Bratislava
It was a wonderful opportunity to see my grandson right before the millennium and to visit the capital of Slovakia. He was there watching his father work on a Spielberg-Dream Works production of a Cold War thriller. Nearby Vienna was called for in the screenplay, but Bratislava was selected because it was cheaper for filming, and as some accountant must have argued, “Hey, all these old European cities look alike anyway.”
The ride along the Danube through Austria was beautiful ─ an eight-hundred-year-old castle at every bend and mountain valleys carpeted with vineyards. One of the most famous parts of the Danube is the Wachau valley in Austria, which is a World Cultural Heritage region. The river forms a picturesque landscape of hills and valleys, which is known for its high-quality wines. Each monastery, castle and ruin could tell a story from ancient times. One saga is about King Richard the Lion-Heart of England who was said to be held captive by Duke Leopold V of Austria. We stayed overnight in the hotel which is said to be the fortress where Richard was kept. Another epic is about the Nibelungs and the battle with Atilla the Hun, which is said to have happened here. The Ring of the Nibelung, four musical dramas (grand operas), was made famous by composer Richard Wagner.
The Danube River would be wonderful to boat on for the history and the views, but the water looks treacherous. I estimated currents between 3 and 6 Knots and lots of huge barge and cruise ship traffic.
The Forum, where my son-in-law and the production crew worked, is a modern spacious and airy western styled hotel across from the Presidential Palace. We chose the dour, communist styled Tatra at a third of the room rate and off to the side of the Palace. At the Forum you get a banquet breakfast buffet while at the Tatra the menu features “durable salami and eggs.” Both are in walking distance of the charming walled inner city. Lots of money is being spent sprucing up the castles, museums, and shops of the cobblestone inner city. The only distraction is an enormous K-Mart, not far from McD’s, the commercial center for Bratislavians and tourists alike.
My daughter and grandson along with the wives, infants, and nannies of several of the movie crew had formed an American summertime “play group” that hanged around together and terrorized the other elite hotel guests. You should have seen me zipping around the marble lobby with grandson in a stroller being chased by a child on a tricycle. Can you imagine what a conservative European banker must think when he enters the spa-like pool filled with all sorts of inflatable toys and screaming American kids?
We did give the hotel a break and went to an outdoor park with swings and sandbox. But the Americans dominated the park. I was in the sandbox making castles with my grandson and the daughter of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were both in town because she was in the movie. The mothers were all abuzz over meeting Tom in the park. He was a no show, however, and we contended ourselves with their kids and nanny. Even I was excited about meeting Tom for a little Bratislava frisbee match.
Eleven-month-old grandson was cheerful and wonderfully relaxed and even-tempered throughout all the excitement over a foreign country and all the former Soviet Empire stuff that fascinates me so much.
