Winter Wonderland..

Bratislava, like I have said, is a great place ... the winter here is cold, but I believe it is shorter than in Iceland .. I wait with anticipation to see what spring is like. I am told that because Slovakia is in the middle of continental Europe, the climate is similar to Mediterranean countries in summer. So, hot then.. or what?

Today we have frozen rain. It is raining, but the raindrops freeze on the point of contact. It is a phenomenon I have not seen a lot in Iceland, and is highly enjoyable. You find yourself covered with miniature isicles after a walk around town.
The streets and the sidewalks are extremely slippery. People, most of them I presume are Slovacs, keep falling down.. like flies! Everywhere there are people falling onto their bottoms.. while this Icelandic hero stands firmly, or a bit whobbly, on his feet.
I hate to say it is amusing.. but sometimes when people on each side of you fall down simultaneously, you can not help but giggle a little.
I would like to add that I have not witnessed a serious accident of the kind, and I do hope that people walk away from these embarrassing falls with at most a cute bruise on one bum cheek.

Readers under the age of twenty; look away! .. or take the following information with caution, as I AM over twenty years of age, and can legally engage in what I am about to describe ..

I have been drunk every single day since I arrived in this country.
By this I do not mean that I am drunk all day every day.. not at all .. but alcohol is very cheap here, and we have, along with many Slovac locals (who serve as our cultural models during our stay), gone out for a drink after class.. and during time off.
Every single day! .. my liver I feel is beginning to resent its host. What a job I must be forcing it through.
Yesternight we threw a cocktail party at our flat. I indulged in a bottle of blackcurrant wine. delicious! Slovac drinks are generally very good... I believe I have in a former entry complimented the beer.. well, the wine is just as good.

Absinth, the green and infamous and very special treat of Lucifer to human beings, is cheap and very available here.. we have let ourselves be tempted on more than one occasion. Who would ever think that a green coloured substance, mixed with sugar and hellish fire, could be a temptation to man? What an experience it is to feel it burn your innards to temporary damnation..

On a healthier note, I have found a very affordable vegetarian buffet.. and a similarly affordable, and quite comfortable, vegetarian restaurant run by Hare Krishnas. Wonderful food. You leave there with a smile across your body.
I have also located, and begun surveilling, my arch enemies.. the arašídy. I feel safer, and more in control as a consequence. How this relates to vegetarian restaurants, interested readers will have to guess based on their knowledge about me.. or simply do some research.

Enough babble for now.

As ever,
..kH