After we left Prague we flew to Bratislava, the other half of former Czechoslovakia. We had been excited to visit this hidden gem of a city ever since we first learned that the Harps would field a men's team in the Gaelic football tournament there for the first time a Harps team would play in Europe. Bratislava is a city in two parts, much of which looks unattractive as a former soviet era city with little personality. The jewel of the city is the old town, just off the Danube River, and this part of Bratislava is as charming and beautiful as any city in Europe! Filled with lively promenades, amazing architecture, and awesome cafes and pubs. Old town Bratislava is a place well worth visiting!
The Harps fielded a team that was a mixture of A team men, B team men, and some friends of our captain Cieran that made the trip from Ireland. Our last tournament in the Middle East was in mid-April, so the June 28 date of the Bratislava event meant that the boys had not trained in two and a half months. That being said, they played very well and were tied for first place after the four group games with a record of 3-1. Unfortunately, they missed out on the championship final due to point differential and settled for third place. They did beat the eventual champions, who traveled all the way form rural County Down in Northern Ireland, and are the only team in the tournament that did so. It was a good day for the Harps.
The day after the tournament some of us from our club ran into the boys from Ireland at The Dubliner Irish pub in Old Town and we spent the day forging fun friendships with the Irish lads. They all told Joe how impressed they were by his play and this was very nice for him to hear, as he always appreciates being respected by an opponent. They went on and on about how shocked they were by his level of play and how well he moved for a big guy. They also loved the fact that we are from Texas. All things Texas were the topics of conversation for many moments throughout the day, particularly horses and guns. They couldn't believe that Joe owns many of both! The boys made us promise to visit them when we visited Ireland the next month and we agreed to do so, which should was a fun reunion!
Another blessing from our time in Bratislava was the opportunity to meet up with another old friend of Joe's from Flower Mound, Alicia. She is a campus minister with the Navigators at the University of Oregon and we have kept up with her amazing work on several campuses and across the world the past several years. She was leading a small team of students on a project in Slovakia and it just happened that we were in Bratislava at the same time, enabling us to enjoy a great meal together and some quality conversation!
Here are some pictures from Bratislava, we definitely recommend visiting if you make a trek through central Europe!
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| As with many cities in central Europe, the architecture is underrated |
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| Our first night in Bratislava we joined some of the lads from the Harps and crushed some of the tastiest pork you could ever eat in a beautiful beer garden. |
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| The US Embassy in Bratislava |
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| Countries that serve pork and are proud to do so, we appreciate you! |
| We found Narnia in the middle of central Europe! |
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| This sculpture is one of the iconic images from Bratislava |
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| Our friend Luke enjoyed the tour of old town, as well! |
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| Another one of Bratislava's famous sculptures found in old town |
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| All of the teams in the tournament |
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| The Kuwait Harps delegation for Bratislava 2014 |
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| The Harps have won a lot of trophies in our time with the club, but this was the smallest and most unique! |
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| Toasting a great day of football! |
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| Joe made good friends with the boys from Northern Ireland |
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| The Irish lads were resourceful during the rainstorm |
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| Magners at a pub named The Dubliner in Bratislava, Slovakia! |
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| Good times with good friends! |
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| The infamous Goblin's Pub! |
