Blogs from Bratislava, Bratislava Region, Slovakia, Europe - page 22

Making our way back to Prague from Budapest we spent the weekend in Bratislava. Bratislava seemed like a bit of an out of the way destination, especially considering its proximity to Vienna - which to this day I still have never been - but I was pleasantly surprised by what Bratislava had to offer. When we arrived we checked into an Ibis which was completely void of character in the true Ibis style. It did, however, allow for only a short walk into Bratislava's pedestrian zone. Just as the sun was setting on our first night we walked out into the main square in Bratislava's pedestrian zone and were pleasantly surprised to find a Christmas market in full swing. We enjoyed the typical central European hot mulled wine while mixing with what seemed to be mostly ... read more

Yesterday some friends of mine and I trekked over to Bratislava (in Slovakia - it is only an hour-long train ride.) It was a nice excursion for nine euros round-trip, and we saw some interesting Soviet Block era buildings... haha, seriously, the skyline is all level. The cube-shaped buildings are just so stereotypical. We went to the castle and looked at the old artifacts and had two amazing meals for the price of probably a couple cups of coffee in Vienna. There are two parts of Bratislava - the "Old City" and the "New City" and we stayed on the Old City side where there were pretty buildings, and the castle, etc. But looking across the Danube, we could see the New City skyline, as well as way off in the distance, Austria! It was pretty ... read more

We arrived in Bratislava in the early afternoon and immediately headed towards the oldtown. I must say, this city kind of surprised me…it manages to integrate the old-word with chic modernity. Right in the heart, I saw some of the coolest/swankiest bars and lounges outside of Miami. Our mission was to slow our pace and just stroll the streets. The city felt a bit sleepy, so our main source of entertainment was a scavenger hunt for the famous Bratislava statutes and then, much more importantly, the hunt for the perfect dinner location. It really was the perfect way to wind-down the trip. We settled on a spot that served traditional Slovakian cuisine, meaning, the national dish of Bryndzove…a creamy curd made of potato dough and sheep cheese sauce…hmmm hmm hm! Another bonus is the fact that ... read more

Po naozaj serioznych pripravach konecne nadisiel cas odchodu. Kedze sme sa nechceli hned prvy den vysilit, rozhodli sme sa pojat prvu etapu relaxacne - t.j. presunut sa do BA. Po srdcervucom luceni na Zilinskej stanici s pocetnym davom nasich obdivovateliek ("..bez darcekov sa nevracajte!"), sa nam konecne podarilo nastupit do vlaciku smer Podunajska nizina. Po chvilkovom vahani, kedy sa zrejme strojvodca nevedel rozhodnut ktorym smerom pohnut vlak, sme sa konecne dali do pohybu. Vlacik jednym smerom a my druhym smerom hladat po vagonoch miesta, kam usadime nase zadky a rupsaky. Ako sa dalo ocakavat, jedine volne miesto sa naslo v jedalenskom vozni. To bolo v konecnom dosleku vcelku pozitivne, ponevac casnicka bola mila a pivo uslo. Po uspesnom ubytovani sa v BA doslo este k poslednej rychlej (skoncila o druhej rano) reorganizacii nasich rupsakov a islo ... read more

A brief stopover in Bratislava has been just the ticket as an introduction to Slovakia. The capital is noticeable for the slower pace of life and laid back attitude of the locals compared to neighbouring countries. Although it seems the Slovakians are reserved I recommend experiencing this relaxed lifestyle in a small city of 440,000 inhabitants. There are just over 5,000,000 people that inhabit the country of Slovakia. The Velvet Revolution in Prague bought down the communist regime in 1989 and the Slovak parliament voted to declare sovereignty from the former Czechoslovakia, thereby becoming an independent country in 1993. When arriving in Bratislava the Soviet era apartment blocks on the outskirts of the city provide a stark reminder of the communist past, but strolling around the historic old town in a leisurely fashion as the locals ... read more