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Bratislava: 5.06.2004
When we arrived yesterday at 5.00 pm and checked into Hotel Forum, we were already primed to hear the bad news, which was totally confirmed by the time it was 7.00 pm when we had a chance to share views and opinions with the receptionist. The Slovaks were VERY VERY SERIOUS about not working on Saturday mornings!
.This was totally unacceptable to us. If we were here, they jolly well had to work. The receptionist was first compassionate, then incensed, then resigned, then pleading as we continued unabated our request for an interpreter tomorrow morning bang at 9.00 am. Of course, the interpreter should be able to drive us around and charge us very little. “Could any of your friends oblige?” . After some eighteen “No”s (Rashid somehow has a hearing problem with the “No” sound), a nineteenth request today morning produced a guy with a red Corolla in tip-top condition and an English with a broken condition.......
When we arrived yesterday at 5.00 pm and checked into Hotel Forum, we were already primed to hear the bad news, which was totally confirmed by the time it was 7.00 pm when we had a chance to share views and opinions with the receptionist. The Slovaks were VERY VERY SERIOUS about not working on Saturday mornings!
.This was totally unacceptable to us. If we were here, they jolly well had to work. The receptionist was first compassionate, then incensed, then resigned, then pleading as we continued unabated our request for an interpreter tomorrow morning bang at 9.00 am. Of course, the interpreter should be able to drive us around and charge us very little. “Could any of your friends oblige?” . After some eighteen “No”s (Rashid somehow has a hearing problem with the “No” sound), a nineteenth request today morning produced a guy with a red Corolla in tip-top condition and an English with a broken condition.......
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By the way, yesterday we had dinner at (hold your breath) Krishna, practically the only Indian restaurant in town. I tell you, Europeans give too much respect to limits set by other people. For example, it was 10.00 pm yesterday when we stood in front of the concierge and discovered this oasis, but the concierge would not even call up the place just because the ad in the paper said 11.00 – 22.00 hrs and it was already 10.00 pm! She was so indignant that we had to call another receptionist, who agreed to take up this daunting task of calling up Krishna, just in case they agreed to oblige us. We could make out that she was thoroughly uncomfortable about making such an ‘unreasonable’ request. She called up, listened and, smiling broadly at us, said that Krishna was reserved today for a private party and could at best manage a parcel, if we came right then. I told you Rashid sometimes develops hearing problems. He grabbed the phone and took off in Hindi and since we seemed to be practically starving for Krishna’s cooking, they agreed to serve us food, whatever the time!
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This was happening yesterday night, mind you, the same night we arrived from Vienna. We met the chef in the restaurant (from Delhi) and found the tail-end of the party still there (some Indian embassy official’s son’s party) and were seated in a corner table as personal friends of the chef! At the time, we still did not have an interpreter for next morning, and seeing a waiter speaking decent English, immediately tried to conscript him! Unfortunately, he was not free.
.We had come in at 10.30 pm for a quick meal and left finally at midnight. The last one hour was spent in a tête-à-tête with the owner, Sri Sanjay Rai from Gazipur, UP. They had lived earlier in Prague and now in Bratislava for 18 years and was (as told by Raju the chef) stinking rich! His main business was airline catering for the Birmingham flight that flew to Delhi via Bratislava 3 times a week. Recently, he became a Slovakian passport holder, because although “dil hai Hindustani”, the travel hassles for Indians in Europe were otherwise too much.
.He was quite up-to-date in all current affairs in India and found great pleasure in holding forth his opinions on various economic and political issues of India, past and present, regional and national, Congress or BJP (strong BJP critic) in a typical UP-style accent. A very interesting man to talk to. In fact, he must have found us to be very discerning listeners and scintillating conversationalists from Dubai, who held such interesting views, mainly because we had stuck to an occasional “Really!” and “Surely not!”. Great listeners always get a good reputation, although not necessarily a good night’s sleep!
.And now on to today. Our morning business foray was not too productive, as expected, since, practically speaking, the doorman had been left in charge of the offices and showrooms. We perforce had to give up by 12.00 noon and call it a day.
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After some internet work, we went for lunch into the Old Town, which is similar to the Old Towns we had seen in Tallinn and in Warsaw. In size, it would be similar to that of Tallinn. The same red-roofed houses, the same type of towers turned into museums, the central square with lots of food joints and performers and an air of general jollity in contrast to the silent and sombre cobbled alleyways, darkened by the eves almost touching overhead..
By the way, yesterday we had dinner at (hold your breath) Krishna, practically the only Indian restaurant in town. I tell you, Europeans give too much respect to limits set by other people. For example, it was 10.00 pm yesterday when we stood in front of the concierge and discovered this oasis, but the concierge would not even call up the place just because the ad in the paper said 11.00 – 22.00 hrs and it was already 10.00 pm! She was so indignant that we had to call another receptionist, who agreed to take up this daunting task of calling up Krishna, just in case they agreed to oblige us. We could make out that she was thoroughly uncomfortable about making such an ‘unreasonable’ request. She called up, listened and, smiling broadly at us, said that Krishna was reserved today for a private party and could at best manage a parcel, if we came right then. I told you Rashid sometimes develops hearing problems. He grabbed the phone and took off in Hindi and since we seemed to be practically starving for Krishna’s cooking, they agreed to serve us food, whatever the time!
.
This was happening yesterday night, mind you, the same night we arrived from Vienna. We met the chef in the restaurant (from Delhi) and found the tail-end of the party still there (some Indian embassy official’s son’s party) and were seated in a corner table as personal friends of the chef! At the time, we still did not have an interpreter for next morning, and seeing a waiter speaking decent English, immediately tried to conscript him! Unfortunately, he was not free.
.We had come in at 10.30 pm for a quick meal and left finally at midnight. The last one hour was spent in a tête-à-tête with the owner, Sri Sanjay Rai from Gazipur, UP. They had lived earlier in Prague and now in Bratislava for 18 years and was (as told by Raju the chef) stinking rich! His main business was airline catering for the Birmingham flight that flew to Delhi via Bratislava 3 times a week. Recently, he became a Slovakian passport holder, because although “dil hai Hindustani”, the travel hassles for Indians in Europe were otherwise too much.
.He was quite up-to-date in all current affairs in India and found great pleasure in holding forth his opinions on various economic and political issues of India, past and present, regional and national, Congress or BJP (strong BJP critic) in a typical UP-style accent. A very interesting man to talk to. In fact, he must have found us to be very discerning listeners and scintillating conversationalists from Dubai, who held such interesting views, mainly because we had stuck to an occasional “Really!” and “Surely not!”. Great listeners always get a good reputation, although not necessarily a good night’s sleep!
.And now on to today. Our morning business foray was not too productive, as expected, since, practically speaking, the doorman had been left in charge of the offices and showrooms. We perforce had to give up by 12.00 noon and call it a day.
.
After some internet work, we went for lunch into the Old Town, which is similar to the Old Towns we had seen in Tallinn and in Warsaw. In size, it would be similar to that of Tallinn. The same red-roofed houses, the same type of towers turned into museums, the central square with lots of food joints and performers and an air of general jollity in contrast to the silent and sombre cobbled alleyways, darkened by the eves almost touching overhead..
......
.Before venturing forth, we had been asking the receptionist as to what to see in Bratislava and how to see it. Were there any group tours? “No”. Any city tour coaches? “No”. Any guides? “Yes, at $200 per hour”, or something ridiculous like that. How do we see the place? “Well, for the Old Town, you can take the train from St. Franciscan Square”. And along came a map, which wasn’t very helpful as we saw no traintracks near the Square. Anyway, we had our pizzas for lunch, wandered into Michael’s Tower and climbed up for a nice view. Then we decided to go looking for the mysterious ‘train’. After some cul-de-sacs, we hit the Square-with-an-air-of-jollity, emptied our pockets on souvenirs and stood staring at the ‘train’, which was one motorised cart pulling another! It was one of the silliest things for an adult to ride in. I bought a few key-chains to ride the shock.......
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Bratislava has a population of only 500,000. “Samall place, Slovakia”, as our new friend Sri Sanjay Rai was fond of saying. Apart from the Old Town, which is surrounded by the central business district, there is not much to the place. Nice and peaceful to live in, of course, with commuting easy and all amenities measuring up to European levels.
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Tonight, we again invaded Krishna, again after 10.00 pm, flustering our receptionist and doorman. Sri Sanjay Rai met us right at the ‘paying-the-bill’ stage and we got stuck for another half-an-hour.
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Tomorrow is a proper no-choice holiday. Wouldn’t have minded a working day, actually. Anyway, we’ll find some sightseeing to do, maybe out of town. Our hotel is singularly uninformed in such matters!
Bratislava has a population of only 500,000. “Samall place, Slovakia”, as our new friend Sri Sanjay Rai was fond of saying. Apart from the Old Town, which is surrounded by the central business district, there is not much to the place. Nice and peaceful to live in, of course, with commuting easy and all amenities measuring up to European levels.
.
Tonight, we again invaded Krishna, again after 10.00 pm, flustering our receptionist and doorman. Sri Sanjay Rai met us right at the ‘paying-the-bill’ stage and we got stuck for another half-an-hour.
.
Tomorrow is a proper no-choice holiday. Wouldn’t have minded a working day, actually. Anyway, we’ll find some sightseeing to do, maybe out of town. Our hotel is singularly uninformed in such matters!
Bratislava: 6.06.2004
Sunday, Sunday ……
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We got up late, breakfasted and …… worked! Finished off some reports and mailed them to HO. I think the hotel staff is rather sympathetic about two business travellers stuck over the weekend, so they charged nothing for PC and internet use.
.We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant inside the Old Town. For spending the next couple of hours, we had a choice. We could either walk and climb up to the Bratislava castle overlooking the Old Town, or we could drive 30 km to a palace outside the city. We decided to walk up to the castle.
.We are both so unfit! Just a 20 min walk, slightly uphill, saw our legs and back aching. But the view of the city spread out below, the Danube flowing peacefully, carrying four bridges across, was enough to bring our breath back. There were two groups, one Chinese and one European, also doing the rounds. We did not go into the rooms which were now museums, but just wandered around the beautiful grounds, enjoying the panoramic view of the city. I once again wished I had brought my video camera..
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.The way out was through stairs that wound between small houses. Difficult, I’m sure, having to park 20 metres down! We emerged at the end of the Old Town and walked back through the crowds enjoying a sunny afternoon after a few days of gloom.
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Seeing the groups of tourists, we were discussing how easy it has now become for the EU members to travel to these 25 countries. In fact, when we had halted at the Austria-Slovakia border, we had seen one cyclist dismount and produce his passport from the thigh-pocket of his three-quarters for getting in! But at the final count, I don’t think I could actually settle down in any of these places. The feeling of belongingness, of ‘home’, is simply not there anywhere apart from India.
.We were quite tired, so took some rest in the evening in our rooms. Tomorrow is pretty critical workwise, as it is our last working day on this tour. Car and interpreter have been lined up 9.30 am onwards.
.We have a particular grouse in European places like this, in that all the restaurants close so EARLY! We are ready to go out for dinner only by 10.00 pm and by then, most restaurants were closed for the night. Tonight was no exception. Luckily, we were not particularly hungry and on the advice of the receptionist Susan (who will be our interpreter tomorrow), we repaired to a nearby fast-food (or ready-food) joint.
.The place actually had a lot of variety, from pizza to a lot of meaty-gravy preparations that could be taken with rice or bread. But veg was very weakly stocked and I ended up with one plateful of corn-and-carrots and another plate of roast potatoes. Both equally insipid!
.
Seeing the groups of tourists, we were discussing how easy it has now become for the EU members to travel to these 25 countries. In fact, when we had halted at the Austria-Slovakia border, we had seen one cyclist dismount and produce his passport from the thigh-pocket of his three-quarters for getting in! But at the final count, I don’t think I could actually settle down in any of these places. The feeling of belongingness, of ‘home’, is simply not there anywhere apart from India.
.We were quite tired, so took some rest in the evening in our rooms. Tomorrow is pretty critical workwise, as it is our last working day on this tour. Car and interpreter have been lined up 9.30 am onwards.
.We have a particular grouse in European places like this, in that all the restaurants close so EARLY! We are ready to go out for dinner only by 10.00 pm and by then, most restaurants were closed for the night. Tonight was no exception. Luckily, we were not particularly hungry and on the advice of the receptionist Susan (who will be our interpreter tomorrow), we repaired to a nearby fast-food (or ready-food) joint.
.The place actually had a lot of variety, from pizza to a lot of meaty-gravy preparations that could be taken with rice or bread. But veg was very weakly stocked and I ended up with one plateful of corn-and-carrots and another plate of roast potatoes. Both equally insipid!
Bratislava: 7.06.2004
Today would be a busy day for us. We had 7-8 visits lined up with the taxi and interpreter reporting at 9.30 am at a coffee shop close to the hotel.
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Susan, like Alex in Minsk, was the receptionist on night duty who decided to sacrifice sleep for a day in favour of a fistful of dollars. Hotel receptionists make very good interpreters as their English is very good and manner pleasant, leaving an overall good impression.
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We worked straight through to 3.00 pm and wrapped up early, firstly because Susan had to lay off and get ready for the night shift starting again at 6.00 pm, and also because we had run through the prospects for the day. We had arranged to meet two more prospects tomorrow morning before leaving for the airport at 11.00 am..
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.We finished our daily reporting in the next one hour. We have become sort of favoured guests here. Although we used the internet regularly, we were not charged a single kroner. Today the girl in the Business Centre was different and was trying to bill us at RO 3.000 per hour, but some strategic admiration from Rashid regarding her good English helped to change her mind.
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Talking of expense, toady’s interpretation and taxi cost us at the rate of 850 kroners (RO 9/-) per hour! Both insisted they were giving us whopping discounts, seeing that we were ‘pore old businesspeople’ from ‘pore old Dubai’, who had already wasted so much money staying in Bratislava over the weekend!
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As I said earlier, Brat is a small town. I think it became named a capital before it was properly ready. It is located on the western border, which is unusual for a capital and I am sure that the other big towns in middle and east Slovakia consider Brat to be a sycophant of Vienna, just 50 km away. Brat is also tied to the apron-strings of Prague in many ways, since we found that at least in business, many Brat companies were totally under the control of their mother companies in Prague.
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Talking of expense, toady’s interpretation and taxi cost us at the rate of 850 kroners (RO 9/-) per hour! Both insisted they were giving us whopping discounts, seeing that we were ‘pore old businesspeople’ from ‘pore old Dubai’, who had already wasted so much money staying in Bratislava over the weekend!
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As I said earlier, Brat is a small town. I think it became named a capital before it was properly ready. It is located on the western border, which is unusual for a capital and I am sure that the other big towns in middle and east Slovakia consider Brat to be a sycophant of Vienna, just 50 km away. Brat is also tied to the apron-strings of Prague in many ways, since we found that at least in business, many Brat companies were totally under the control of their mother companies in Prague.
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