & Vienna: