Our target after Vienna was Budapest to catch our cruise on the Danube and we decided to take a train. The train ran right through Bratislava, Slovakia, so we decided to stay two nights on the way to Budapest. I was curious about the city and I wanted to add another country to our list of places we have been. A win all the way around.
Getting to Bratislava
After a short 1-hour train ride, we arrived at the train station in Bratislava. On the short taxi ride to our hotel, we could see one of the city’s landmarks. A restaurant and observation tower on the bridge from one side of the Danube to the other.
Unfortunately, the taxi driver dropped us off in front of an office building and said we had arrived. So out we go in search of our hotel. After asking people, walking through and then around the office building, we finally found the hotel on a pedestrian street behind the office building. It became obvious very quickly that fewer people spoke English here. The hotel location was great because we could just walk everywhere and the old town of the city just isn’t that big.
A Word About the Weather
You might have heard about a heat wave in Europe this summer. I think that will be the norm going forward but the Europeans aren’t willing to acknowledge it yet. But I can tell you, it was hot, really hot, the entire time we were there. We didn’t have to walk much to get totally soaked. Over the next month or so, I spent a lot of time rinsing out our clothes at the end of the day.
A Brief History
With its strategic location as a gateway to the Balkans, Bratislava has had a storied history. Evidence of settlement goes back nearly 5000 years. The Celts and Romans had their turns, followed by the Slavs. The dawn of the 2nd millennium saw Pressburg, as it was then known, become one of the main cities of the Kingdom of Hungary. While the Muslims conquered much of the kingdom by the 1500s, Bratislava remained Christian and became the capitol of the kingdom until the late 18th century.
Under the order of Emperor Joseph II in 1783, as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, most of the important state functions were split between Vienna and Buda (now Budapest). Further demotion came with the formation of Czechoslovakia after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the wake of World War I. It was at this time the Bratislava name was adopted. Bratislava wouldn’t become a capital again until 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
The Bratislava of today maintains its origins with lots of pedestrian streets and trams. We never needed a taxi of a bus, we could walk everywhere.
Vienna Suburb
One hundred years ago, there was a train station in downtown Pressburg. Located next to the opera house, guests could come in from Vienna to catch the latest Puccini production. Having said that, no one today would confuse the two cities. Bratislava is much smaller and less opulent, but it still has its charms.
Since it is located only an hour by rail from Vienna, many people commute from Bratislava because it has a lower cost of living (unless you can score one of those amazing subsidized Viennese apartments). The cost of food is less here as well as products in stores. It’s not uncommon for people to come from Vienna to grab some cheaper goods and a bite before heading back.
Castle on the Hill
Where else would the castle be? The number one thing to see in Bratislava is the big white castle on the hill. We visited while on a walking tour of the town. While you can’t go into the castle the view from the historic battlements is fantastic. We could see the entire city and the surrounding areas. So we decided not to go up to the restaurant/observation deck on the bridge I mentioned earlier.
Given its commanding position, the site has been the location of a castle since the 10th century. The fortress passed between many hands over the years but was eventually ruined by a fire in 1811, caused by careless soldiers stationed within. It wasn’t until 1953 that reconstruction began and it took 50 years. So, what you visit today is a very recent building.
At the base of Castle Hill, across from St. Martin’s Cathedral, is a Holocaust memorial with some very interesting photos of the damage to the town in the last World War. As the seat of the Kingdom of Hungary, the cathedral was where eleven of its monarchs were crowned, including Maria Therese, who reportedly had a great fondness for Pressburg.
Statues in Old Town
Some of the most photographed attractions of Bratislava are its sculptures, in human size, located all over its Old Town. This website has a detailed description of each of the statues. But the most famous and intriguing statue is the one of the man sticking out of the manhole cover just watching people. This statue was placed in 1997 and it is said that if you make a wish and rub his head your wish will come true. But I think there are lots of statues you can rub because there are so many on the streets.
In addition to the newer statues, there are plenty of guys on horses and of course the statue to the people killed by the Black Plague. That one is pretty easy to recognize because the same design is used in many places in Europe.
About the Food
So I may have mentioned this before but I didn’t like any of the food in Bratislava. As we went further east the food just got worse, so I pretty much stopped eating, but that was Ok. I did, however, like the beer and everyone knows that beer is food. After the beer, the next best thing was the fresh cherries. Since they were in season so we bought big packages of them several times in Eastern Europe.
Mike’s thoughts: Bratislava was an early stop in our Danube Days tour this summer. Honestly, although I found a couple things to eat, it had the least appealing food of the tour. Generally speaking, the flavors were too strong. The sour cabbage soup was too sour and the sheep cheese on the traditional potato dumplings was too strong. And although I like the flavor of garlic, the soup made from it was quite strong. Duck leg is a more muted dining option, I found. I agree with Diana about the beer being the best thing on the menu.
One famous Bratislava food is the Pressburg Bajgel. Some are filled with poppy seeds (lots of them) and some are filled with walnuts. Much as I do like pastry, I didn’t like these either but they look pretty.
What do you want to visit in Bratislava?
