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Published: July 26th 2011
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On advice from our friendly hotel receptionist, we set out this morning to take the tram into the city to explore Bratislava’s old town. Tram tickets could be purchased from a machine at the next tram stop but one, a mere 5 minutes walk away. The walk over, we realised there was no ticket machine at the tram stop, so approached a young man who luckily spoke some English. He was unsure where we might find a ticket machine, but suggested asking at the petrol station across the road. He then insisted on taking us over and asking the attendant on our behalf (in Slovakian). The gist of the response was that vandals ruin the machines at some tram stops so they are located away from the stops, in this case the lady thought we should look around the corner at the entrance to a factory. Sure enough, we found the machine and managed to purchase our tickets, thanks to the young man who missed his tram in the process of helping us.
We rode the tram for a little longer than the 15 minutes our ticket allowed and reached the centre of the city where signposts point to the nearby
old town. Although it wasn’t raining the day was overcast with a cool breeze, but in spite of this we had a wonderful time wandering through the streets of beautiful old buildings, admiring the well-preserved and freshly painted facades. Everywhere there was an impression of colour, liveliness and welcome, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Over a bite of lunch in one of the many inviting cafes we got chatting with a friendly couple from England who were visiting some of the same places we have seen. As we have said before, meeting and talking with people is one of the best parts of travelling.
We discovered the usual array of traditional statues celebrating the lives of well known local people as well as a delightful collection of modern sculptures around the city. One in particular was of a man climbing out of a manhole in the street. This was a great opportunity for a human sculpture to take advantage of the situation and to give members of tour groups the chance to part with their euros.
With a few postcards ready to send off, we checked the whereabouts of the post office with the local Information Centre, but the
building still proved elusive. No problem, we dropped into the nearest official looking office which we think was the Magistrates Court, asked the question and were immediately taken outside by a helpful young woman and shown just where to find the Post Office. Our impression of the city as a friendly welcoming place seemed to be right.
The Danube flows through Bratislava, so we made our way to the river and walked off some of our lunch. This great river appears and reappears in our travels. It is wide and swift, but definitely not blue.
Bratislava appears to be a city that has kept and preserved its heritage parts and also has plenty of 21st century buildings and services for its population. Perhaps this city did not experience the effects of war damage to the same extent as other places, but whatever the reason, this is a place well worth visiting. Thank you Bratislava!
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marian
non-member comment
This
city is great and beautiful and compare 2 Prag really clean.i Love Bratislava and this city got a great opera buildings and shoppings as well