Day seven: Do videnia

The blue church is rather ... blue

A Peruvian finger puppet looking hardcore in red and white, in front of the ornate, Art Nouveau, Blue Church.

We woke up with a plan: see the Blue Church. I also was on a mission, as I had a job interview in a language school – with a wine bar in the foyer!

Today was a day of lazy tourism. We didn't leave the flat until the late morning and went directly – or so we thought – to the Blue Church, then had lunch before I had a job interview in Nové Mesto for a teaching position.

Interior view of a church with an aisle lined by light blue pews and ornate marble columns.  The perspective leads to a raised altar under a painted mural, illuminated by natural light, and a decorative ceiling.
(Bl)Euw.

The Blue Church is very very blue indeed.

Everything about it is blue; the façade is blue, the mosaics are blue, the roof is blue. It is very blue. Even though we couldn't get inside – honestly, I'm not sure my stomach would have coped – we could see through the window in the door that the interior is also – wait for it – blue.

It almost looks as if it's edible, some sort of Willy Wonka icing sugar monstrosity that's also available in Type Two Blue.

On our way there – from what was not, in the end, the nearest tram stop – we found more street art and little cafés. We had lunch in a bar called THeMA, next to the university faculty building, then got on the number four tram – with English announcements in an Australian accent – to get to Polus City Center for my afternoon appointment.

The Slovak National Theatre, a large, ornate, yellow building with a domed roof and columns, stands at the end of a cobblestone square. People are walking and standing in the plaza, and a small fountain sprays water. Buildings line the sides of the square, and the sky is overcast.
Slovenské Národné Divadlo.

In what remained of the afternoon, we pottered around looking at squares and buildings and drinking on terraces. It was not an exciting day, but it was a most agreeable one.

We drank beer, and then we went to the supermarket to stock up on picnic bits for our journey to Romania tomorrow: quail eggs, ham, rocket, butter, cheese, and mini bottles of Prosecco. I made a quick pilgrimage to the Esterházy Palace, where my great-great-great aunt once lived, partly to satisfy my father's curiosity, partly to feel important. They’ve since turned it into the National Gallery, and didn't seem keen to give it back.

There are some things we didn't get to do while we were here, sadly. We didn't get to see the Danube at night, we didn't go up to the UFO deck, and we didn't make it to the Slavín memorial.

Another time, perhaps.