Subject: Bratislava
Peter, my host in Bratislava, has a roommate, also named Peter. He was expecting me the day before I arrived, but still met my bus. A sociology Ph.D. at the university, he earns a third what his partner makes at an IT firm but he had the time to walk me around the old city, to a museum, up to the castle, to the blue church, and later when the other Peter came home, we went to a student pub for a Czech dinner. Twice on the way to the restaurant my Marushka earrings jumped out of my ears onto the sidewalk, and twice we found them again. I had bean soup, cheese dumplings, beetroot salad and dark beer. The dumplings and beet salad went home in a doggie bag. The other Peter was taking a train before dawn to visit his family.
The Day of the Dead, November 1, is a national holiday. Peter helped me research how to get to Kiev by train, and then we took a bus to the cemetery, where he bought a candle in red glass for his grandparents' grave. The whole cemetery glowed with red light in the drizzling rain. He gave me a tea candle to light and remember my loved ones who have moved on. Then we stopped in a wine bar where we discussed everything from trade subsidies to the gypsy problem. And now once more it's time to pack for tomorrow's trip to Kovice!
No comments:
Post a Comment