Day 2: Arrival to Slovakia

On February 3rd, we arrived in the Bratislava airport at around 12:30 p.m. In total, the flight was about 14 hours long. After going through customs and picking up our bags at the carousel, my two friends, Emily Kidd and Emily Holop, and I found a bus that would take us to our car rental location. We picked up our minivan that was the perfect size for all of our bags, and we drove over to the Hotel President. On the way we saw the busy streets of Bratislava shopping centers. Emily Holop refused to put down her camera. Luckily all three of us were not tired, and instead restless, because we had gotten a lot of rest on the plane. As Emily Kidd drove cautiously on the left side of the road, the car was filled with delight at the great city we had arrived in. We finallly arrived at the hotel which was a small hotel located in the city centre right near the Crowne Plaza. We checked into the hotel and got our room keys and settled into the perfect room which has three rooms, a television, air conditioning, a safe, and a kitchen. After getting comfortable in our room and unpacking, we decided to eat lunch in a small cafe called the Café Maximilian which was a cute little cafe in Main Square that is famous in Slovakia for its chocolates. Unfortunately, after leaving Café Maximilian, Emily Kidd started to feel queasy and had gotten a bad case of food poisoning from the airplane food. Me and Emily Holop rushed her to the hospital where she was given treatment and medicines. The hospital was the Nemocnicas poliklinikou Ruzinov, and luckily Emily Kidd was better in no time. At night, we ate dinner in the Staroslovenska krcma which is an old Slovak pub in which during the winter, customers eat in a decorated cellar. The food was great and Emily Kidd was not feeling queasy at all. Afterwards, we walked around the Polus City Center which was a very modern shopping center with bright lights and lots of souvenir and clothing shops. Emily Kidd bought a cap which she will use when the weather is especially cold. I bought a small antique statue for my parents. Emily Holop however had a shopping splurge and bought three fur jackets. We had a great time meeting people despite the language difference. After shopping, Emily Kidd and Emily Holop were so exhausted, that I drove us home on the 15 minute drive to our hotel. We fell asleep almost immidiately after walking through the door. Emily Kidd was so tired she feel asleep on the floor.