A Little Nostalgia

Thanks to Petr at The Daily Czech for a little nostalgia. You see, I lived in Bratislava a number of years back and fondly remember many things. The bridge a/k/a the Novy Most (New Bridge) was not one of them. Frankly, the thing's an architectural eyesore and goes with the Baroque old town like a fart in church. Word on the street (at least when I was living there) was that it was actually built in the late 60s after the government razed the entire old Jewish Quarter of Bratislava.

When I was there I went to the top -- once, mind you -- to see what I could see. What I saw, besides a decent view of Petrzalka (the scary commie cereal-box apartments on the south side of the Danube), was a window into Pre-NATO, Pre-EU, Pre-Freedom Czechoslovakia. The mylar coating on the windows was peeling, the furniture and carpets didn't look like they had been updated since Dubcek, and the service was reminiscent of the halcyon days of communism -- desultory and slow. Plus I had to pay for the privilege of riding the elevator up and then pay to be overcharged for a drink.

So I'm glad to see it's under new ownership. Perhaps they can make it into a Czechoslovak theme park, sort of a "Bad Old Days (With a View)." Or maybe they can make it into a chic restaurant that everyone can sit in and think about what a great thing it would have been if the communists hadn't destroyed so much of their heritage.

Anyway, it seems like something good should come from it. Vel'a stastia, my friends (good luck).