A short stop in Bratislava

If you're on your way from Prague to Budapest (and you happen to be driving) I highly recommend a few days in this lovely city. It's small and very walkable, and as with all cities in the area, FULL of history.

TREBIC, CZECH REPUBLIC

On the way from Slavonice to Bratislava, we stopped and the lovely town of Trebic - a UNESCO World Heritage Site (we saw quite a bit of them on this trip). The village is home to one of Europe's best preserved Jewish ghettos. You start in the ancient synagogue - which is simple and beautiful - and then move upstairs to see some of the artifacts of the original temple and from around the country.

It was in this synagogue that one of the most magical moments of the trip took place. One of the couples I was travelling with mentioned that they started a local synagogue in New York with a few couples from the area. When they went in search of a kosher Torah, they wanted to find one used (as that's what the new congregation could afford) but was no longer in use. It just so happened, that Torah came from the Czech Republic. Recounting this now, perhaps it doesn't have the impact. But watching my tour mate with tears in her eyes talk about this memory that she had nearly forgotten, moved us all. 

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA

This lovely city is very unique in that while it's in Slovakia, it also borders Austria and Hungary. We took a nice tour of the town in the morning then had a bit of time on our own. I stopped into a unique Modern Art gallery - shaped similarly to the Guggenheim, but much smaller;) The photo below is the view of the UFO bridge outside my window out the hotel. Truly picturesque.

CARNUNTUM

Now, I've seen a lot of Roman ruins. And every time I go, I am floored by the level of knowledge these people had so long ago to do things as simple as heating water for a bath. To be honest, I wasn't that excited to see more Roman ruins - but I am SO glad I did. The area of Carnuntum is so different from most of the Roman ruins you would see in places like...well Rome...or Turkey or Israel or anywhere else. This city started as a Roman army camp and the ruins are unique in that they are less ruined. They have actually started rebuilding the city to what it likely looked like when the camp was a camp.

It was fascinating not just to imagine what things might have looked like, but actually get a sense of the homes, the shops, the baths! (Honestly the baths were incredible!) It wasn't a long trip, so if you're in the area, I definitely recommend making some time for it. They are currently going through even more renovations and I believe in the next year or two the entire area will be built back up. 

WRAP UP 

Before I post about Budapest, I really needed to stop and reflect on these two wonderful countries. I think I already mentioned a bit about how these two countries came together and then came apart. But it was so interesting to watch people interact. Slovaks and Czechs can communicate in their own languages with each other because the languages are similar enough, and yet they're not speaking the same language! We watched our tour guide Jana carry on conversation with our local guide in Bratislava and had no idea from the outside that they were speaking two different languages. It was fascinating. 

From a historical perspective, these countries, when they were one, we given to the Nazis during WWII to try and appease him. We know now, it didn't actually work, but the idea that a whole country was handed over is so frightening. Because they never truly sided with Germany, after the war, the Soviet occupation was more "influence" but still felt strongly throughout. There was a distinct difference between the way these countries felt the occupation versus Hungary - who sided with the Nazis. In addition, because they were given to the Nazis, all of the Jewish history is just that - history. There are very few Jews in these two countries because all of them were wiped out. Even if they were lucky enough to make it home, they didn't have a home to come back to. All of the synagogues that we saw were not really in use, but there for historical purposes.

It's heartbreaking to think of the magnitude of the impact the Nazis and then the Soviets had on these country. The proud independent nations we know now were not always this way. The same couple I mentioned earlier with the Torah had actually been to Prague and Budapest just after the Soviets left 30 years ago. They difference in the vibrancy and life in these two cities was 180-degrees, they said. Growing up "Prague" was the place to go. I can't imagine it any other way. But you can still see remnants of both occupations in the architecture, the land and the people. It's a wonder to think how different things could have been...