Bratislava, Slovakia

I should work in advertising...

Following our wonderful excursion in Vienna, it was time for us to slow down a bit. We were about halfway through the trip and the small city of Bratislava was a perfect place to catch our breath and take our time exploring. Only one night was necessary for this not-so-hoppin city, about four hours to actually see the place in its entirety. However as the saying goes, "It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it…"; Bratislava could be summed up this way in that small as it may be, it packs a lot of charm and beauty - and thankfully for us, almost no tourists. 

Being only one hour from Vienna it seemed getting here would be quite easy. Once again, for a Stelly, it proved to be the opposite. It all started back in Vienna when we arrived at the train station and could not find which platform was to be our train. Turns out we were at the wrong station, the correct one being on the other side of town. So after getting to that station via a streetcar not named Desire, we were stuck again not knowing how to find the platforms since this station was under construction and trying to find the platforms was comparable to looking for the "Goblet of Fire." 

Narrow street in Old Town

After finally getting on the right train, we were confidant the rest would go quite swimmingly…and again, I was wrong. We arrived in Bratislava in what appeared to the be the suburbs, and nothing looked familiar as the maps had indicated where we should have been. Wrong train station # 2 - how wonderful, and best of all we couldn't speak or read the language. By the grace of God a nice young woman waiting for the bus spoke broken English and directed us to the right bus number and told us where to get off. Had she not been there no doubt we would have waited for hours. Wherever she may be, I want to say, "Thank you."

We crossed the Danube River for the first time on our journey, and exited the bus just where we were told. Alex opened his smartphone and used the GPS to guide us through the narrow nowhere-close-to-even-levelled cobblestone alleys to our hotel, breaking a wheel off my suitcase in the process, which inconveniently didn't affect my having to haul it up five floors to the hotel lobby - it was a cheap place - but our "suite" was quite spacious and contained lavish decor circa 1960 with a hint of Soviet style…at least the T.V. was new and we had wifi. Though early in the day, our feet needed a rest and it was a swell time to figure out our route before setting off. 

Walking up to Castle hill

There isn't all the much to see in Bratislava, but the first and most striking landmark is Bratislava Castle, which sits high up on a hill overlooking the Danube. It is the oldest location in the city area having had inhabitants from the period between the Stone and Bronze ages. The present day castle is very different from the first built in the 10th century. This has been rebuilt several times, the current being a baroque style built by the Empress Maria Theresa (of Austria). However, a fire destroyed the castle in 1811 and it remained in ruins until the 1950s when it was reconstructed. While it is not as impressive as other fortifications around Europe  it has a pleasant demeanor with its white facades and red-tiled roofs that offer a spectacular view of the river and plains for miles around. The castle was closed the day we arrived, so we took time just to stroll through the small grounds and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful scenery. 

Bratislava Castle from the side

From castle hill, we worked our way down towards New Town to see the Presidential Palace, the second most impressive thing to see in Bratislava. On our way down, we happily passed a Chinese restaurant that by this point my other famous picky eater (not Miss Scarlett) was surely at least contemplating getting just a small taste of home - no matter how bad the quality may be - to cleanse his palate from all the heavy Germanic foods we had thus been consuming. To my dismay, he didn't stop inside. 

Old Town seen from Castle hill

We passed the outer street separating the old town from the new. Streetcars ran down the center, flanked by a few rundown buildings and one quaint little Spanish-looking church. We peeked inside to find a simple church with old wooden pews and very little decor on the walls -a church that Jesus Christ would actually find himself at home in. Reaching the Grassalkovich Palace we found a small fountain in the small square in front with a beautiful baroque and rococo fused facade. Apparently the inside is adorned with lavishly decorated rooms, grand halls, and splendid frescos depicting the Hungarian empire - after all it was a Hungarian noble who built the palace. Joseph Haydn, the famous composer, even premiered some of his works here. Sadly for us it was not open to the public. Not far from the palace we came back upon the old town marked by another church with an onion-shaped steeple. 

There are NO Coincidences 

Just before we walked over the little bridge back into Old Town, a peculiar sign caught my eye. Two men wearing bowler hats and a name like "Stanley's Pub" could only mean one thing: my late father was in Bratislava with me. A bit of the backstory, Laurel & Hardy were two slap-stick comedians from the 1920s thru1940s who were by far the most popular entertainers in Hollywood - even funnier than the Three Stooges. My father loved these guys and would record reruns of their shows on late night TV. We would watch them together, he, my brother, and me, and would not stop laughing. Some of our last times together in the months leading up to his passing were watching episodes of the show that I had downloaded on iTunes. And though I tend to live my life with no regrets, I must say that I regret not going into this pub and having a drink in memory of dad. Hopefully it will still be around the next time I visit. 

Back in Old Town, we strolled through Michael's Gate - the only Medieval city gate preserved - and down the cobblestone streets admiring our first taste of eastern european architecture. The town is the epitome of a time capsule, virtually untouched since the turn of the 19th century. Repair work has been done to damages from two world wars, but the result is an atmosphere of a time long gone by. It reminded me a lot of Rothenburg but much less touristy. We walked down one of the wealthier streets with magnificently ornate architectural features, including a giant entrance to the house of a wealthy merchant of Bratislava that was straight out of a period movie set. I am not sure if a lot of filming takes place here, but if not it certainly should. 

In the center of the old town, we came upon a small market under several chestnut trees adjacent to the main square. A lavish fountain that later was illuminated at night sits ever so brilliantly in the center. We perused the merchandise and selected a small magnet memento from our time in Slovakia before proceeding to the Old City Hall. The entrance faces the main square, but the real magic is located behind it in a smaller courtyard that reveals the old medieval architecture topped by the more modern baroque style, and like Vienna, colorful tiled roofs. The same as the town square, this courtyard also has a fountain honoring a virtue of the Slovak people - slaying evil. 

I took a short break to go find a post office for some stamps, which eventually led me back to the outside of Old Town. It was a cool post office, like the rest of the city, virtually unchanged from the last half-century with squeaky wooden doors, wood paneling on the walls and an old tiled floor. Stamps in hand, went back to rendezvous with Alex and we walked to the main street of Bratislava which has some upscale hotels, embassies - including the American one - and the Slovak National Theatre. The road was lined with giant pots overflowing with flowers, the sidewalks filled with cafes and restaurants, and a little ice-cream shop that was put right there for us. I had pistachio. 

Can I try on your hat?

Having seen most of the city to our satisfaction, we still had one unfulfilled objective to complete. Throughout the Old Town are statues of various figures doing most everyday events. The first picture in this article is an example. We wanted to find the rest and thus began wandering the streets looking for them. At last we found several in close proximity to each other, and set about taking our silly photos. One of the stautes is a person peeking around the corner of a building, camera in hand, snapping away as if spying on some CCCP official or adulterous couple. My favorite however is to the right, the man with the silly hat. Alex made quite a good impression on him. Just behind us was a chocolate shop with Slovak specialties. Perhaps it wasn't necessary, but when one is on vacation, it's compulsory to indulge in a few gourmet chocolates filled with various liqueurs - one was absinthe. 

When in Bratislava...

When Miss Scarlett and I were in Tibet, I met a nice lady from Bratislava who was traveling with her family. I told her of my intention to travel here and she had given me a few suggestions of things to do, and most importantly, food to eat. We settled on the Slovak Pub, a merry establishment just outside the Old Town which promised to provide good beer and food. And it did! Since we only had one night here, I wanted to try as much as I could, hence the platter for 2 people that I incorrectly viewed as appearing a little small:  dumplings with bryndza, pirogi with bryndza, and dumplings with cabbage. Alex watched on with a grin on his face that made my embarrassment exponentially worse than it already was. But as I have learned from Miss Scarlett, there comes a time in one's life when you stop caring what other people think and you just go for it. All of it was delicious. 

After our more than filling dinner, we returned to our top-floor hotel - no bags this time - and passed out before our heads hit the pillows. Our alarms were set a bit earlier to ensure we wouldn't miss our train to Budapest the next morning. Our journey to Eastern Europe was about to begin. 

Chinese in Bratislava??? YUCKKK