Blogs from Bratislava Region, Slovakia, Europe - page 5

Bratislava has been a whistle stop tour, with me leaving tomorrow for Budapest, however I'm so glad I got to see it. It's been a really fun afternoon of mixed weather, historic sites, cobbled streets, a lesson in Pharmacy, a protest against Islamic Rights on National Refugee Day and an Alien invasion in the form of a UFO. Let me explain. The historic 'Old Town' is where I'm based and again, I have lucked out on the accommodation. I am doing AirBnB and my room is really lovely and looks out onto the Blue Church. It therefore made perfect sense after a freshen up (it was needed after PT (public transport) for 4 hours) that I took to the streets again. That sounds so wrong, but you know what I mean. :) It is everything an ... read more

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, the southern half of what used to be Czechoslovakia. At one time, it was a place where Europen royalty had homes and conducts trade across the continent. Then after the fall of the Hapsburg Empire and the later takeover of Communism, the area fell into deep depression and economic hard times. The barricades between Bratislava and neighboring Austria were austere. And there was no access to Western news or customs. The isolation was extreme and had a deep impact of the area. However, following the fall of Communism in 1989 and the separation from Czechosolvakia in 1993, the area began to recover slowly after four decades of despair. Fortunately, much of the early architecture still remains, although it is in need of repair. The city is charming and beautiful is ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! Today has been a very interesting day with many good meetings. This morning Jay was the first to leave since he had an early train to Vienna, my own one was about an hour later. So, I said goodbye to Jay with a promise to try and meet again in Berlin in July and a bit later I said goodbye to Jakub and Mark, both of whom I will meet again on Wednesday. Neither Katy nor Christine was up yet. At the train station my train was 20 minutes delayed but it was okay as it gave me a chance to get a little something to eat. The train ride though was really fun as I got to share a cabin with two lovely ladies from Japan. They were talking a lot ... read more

Of all the places I expected to be on this trip, this has got to be the unexpected of the unexpected. I had no intention of going to Slovakia on this trip, other than maybe sleeping through it on the night train I had booked for right now between Budapest and Poland. But things change, and that's great. This is my 2nd time in Bratislava, but the first time was only about 6 hours one day while I was staying in Vienna. This time, I get to experience more than just a meal and a few of the highlights. Already, I've enjoyed myself immensely! The train ride was smooth. I couldn't believe it, though I did make sure to catch the train that was going all the way to Berlin. I figured if the Germans were ... read more

On the 24th of April 1944, two Jewish men named Rudi Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia with an incredible story. They claimed to have just escaped from a German concentration camp known as Birkenau located in Poland. The escapees met secretly with Jewish leaders and over the next two days they wrote highly detailed reports regarding the operations in Birkenau and provided detailed drawings of the gas chambers and crematoria there. By this time, Slovakia, an ally of Germany, had already sent 60,000 of the country's 87,000 Jews to their deaths. The publication of the report in Swiss newspapers later that year was too little too late and by the end of the war it is estimated that only 300 Slovakian Jews had survived out of the original 87,000 children, women and men ... read more