Date visited: June 2005
Post written by Laura
Throwback Thursday!
Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia and is a very easy day trip from Vienna where I was staying for 3 nights as part of a mini Austrian backpacking trip.
Bratislava lies at the foot of the Little Carpathian mountains and is next to the River Danube.
My friend and I purchased train tickets for only 14 euros each return (at the time in 2005) and boarded the train from Vienna which took just over an hour. On the way back we had to change trains at a place called Parndorf.
The communist part of the city with its grey high rise concrete towers can be seen in the ‘new town’ part of Bratislava.
Upon arrival we caught a bus from the train station and fortunately were able to pay for things in euros which meant we didn’t need to change any currency to Slovakian (SK).
We began at Bratislava Castle which wasn’t too far from the station and we could have actually walked instead! The original site for the castle dates back to the 9th century. It is built on a hill 85 m above the Danube River. Re-builds have taken place over the centuries and further restoration began in 2008 when the castle was painted white!
Michael’s Gate is one of the oldest buildings in the city and is the only city gate with preserved medieval fortifications. Michael’s Street leads up to the Gate and with its historic buildings and laid back cafe culture it was a gorgeous area of the city.
We spent most of our time in Bratislava wandering around the Old Town, admiring the colourful buildings and having drinks and snacks in pavement cafés. The prices at the time were very low, for example a chilled and refreshing bottle of coca cola in such a cafe was just one euro.
We didn’t do much else other then exploring the cobbled streets of the Old Town so I would consider one day in Bratislava to be enough time to spend there.
Located in the Old Town the Primatial Palace is where Napoleon signed a peace treaty ‘The Peace of Pressburg’ in 1805. This grand pink building was once the Archbishop’s house and is currently home to the City Council and the Mayor.
We didn’t go inside but apparently a couple of spectacular rooms are open to visitors which may be worth a look.
It was interesting looking back at these photos as I only remembered the castle and the quaint cobbled old town. My memory had erased the size and scale of the rest of the city and the old communist side which could be seen from the railway bridge.
Summary
Bratislava is well worth a visit for the reasons mentioned above. Rather than just a day trip from Vienna it might be worth considering a long weekend in Bratislava where, from a reasonably priced base, you could explore the surrounding lush green Slovakian countryside, hike in the Carpathian mountains or visit more castles.
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