Pick up the pack and get back...to the city

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Like i said before...it was hard enough leaving the mystical banska stiavnica, but it was even tougher because it meant heading back into a city. Thankfully my transition was not too bad because i was still in slovakia...where the beer is only about 50 cents. I had heard mixed things about bratislava so wasn't quite sure what to expect...then again i never really know what to expect having never been to any of these places and i have completely lost faith in others' opinions...everyone is different....places people have said "don't go! it's boring! nothing to do!" etc...have been my favorite. first day i just walked around, which is always my first plan of action. nice little city...some cool old architecture...a sweet castle perched atop a hill that looks down into the city...the usuals for these european towns...haha. it's becoming less of a novelty. on the opposite side of the river you can see lego land as my friend aptly titled it...one of the largest stretches of communist appartments...a very eery sight.  the more time i spent in bratislava...the more it grew on me. it often happens that the more i read, and learn, and investigate the ins and outs of a town the more fascinated i become with a place. every city has it's own interesting past...and a pretty long, historic past at that. i love checking out the museums and exhibits...and the local record shop of course. i may not buy dinner every night...but new music that i can't get at home?...i can't say no. i also had a great time with some people i met at the hostel. the first night was spent relaxing, reflecting, and accepting that i was away from the amazing countryside of slovakia...(i will definitely be back!) but i met some cool kids at the hostel bar...two of which were incredibly from IRVINE!!! and they went to uni high school...wow...small world. i mean...i was expecting to have a couple "oohh...what a small world it is" moments but not nearly the amount i've had. another guy invited me to go to some death metal show he found out about...i thought...death metal?? why not. so this was night two in bratislava...and it ended up being a blast. the show was held practically underneath the castle...actually, i think it must have been the old dungeon or something...we had to wind our way into the show room...the ceilings were low, the room cramped and narrow, and the walls plastered so thick as if to keep out heavy moisture and the rotting, foul diseases of the late dungeon. maybe i was using my imagination a bit...but it really made the show that much better...and when you're listening to inaudible screaming for an hour...anything helps the atmosphere. although watching kids swing their heads around...long hair whipping to the double bass drum really was enough to make the scene. you know you're at a death metal show when the mic check consists of growls and gutteral noises. literally. it was "mic...mic...grrraaaaaawwwwwwwrrrrrrr. ggrrrAAAARRRRRRLLLAAAH!"  haha...awesome. i can now check the 'death metal concert' off my list of things to do in life. the night did not end there of course. we left the cave of death (my new title) and headed back to the hostel to pick up more enthusiastic fun- seekers. the new crew headed around to any open bar we could find...each one more of a dive bar than the first. we walked into one where at first i thought they were just playing really ridiculous pop music, but it turns out the guy at the bar next to us (a rather large man at that) was singing into a microphone! he was the music! haha...good times. the end of the night was a bit ridiculous and ended up with me walking home soaking wet. you'll have to refer to me for the whole story. little blog cliff hanger for ya. So Bratislava definitely ended up being a very cool place for me...with awesome people all around. all of the locals we met at the metal show and working at the hostel were great...the girl working the front desk was even asking me about my Unseen t-shirt...she new this small street punk band! it was a short stop but i'm glad i made it...the next stop would be vienna for a night to pick up the bus and head out to salzburg. i was happy to get back to vienna and meet a friend, theresa, i had met there before (she's from germany and studying in vienna)...was nice to see a familiar face and check into the Mozart Stube restaurant for some tasty, filling austrain fare.