My flat

For obvious reasons, it did not seem wise to announce on a public blog where I was living in Bratislava. So I'm writing this in my last few hours on the fabulous high-speed broadband connection in my flat, as I wait for the limo to the Vienna Airport.

Previous Fulbrighters urged that we live in Old Town, which sounded good to me. I love historic neighborhoods where I can walk around and explore, something I miss in California. After studying real estate listings on the web last summer, I settled on a building right in the middle of everything on Hviezdoslavovo námestie. Its proximity to the Opera House at the end of the Plaza was a huge attraction, as I wanted to attend the ballet as often as possible and was wary about getting home after dark.

My building was the gray one here on the right. My studio, facing the plaza here, is on what Europeans call the third floor and Americans call the fourth. The building has a lift (whew!). On the left you see the ugly gray guardhouse used for access to the U.S. Embassy complex, including the buildings left of mine.

All U.S. embassies are apparently on high-alert for terrorists, truck bombers, and who knows what else. Several uniformed guards were stationed around the outside of that guardhouse 24 hours a day. Indeed, one was usually stationed at the entrance to my building. I was told in September by the management that there was some concern my building might be used as an escape route by a would-be terrorist. I was not so worried about truck bombers, but it was nice to know that, after an evening performance of the ballet, the route to my building was well-lit and swarming with guards. And, if a female with an American accent screamed for help, it was nice to think it would get noticed, although that was never necessary.

I had an absolutely spectacular view. Andrew Sullivan's blog has a feature called "The View from Your Window," and he posted this one, looking west to the Castle and St. Martin's Cathedral.

My neighbor on the other side was the Czech Embassy (the building with the blue doors), a newly restored office building, and the German Embassy at the end of the block. Quite the neighborhood!

I did not have a balcony, although many units do in that building. A much larger flat with a balcony was available in September, but with the sinking dollar, I decided to opt for the smaller studio. As the dollar just kept sinking last fall (and still is), that was a good decision in retrospect, although that meant that I did not have room to entertain guests and visitors.

If future Fulbrighters in Bratislava want to contact me privately for housing advice, I would be happy to oblige. I got some great advice from my predecessors, and I'm happy to do the same for others.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.

New Year's Eve

"PartySlava" is the slogan to attract visitors to the New Year's Eve celebrations in the center of Old Town. For the last few days, I have noticed an unusual number of tour groups walking around Old Town, especially many groups of college-age students. I don't know if they are here for New Year's celebrations or just the usual stop-over on their way to/from Prague-Vienna-Budapest.

The crowds in the early evening included lots of young families. Unlike Times Square, it was possible for ordinary people to walk around and enjoy the sights. This is a shot of the food stands re-opened after the Christmas market, with the Opera House in the background.

Hviezdoslavovo námestie is the location of a large band shell erected yesterday for concerts this evening. Another has gone up over on the adjoining Main Square. Different musical groups took turns performing all evening. Here's a short clip of some very young children performing Slovak folk songs with a lot of help from some older musicians.

Here's another video clip of the plaza, this one taken from the front entrance to the historic Opera House. That music in the background is a Mexican mariachi band taking its turn on the stage. It did not have quite the authenticity I hear in southern California, but heh, it's cold here!

For my New Year's Eve excitement, I saw a program of five short new contemporary ballets, Bolero and more, at the Historic Opera House. It was a festive evening, with free champagne at the intermission and even door prizes. After the intermission, the new company director "choreographed" a brief ballet for the audience to perform while seated, filled with arm-waving, thigh-slapping, and clapping. What a hoot for the cultural elite in evening finery. The Ballet's web site for the new ballets, with photos, is here: http://www.snd.sk/?ballet&predstavenie=bolero-a-viac

Here's my shot of the final curtain calls from Bolero, which uses a chess-game motif.

After the ballet, I heard another band in a rousing rendition (in English) of the Village People's "Y.M.C.A.," but I didn't get my camera out in time to record it. I gather that fireworks were set off over the Danube at midnight, but I didn't have the stamina to brave the crowds and the cold, so I settled for hearing them.

Happy New Year, everybody!

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size