See the hot spots around The Balkans In 60 Days – Stop 7 Bratislava, Slovakia

10-11/8/2020. After two days in Vienna, I sped down the Danube in a flying catamaran to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It took only 75 minutes; the damage inflicted was 35 euros. It was a sheer simple pleasure. A breeze, really. The warm sun and fair sky provided the cheer, the rush of the wind, the excitement, the decent crowd, the atmosphere. I felt free. I have everything. I don’t need a luxury yacht.

10-11/8/2020 在维也纳两天后，搭上双体船多瑙河飞驰到斯洛伐克首都布拉迪斯拉发(Bratislava)去，全程七十五分钟，损失了三十五欧元。没过关手续，在甲板上享受暖阳，冲风的刺激，身心无比自由，这就是最自然的享受，来自自由的享受，谁稀罕豪艇。

Speeding down the Denube toward Bratislava 在多瑙河飞驰到拉迪斯拉发

They used to be one big family. In my time, we called them Czechoslovakia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, suddenly divorce became a fad. The country then split in two. So conveniently, one took the first half of the name, and the other the second half. Nobody wants to be Robin. So now everyone gets to be Batman. So, everyone is happy. Hopefully.

Some of these central European countries are shrinking in size. You don’t have to be big to be noticed, though. Bratislava is not a big city; it’s small and charming. To be fine is fine. I walked around without knowing much about what each of the landmarks was. They each exuded old charms that kept me spellbound. There was so much history. This history, thank goodness, did not become history.

捷克和斯洛伐克才几十年前还是一家，那年代我们古董一代只知道这国叫捷克斯洛伐克。不得已同床异梦多年，苏解体后大家就趁热闹愉快分手。于是一分为二，名字也刚刚好，一刀两段，你拿前半段我拿后半段，好比一个叫如花，一个叫似玉，谁都没占便宜。和气分手，该你的你拿该我的我拿，好说，至少没打起来。好了，从今以后，大家都当一把手，大家都爽。

这中欧许多都是小国，坐车几小时就可抵达，布拉迪斯拉发的确也不是大城市。虽是小国，不能小看，悠久历史，市内遗留不少遗迹，让人回味, 历史没成为历史。斯洛伐克人还是比较友善，尤其刚从奥地利过来，总觉得奥地利人虽文明，可是少了点热情。就这点我还是对斯洛伐克有所留恋，可能是我感情丰富。