May 11, 2024
Lovely day? Bill Withers, you lie! Despite its seemingly unassuming location in a desolate area of the city, Bostinia Lunch & Brunch proved to be a pleasant bistro on this gloomy, wet, and dismal day. The manager deduced that I was searching for a local breakfast even though there was no English to be read or understood. It turns out that Slovaks enjoy Pilsner Urquell with thinly sliced grilled wiener and scrambled eggs to start the day—breakfast of champions. Despite the drizzle, I decided to go to the botanical gardens to stretch my legs. Upon arrival, the map I was handed mentioned a ‘beekeeping educational trail’. I chose this route in honour of a few apiculture pals, and it was surprisingly crowded despite the lousy weather. It was buzzing. Though it was damp, I liked walking around the many Mexican Ash, Japanese Maple, and rockeries throughout the 30 hectares, which are the largest gardens in Slovakia with over 4000 species. Unfortunately, the heavens opened about an hour later, raining not just cats and dogs but rabbits and rodents as well. The vast central greenhouses, home to an enormous assortment of cacti, succulents, and tropical plants representing Asia, Central and South America, and Africa, provided me with needed shelter. One display showed how to creatively upcycle a shower cubicle into a terrarium; Kew Gardens will undoubtedly soon follow suit. Using Google Lens to translate menu items is one of the pleasures of visiting places that lack English. Undoubtedly, it has improved over time, but when it came to lunch, I couldn’t decide between the “stuffed pork doll and sausage mixture” or what was described as “toothpick on lemon butter.” I went for the former as I was ravenous, which was a delicious tenderloin. However, travelling is not all fun, frolics and broken down buses, and chores occasionally need to be done. I elected to go for my monthly haircut to escape the rain, which continued to hammer down. It wasn’t as simple as it sounds because all four barbers I chose were fully booked for the day. Slovakia takes a serious approach to male grooming, which explains the immaculate “tash toppiery” on show all around the town. A Kurdish Turk cut my hair, and during the twenty minutes, we discussed football, as required by international barbering legislation. In situations like this, I always state that I’m from Manchester because it’s just more straightforward, and I don’t actually terminate the conversation by stating Watford. Later on in the evening I smelled some amazing Bryndzové halušky, which are potato dumplings stuffed with sheep cheese and bacon, and made a bee-line for the restaurant. They are regarded as Slovakia’s national dish and are made with giant mounds of gnocchi combined with cheese, topped with a substantial amount of fried lardons. An enjoyable and welcome conclusion to a rather rainy day!
