Day 44 Budapest - Day 1 Solvakia :wonderful highlights you can create your own experience by useing my keywords

pic: looking out at the hostel entrance: actual hostel is not as bad but not good!
pic: tourist and oldtown

I left Budapest in the morning and it was sad o say goodbye because it felt like leaving home. Bratislava is about the same distance as Vienna from Budapest and Bratislava is only 30 miles or less from Vienna so The city markets itself as the TwinCity of Vienna. I havent heard of it but it's always the evil twin that wants all the attention.

The arrival was a bit of a shock because the trainstaion and the surrounding is a bit rundown and I got on the street car and went to the hostel. Another huge shock, the hostel is really scary and run down but it's completely full. It's hidden behind a busy street and in the back of the courtyard; the buildings around are in various stages of deconstruction by nature. The room smells bad and the bathroom is moldy and has holes on the ceiling.

For the most part the city both modern and traditional unlike Budapest's city center. The building styles here are not as grand or ornate and much lower in high. I got a sense of how rich and the wealth Hungarians must have been at one point in history. The main street is a bit rundown and seem seedy. There are very little cars around and some streets are closed off to cars and only for street cars. At 5 pm there is no rush hour traffic just people walking, I wonder if North Korea is like this. I have necer been in Vietnam but this is what I have pictured it would be.

Old town is the center of the city is also the tourist center. Most buildings in this historic part of the city have been renovated and streets and alleys are florished with sidewalk cafes, restaurants, retail stores. It's a huge area with many hidden gems in every curved alley ways and public plazas. It was a total different experience from the outside and it's packed with tourist; I wonder if locals ever come. It's the size of maybe 10 Old Town Pasadena.

I also saw many locals are Asian and China seem to have a big presences here. Poster of the Sumemr Game everywhere and Chinese Restaurant on every 3-4 blocks. I ventured over to the Danube and in Bratislava it's just anotehr river and the romance does not exist. The riverbank is lined with modern mid rises and modern bridges and this could have been anywhere America.