#282 Before ApacheCon

I’m in Bratislava, Slovakia, for ApacheCon Community Over Code Europe.

On my way, I stopped for a long layover in Abu Dhabi and a day trip in Vienna before catching the bus to Bratislava.

After a hot Kerala summer, we (except the Kochi and Trivandrum folks, probably) were relieved by the early monsoons. It is for this reason, I couldn’t believe I voluntarily decided to go out in the scorching Emirati sun.

Still, I enjoyed my time there, mostly indoors at the Louvre and the Yas Mall after an early morning visit to the Grand Mosque. I will probably be back when I have more time and have my friends living here chauffeur me around.

The Louvre was exceptional. The Abu Dhabi version of the French museum features artifacts from around the world and beautifully ties them together through a narrative of shared ideas and culture. It reminded me a lot of the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore, which reflects the pan-Asian heritage of Singaporeans.

The more I travel, the more I realize that the world has become one giant village. Even though this might be a bit of a stretch, I find myself relating to a twentysomething from Europe, similar to people who live 10 minutes away from my home in Kerala.

After the layover in Abu Dhabi, I boarded an early morning flight to Vienna. I had forgotten how good the public transportation is in Europe and had a mild panic about finding my way around, but it turned out fine.

I made it to Vienna Central Station by 8 in the morning and decided to have a big breakfast to prepare for the long day ahead, which involved sightseeing, traveling to Bratislava, and preparing for the conference.

While I was having the big breakfast, I met a software engineer living in the city. We talked about projects we were working on, developer culture in Europe and India, and more. He helped me plan my Vienna day trip and accompanied me to my first stop, the Belvedere Museum.

Nothing had prepared me for the art in Belvedere. It starts with the building—it is a work of art. This is true for most buildings I found in Vienna.

Belvedere houses some of the most famous works of art from some of the most famous artists spanning centuries. I only knew about Monet and van Gogh, but I found some new favorites.

I spent the rest of the little time I had walking the city around the historical center, taking it all in. I will miss these buildings and streets.

I returned to the Central Station early because of my irrational paranoia about missing my bus, but I didn’t run into any issues. I will also miss the easy-to-use public transport.

The bus ride to Bratislava was quick and only took about an hour. I decided to walk to my hotel on the small hill on the outskirts of the city, but I might have discounted how tired I was already after walking about 30,000 steps. But the city has a charm that makes it worth the walk.

I had questioned why the conference was in Slovakia, of all places in Europe, but after the walk to my hotel, I concluded that this beautiful city is indeed a great place to talk about open source.