Day Trip to Bratislava, Slovakia

Hello again!

We decided to spend just one day in the capital of Slovakia... Bratislava.  No, it is NOT like how it's portrayed in the movie Euro Trip (actually that was somewhere in Prague!).  As you might be familiar with, the Czech Republic and Slovakia used to be the same country, prior to the early 1990's; Czechoslovakia.  The two countries are VERY similar, having mainly the same language (albeit a few small pronunciation and grammatical differences) and same traditions, etc.  Both are in the European Union, and while the Czech Republic decided to keep their currency (korun), Slovakia switched to the Euro.

We left for Bratislava sometime mid-morning using again the Student Agency bus.  The ride took approximately 2 hours and I think for round trip tickets, the cost was somewhere around 20 euros... Not too bad!  After getting into Bratislava, we went straight up to the main castle which is situated on a hill overlooking the city.  We spent probably an hour or two there (it's basically the only real attraction in the city) and then found some good, authentic Slovak food.  After that we still had a couple hours to kill, so we decided to check out some Slovak pubs :)

As I said, there really was not too much to see in main-stream Bratislava.  The castle overlooking the city is the "new" castle... Apparently there is an "old" castle a little outside the city, but we did not get to see it.  Here are a few pics of what we were able to see in Bratislava!

In conclusion, I determined Bratislava was a pretty nice place... Just without all that much to see.   You really only need three or four hours to see the city, unless you're looking at going somewhere outside the town of course.  It was definitely worth it though, and I can add Slovakia to my list of countries I've visited! :)

Until next time! 

-Jake

Weekend Trip to Vienna, Austria!

Hey all!

So I went on a weekend trip to Vienna, Austria a little bit ago and just wanted to share a little bit about the trip :)  It was only a two hour bus ride from Brno, and cost maybe 14 Euro (less than $20) for a round trip ticket.  We used the Student Agency for the bus, which actually works out pretty well!  You can reserve tickets online, then pick them up from the Student Agency office located right in the main center of Brno.  Here's a link to their website (in English):

http://www.studentagency.eu/

They are a great option for buses to Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and many other places, so check them out if you are looking to travel around Europe!  Anyway, we took a very early bus and arrived at dawn in Vienna.  Basically we decided to look around a bit, get some breakfast, and find a nice park and sleep for a few hours since we pulled an all-nighter to get onto our bus.  We then spent the entire day exploring and looking around the main areas of the city.  And it was GORGEOUS!!  Probably one of the nicest large cities I have ever been to.  Here are a few pics of what we saw our first day:

There were so many places and gigantic palaces, I was not able to keep them all straight!  It was amazingly beautiful though.

The Underground was actually extremely convenient and easy to use.  We didn't really pay for any tickets.... Which makes me feel kind of guilty but we were just there for two days.... and the routes went all over the city making it very easy and convenient to go from place to place.

Our hostel was Hostel Hutteldorf, located in the Vienna suburb of Hutteldorf.  It was also a pretty nice hostel, and very large!  At least compared to the ones I had stayed in on previous trips to Europe.  It was definitely a young person's hostel, and we actually met another guy from America that was just on a 6 month "travel-around-the-world" tour and who seemed pretty cool.  Here's a link to the Hostel, if anyone would like to check it out :)


http://www.hostel.at/en/hostel-hutteldorf/


That night, we all went out to eat at this little local restaurant (I can't remember the name of it) next to Hostel Hutteldorf.  I had one of the BEST meals I've ever had in my life.... It was schnitzel with bacon and a bunch of other stuff on it, doused in some amazing sauce I've never had before.  We had some delicious local brew beer and I had chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.  SOO GOOD!!! I wish I had taken a couple pics of our meals.  Then, later that night, we went to a place called "Museum's Quarter" which is this center with a couple gigantic museums, but turns into basically a gigantic party at night.  We had a great time there, and eventually made it back to our hostel!

The next day was the second day of sight-seeing in Vienna.  Our bus left that night at 8:00pm, so we wanted to check out as much stuff as we possibly could.  We saw a lot, including the gorgeous Schonbrunn Palace, the Rathaus, and some huge "Sports Festival" in the center of the Royal Apartments.  Here are a few pics of our sights we saw the second day:

It was quite the successful trip!!  While I showed several pics of our adventures, there are still many, many more.  Vienna is such a huge city... It is almost as if you run into a gigantic and impressive building everywhere you turn.  An amazing time, without question!  We made it back to our bus and back to Brno by that night.

Well, that's all for now!  Next, I'll post a quick blog with a few pics about my day trip to the Capital of Slovakia: Bratislava :)

Cheers!  (or, in Czech... Na zdravi!)

Update from Brno :)

Hey!

It's been a little while... I've been trying to get acquainted to my new home here!  Classes are going quite well.  My schedule is pretty relaxed, as I have one class a day, always in the afternoon.  The courses are not too difficult so far.  Luckily I have a bit of an advantage over the other ERASMUS students since my native language is English!  Here is a list of the classes I am taking:

• Java Programming Language
• Fundamentals of Artificial Intellligence
• Algorithms
• Czech History and Culture

I actually have it pretty easy compared to the other students.  I am taking the equivalent of 17 ECTS credits, which is the European standard.  A normal semester in Europe consists of about 30 ECTS, so basically it feels like I have a half load!  There are only a couple homework assignments per semester in each class, a project, and a final exam.  I am making myself study and keep up on the lecture notes though because if I don't, I know I will just fall behind and be in trouble at the end of the semester.  Been there, done that!

Brno is a pretty neat city.  It feels like a "large village."  The population is just below 400,000 (which to me, being from Montana, is HUGE) but at the same time, it as a small town feel to it.  Public transportation via buses and trams is excellent; easily the number one way to get around the city.

Pricing here is actually very cheap!  The Czech Republic uses the "koruna", or crown.  One U.S. dollar equals approx. 20 crowns.  The cost for a pizza, for example, is anywhere between 25 kc and 50 kc ... much cheaper than even a $5 hot-n-ready!  Beers are usually about 25 kc apiece.  Rent for the month, which included laundry, utilities, and internet, was 2,500 kc... $125.  Good luck finding housing in the States for that price!!

I will go ahead and post some pics from my university and from Brno...

This is the Faculty of Business and Management combined with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.  It is right next door to my dorms, and where the International Student Club (ISC) office is located.  A pretty new building!  My Czech History class is held in here.

This is my dorm.. Pod Palackeho.  The majority of where ERASMUS students are housed, it makes it very easy to meet up with friends and make plans (and of course, having little "after parties" in our rooms is pretty easy too (:  ).  Right next door to the FBM/FEEC, it is located next to the very last tram stop on lines 12 and 13, at Technology Park.

The yard outside my dorms.

Walkway from our tram stop to our dorms.  They are doing some hard-core construction to the right, so this walkway is to be taken out pretty soon... Or so I was told!

One of the main churches in Brno.

Inside the Colossal main cathedral in Brno.  It was very impressive!!!

Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, which is located on Petrov hill.  There are quite a few stories about how this came to be built here!

Overview of Brno from the summit of the Castle Spilberk.  The landscape in general is very hilly and green... We are too far away from the Alps to really have mountains, but it's still pretty here!

 

From atop Castle Spilberk.

Well, there are just a few of my pics of Brno.  It's a pretty nice city!  There are also a few really good night clubs and a million good bars (I'll leave those pics out) since it is considered a college city.

Other than that, I've taken a couple weekend trips to Vienna, Austria and to Bratislava, Slovakia.  Those pics are coming up!!  Possibly heading to Munich, Germany this weekend for Oktoberfest, and I already have my tickets booked for Istanbul, Turkey in two weeks!!  I am having a heck of a time here.  Traveling is very easy and convenient since I'm in the heart of central Europe, and everything is pretty manageable, price-wise.  I will do my best to keep this updated.. Hopefully I will be able to talk about my Vienna trip and throw some pics up by tomorrow or Wednesday!

Until later!

-Jake