Day trip to Bratislava
Our host here in Slovakia had offered to take us to Bratislava to see the big city so we woke up had a coffee then hit the road to go see the sites . When visiting most cities in Europe you will see a castle so that was the aim .
When we arrived in Bratislava we parked in a mall parking lot near the Danube river and went to have lunch at this nice place called Primi . Originally we wanted the view of the river but that’s the smoking section 🤮 must be nice to be a smoker and have such a nice view but I’m not interested in eating while breathing in someone’s disgusting toxins . So we didn’t get the view but the burger I had was big and juicy . It was a really good meal but not half as good as the dressing room food we had the night before .
Once we finished our meal we headed towards the castle along the river and the close we got to the castle the more tourists there were . You can tell they are tourists because people are taking photos of literally everything everywhere in sight and the pylons were all over the place . Most tourists don’t have the sense to move aside to stop and see something so that’s why I call them pylons . Not a fan of tourist traps and we are walking into the eye of the storm .
We came upon a church that was massive and went in and I had to light a candle for my old friend Chris Brzezicki who is one of the main reasons I started to travel after he passed away tragically . Really miss you buddy ! After I spent a moment reflecting we carried on to the castle and had to walk up a lot of steps . Damn I wish I didn’t bring this jacket , the weather has been really mild throughout my trip here in Europe which is odd for December but as some of you think global warming is not real 😝 I would beg to differ but that’s your choice .
The jacket did come off and had to wipe some sweat from my brow more then once before we reached the castle which was really nice but our time was very limited as there is something much more important we must attend to …. We have ice time in Hurbanovo in the evening and had to drive back so we started our way back down to the river and speed walked as I watched Aston Villa on Stefan’s phone on the way to his car then in his car on the way back to Hurbanovo .
Nightfall approached and I asked if there were deer or any other large animals in the area as we drove through the hardly lit roads and a few moments later we almost hit a couple Roe Deers which was fun to see but possibly scary . They looked like does and there were three or four of them that halted before crossing the road in front of the car ahead of us . Stefan had to apply the breaks and I’m glad he was doing a good job driving .
When we arrived at Stefan’s his brother Martin came by to fill his car with our gear as there were four of us playing including himself . We met Martin the night before but I wasn’t properly introduced and he’s a really nice guy . We went to the rink and got dressed in our own private room and soon hit the ice to play our friendly pickup game with the locals here in their new rink in Hurbanovo . The ice was well lit but the surface is smaller as I’ve mentioned before that it’s suitable for 4v4 hockey .
Not making any excuses when I say I didn’t have my finest game but yeah it’s not easy adjusting from Olympic ice to a much smaller rink the day after . The angles are different , you have to play deeper and not challenge as much and you would hope your defense would bail you out . It started off well when we went up 2-0 but didn’t stay like that for long . The level was weaker then the night before and I had one defenseman that was blocking my view on a few shots and I got a bit frustrated with him which I shouldn’t but it happened and I felt bad because he was trying but didn’t know positioning . That 2-0 lead turned into a 10-4 loss but the true highlight was when Ninka scored the last goal of the game for us just before the ice resurfacer entered the arena .
Can’t win ‘em all but you try and losing sucks but it is part of the game . Felt like I let my team down by not standing on my head but we will try again in a few days when I have a league game in the PHL
https://www.podunajskahokejovaliga.sk/
I was warned there were former pros in the league but I shrugged it off …. Hopefully that won’t be a problem when I actually face their shots on the bigger ice surface that I’m much more comfortable on .
After the game I was dying for a shower which I was told was one stall and when they asked if I could use it was told it wasn’t available . Feels gross putting my clothes on over my soaked underwear but I rather that then put my fresh skivvies on and getting them dank and nasty from ball sweat . Yeah too much info but if you play you know . Good thing I’ve got a couple bag beers but Ninka is too young to drink with me and Stefan and Martin have sworn off booze which I commend them for but drinking alone is lonely . When I got out the room there were guys coming out of the other room with beers in hand so I asked if we should have one in the parking lot and they were keen so I fished one out and introduced myself .
Pablo was the guy I asked about joining for a beer and he told me he had heard about me and knew other guys that do the same as me ? I asked where are they from ? He said Germany ! I asked who do you know from Germany ? Andi Tanzer !!!! That’s when things started t fit into place , he also know most of my travel buddies like Timo Körner and Rainer Schmid . We figured we played against each other before when he said he played for Hurbanovo Papaguays which i remember playing against and in same tournaments in Cortina , and Budapest . Small world ! Pavols sister and some other friends gathered near the trunk of the car and we had a quick beer and then went our separate ways . That totally made me feel better about my loss tonight , at least I made a new friend or two which is always the best part about what I do . Hopefully we get to share some ice and beers in the near future . Time to hit the sack 😴