A world without "U"

A world without “U”

Before we begin today’s blog; a rant about flawed technology. My Dell notebook’s keyboard is intermittently failing to print the letter “u” as I type. So if I have failed to correctly proofread, the text may read “yo” instead of “you” and “or” instead of “our”. Auto spelling does not catch those two mistakes. (I just fixed “ato” to correct “auto”, the first word in this sentence.)  If that is not problematic enough, imagine how many times I had to repair “Astria”?

I sense yo laghing at me.

Now on to Bratislava:

The entire Jacobson clan hops the bus to Bratislava, Slovakia this morning. Only an hour from Vienna, this medieval village has retained all its charm in the old town inside the wall. Outside the wall, Soviet style pre-fabricated buildings, totally devoid of style, surround the town.

Richard and Ria Belohoubek drove down to meet us at the bus stop. The plan was a walking tour of the village to see the castle and the old Jewish district. Since it is cold and raining, Richard and Ria have developed plan B. Just under the bridge near the bus stop is an underground cellar that houses a coffee shop and antiques store. We pop in out of the rain and have a coffee before heading into the village.

First stop is a museum (two “u”s to fix in that word) that was the original city hall from the 14^th century. It is filled with artifacts and documents that chronicle Bratislava’s long and rich history as the center of the region’s government. Oddly enough, an exhibit of torture equipment and instruments is on display in the basement.

Nest stop a wine tasting to sample Slovakian vino. We fortify ourselves with several bottles to bring home in our luggage. Ria has brought the forgotten pastry we left in her car on Wednesday.  I’ll figure out how to pack the wine and roll in my bag on the trip to Berlin and back to the US.

When we ate the roast goose feast in Skalica on Wednesday, Ria put the leftovers in her new Audi SUV. Goose drippings slopped out on the carpet. Now she has named her new aromatic automobile “Goose”.

Richard reserved a restaurant for lunch and we enjoyed a typical Slovakian home cooked meal. This simple food is delicious, filling and rich. Richard regaled us with stories of his service in the Czechoslovakian Army during the time the Soviet Union collapsed and the Czech Republic gained its freedom.  The after lunch walk took us under Michael’s Gate, so I had my photo under my gate.

A wedding is just beginning as we entered the 1300s cathedral. The couple’s wedding car was a 60’s vintage Skoda, the Czech car of choice back then.

Then a stroll through the rain back to the bus to Vienna. A dreary day in Bratislava, but Richard and Ria are coming to Colorado in June! Hooray!

A poignant moment: On the cab ride back to the Viennese hotel from the bus station, we drive past the apartment where the Jacobson children’s mother lived in 1938. Goodbye to Vienna and Ann’s old home.

On to Berlin in the morning.