Steaming in Slovakia

Here's today's lesson for the day:  100 degrees is HOT!

Ok, so you may think that I'm a wimp, but it was reported yesterday on the news that 115 people collapsed on the streets of Bratislava due to the heat. And, here at Helga's house, there is no air conditioning, the windows only tilt open a bit from the top and there are no fans to circulate the air.  I will admit that a cold shower never felt so good!

Oh, and let me add  that buses in Slovakia are not air-conditioned either. So forget the idea of cooling off in transit.

On a happy note, we managed to find some relief by walking along as many treed streets as we could muster on our way to see Bratislava Castle.

This fountain is in the Medical Park.  Looks tempting, doesn't it?

The gardens behind the Presidential Palace were beautiful as was the front of the Palace.

On this stroll through Bratislava we popped into the oldest Greek Catholic Church in Bratislava, devoted to SS Cyril and Methodius.  I never realized that it was these saints who were responsible for implementing Cyrllic Script.  I'm not so sure that I'm thankful for that as I have as yet to master the art of translating it in church documents. 

When Marty and I were here in Bratislava we were not able to enter the castle as it was being refurbished.  Today, we were able to go inside and walk through the recently finished halls.  We were all rather disappointed.  Amy mentioned that she felt like it looked like we were walking through Ikea. Although the white walls and gold gilding look quite elegant,  we certainly hope that there are plans to add some interior decorations, and, perhaps, some historical items.

The best part of the tour was climbing up several sets of very steep steps in order to peer out the windows of the highest turret in the castle.  The views were outstanding.

Oh, and there's one more lesson to add to today's adventures.  Restaurants in Bratislava are air-conditioned. We took advantage of that by stopping for lunch at the Restauranti Hrad and enjoying some fabulous Slovak food while listening to American Music (which wasn't so fabulous......Boy George singing Carma Camelia).

And, we just had to stop into Kafee Mayer for some refreshment a few hours later.

I could be worried about those calories, but, honestly, I really think that they melted off today!  I'll know in a week whether or not I can still fit in my clothes!

Here's hoping for cooler weather!