Trip to Bratislava

President's Palace, Slovakia.
see all photos »

Trip to Bratislava

I had got the train from Vienna to Bratislava where I was to spend two nights. The train journey was fine and took about an hour. Managed to get my hands on a coke and donut for the journey. Quite an uninteresting journey  with mostly flat countryside and not even that many towns en route from Austria. Passport was checked by Austrian and then Slovak police on arrival in Bratislava.

Outside is a spectacular water-feature that the makers of Groundforce would be proud of.

Bratislava Castle.
see all photos »

On arrival I checked in and went in exploration of the Castle, Old Town and shops. The old town architecture and castle looked splendid. Also got great views over the River Danube from up high at the unguarded Slovak Parliament. In this day of heightened security it felt as though you could freely in the grounds of the castle and parliament if you so wished!

A good day for dining outside on the cobbled streets of the old town... I had steak, egg 'n' chips with some rabbit food salad. It was quite tastey but the giant slab of steak was so raw it I expected it to get up and trot off the plate.

Bratislava Castle.
see all photos »

First impressions were that this was a stylish touristy part of town where there must be restaurants to suit all tastes.

A quick bit of research into pubs and clubs for the evening and then back to the hotel for a snooze to recharge one's batteries. So we'd forgotten about the last stop in Vienna (as the song says "It means Nothing to me") because Bratislava seemed to have more nightlife in its fairly compact city centre. Maybe Vienna was too spread out or too conservative. We  ventured into a trendy bar, then into Havana which was vibrant!  Finally, off to the Circus Barok for some clubbing on a boat on the River Danube. It was great but full of smoke - there ain't no smoking ban there and it looks like 80% of slovaks puff the night away!

eating out in Bratislava, Old Town.
see all photos »

On my second and last day here I walked to the President's residence at the north of the City. It was very grand white building with fancy gates and plenty of flags. Outside was a spectacular water-feature that the makers of Groundforce would be proud of. There was some sort of traditional musical parade on at the time to entertain the tourists and I also had a walk down to the River Danube and back up through the shops. Dined outside once again  and watched the world go by in the bright sunshine and a temp of 28'c.

Bratislava Old Town.
see all photos »

At night I ate out again before venturing in search of a bar showing the football. Found a place which had a German TV channel and watched the game with a mix of Scots and English.  Into the final moments of the game with England leading 1-0 when Brazil sneaked a late equaliser - woo hoo! I was pleased and a draw seemed like a fair result.

Overall, Bratislava was an excellent place especially for good evening venues for drinking and dancing until daylight. Slight danger of being overcharged if you're drunk and you're trying to figure out the Slovak currency. In the daytime its easy to get around by tram or on foot. Most of the main sites are in Walking distance.