This is, quite possibly, my favourite set of my photographs. I get chills when I look back at it, and not because they are brilliant, but because they remind me of so many things.
All of these photographs were taken in Bratislava, Slovakia, which I visited for a day on a whim, essentially, while I was studying abroad in London in 2010. My grandparents had been there, and spoke well of the city. Ryanair tickets were cheap. The internet assured me that it was safe, had some castles, and very good espresso joints. I decided to check it out, booked a flight that would get me there at 7am, and one that would take me away at 9pm.
The wait for the bus to the airport began at Liverpool station at 4am, and boy, was I tired, after a night of debauchery out on Brick Lane. By debauchery, I mean many different curries. Sleep was acquired on the bus, on a bench in London Stansted, and the plane.
The city was gorgeous. Thank god ,it was easily navigable, and people were friendly. Many of the people I spoke to didn't know a word of English, so there was a lot of pointing, but I learned to say hello, yes, no, please, and thank you before I arrived, so I was okay. What a cool city, though! I'd love to go back again with Danny to explore more, and for a longer period of time. It was surprisingly quiet and calm, and blocks full of Victorian grandeur were interspersed with blocks bombed out during WWII and never restored, and rows of communist era tenement buildings. The people were artistically vibrant and excited. It was like a calmer, smaller version of what I hear about Berlin and Prague- places I would love to visit, but have not.
My camera broke about five days before I visited, so all of these shots are from disposables, picked up at the Boots in the airport.
Then, my water bottle spilled in my purse, and the cameras were drenched, causing the crazy color effects, which I keep meaning to attempt to replicate.
Any time I'm having a bad day, or feeling like I've accomplished little, I look back at these photographs, and remember that one random day in Slovakia, the lovely people, the beautiful city, the art enduring and the ruined buildings left as stoic reminders... and the world really does feel beautiful.
Bratislava, Slovakia
