Bratislava

When we left Budapest, we reached the section of the Danube that forms the border between Hungary and Slovakia. Today, we retraced our steps by road, and visited the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava.

We were aboard by 9:15 and set off, soon escaping the Vienna rush hour traffic. Our guide, Janet, was from Bratislava and gave us a potted history of the country as we made the  hour-long journey. We stopped off for a coffee and comfort break, then carried on, across the border into Slovakia. There’s no border checks going this way, but we had been warned to expect them on the way back, so we’d all brought our passports.

Bratislava is a small city of around half a million inhabitants, and the central, historic part of the city is all walkable. Firstly we stopped at the castle, as this is separate, and on top of a hill. We didn’t really have time to investigate the internal contents of the castle – that would take all day – so we admired the outside instead, then got back on the bus and down to the historic quarter. Janet gave us a walk-and-talk guide around the centre, pointed out the best souvenir shops and ATMs which won’t rip you off with additional charges, and then we made our way to our pre-arranged lunch spot, Zylinder.

 

Bratislava castle

The lunch was unremarkable – soup, chicken, cake – and afterwards we had a couple of free hours to explore the sights of Bratislava ourselves. We didn’t have a map so we followed the street signs to the Blue Church, which is a blue church. It’s not open inside, so we took our pictures then navigated again by street sign back to the historic quarter, and wandered around there a bit, taking pictures by the working man sculpture, which you have to rub for good luck, and also the Slovak National Theatre, cathedral, and statuary. It was again a blisteringly hot day, so we selected a local bar/restaurant with outdoor seating under the trees, and ordered a couple of home-made lemonades for ourselves. Eventually we had to get up and return to our rendezvous at the restaurant we’d lunched at, and took the bus home. 

The blue church. It's blue

Slovak National Theatre

Picturesque street scene

Lady Liberty outside the Parliament building

On the way back, they were doing border checks, so we had to pull over. However, it appears that the official recognised our driver (who had the unlikely name of Bob) - presumably because he plies this route on a fairly regular basis - and waved us through, so we weren't unduly delayed. It did mean that we don't get our passports stamped, though.

In the evening we’re going to a concert of popular classics by Strauss and Mozart, so expect to hear the Blue Danube waltz, Einer Kleiner Nachtmusik, Radetsky march, and similar. Dinner will be a special early sitting so that we can get away in time for this.