Bratislava - a surprising gem!

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Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, was not on our original itinerary but, as usual, Jeanette came up with the impromptu idea of a short visit at the expense of one day out of our planned week in Heviz, Hungary.

From the moment we walked up to our hotel and were greeted by the the young man at reception , Tebor, we felt somewhat special. No detail of comfort was spared in our room. Spacious and immaculately clean, everything we needed was present, even down to a shoehorn. Looking out from our window we could see the street outside lined with neat looking private homes and flowered gardens.

Just near the reception area was the in-house restaurant but we were not interested since we usually roam around to find a restaurant in some other area, just for a change of scenery UNTIL! Yes, until, we were told who the chef was. I had not a clue of course, but Jeanette quickly educated me. The chef had been influenced by a certain world famous chef called Jamie Oliver, having been on a show with him. Any one heard of him? As my friends know, my only fame to cooking is handling the barbecue set or cooking tuna fish and rice, so I would never have known about him.

Well, we decided to have a late lunch there before venturing into the city's heart. And, was it ever superb! We enjoyed a delightful Italian meal which was excellent throughout, topped by my favourite dessert - Creme Brulee. I have to say that I have set very high standards for that particular dessert. Before that luncheon in Bratislava, the kitchen on the cruise liner Azamara Journey held the honour for offering the best Creme Brulee, in my books. Even they were surpassed! We reckon that a meal such as what we had would be at least five times the cost in any white table cloth establishment in Paris or Brussels.

After lunch we took the tram to the city centre as we routinely do and walking around, we quickly realized why we had been told that people from Vienna travel the hour by train just to eat in Bratislava. Looking at the tempting menus displayed on the outside of the many enticing restaurants, we understood the reasons. And the prices! Mama Mia! They were well under Vienna's! We also noticed that most restaurants advertised live music daily.

We continued strolling and crossed the bridge over Bratislava's Danube to its well known UFO tower and enjoyed the panoramic views of the city. From there we observed several river cruisers berthed while passengers toured the city. We even observed some activity in the area we had walked through minutes before, to learn later that there was a big demonstration taking place. Afterwards, our curiosity took us close but police were heavily present so we kept a safe distance. We were told that some Fascists were angry about the presence of certain immigrants of a certain religious persuasion emanating from the Arab belt in the Mediterranean area. An onlooker told us that they had heard gunfire but we ourselves did not hear it. What we do know is that there were several police cars and armed officers throughout the old city centre. We never felt intimidated in any way; just safe, as usual.

As we continued walking we stumbled upon a lovely tree lined park and a folk festival in progress. I could not pull myself away and enjoyed the voices of their older generation and for the first time saw and heard the Slovak Cimbalom being played. The skill of the musician was great, my eyes transfixed as his hands hit the crisscrossing strings of his instrument in a vibrato pattern producing a most alluring sound, similar perhaps to marimba. His Zorba the Greek" was wonderful. Such talent, not wasted but certainly lacking exposure to western audiences. It was a deeply absorbing experience for me and having it all on video will give me wonderful memories in the future.

We were really pleased that we included Bratislava and will perhaps return if we are ever reasonably close by in the future. Perhaps during a trip to Poland with our daughter and her family, God willing.

I guess Bratislava would have to rate alongside Krakow as one of our unexpected, wonderful
surprises. I have a feeling that there will be others.

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Photos

On the way to Bratislava.
We had the cabin to ourselves for most of the second half of the journey. It was very comfortable.