We continue on our tour of central Europe with the p's & give our biased, unprofessional opinions of Bratislava, Slovakia.
Ian & I had been to Budapest & Vienna before, so this was the only truly unknown on the trip.I feel comfortable rolling with the punches and we've gotten ourselves into some pretty divey conditions (Ian sleeping in a closet in Rome, 26 hour train ride in August to Istanbul, a sub-zero train ride sleeping in the crowded hall back from Krakow), but things are different with your parents. They've worked so hard to visit you and take this vacation to places they never really wanted to go before you suggested them. As seen on previous posts, they're troupers, but I as worried about this tiny capital of an oft-forgotten country. The night before we were looking at things to do and came across one review that described the whole city as "smelling like cabbage". Here we go, hold your breath...
Bratilava Ratings:
Ratings will be done in Zlatý, for the Zlatý Bažant beer (Golden Pheasant).
Transportation
cheryl
2.5 zlatys -
We
walked all around the old town – and had our rental car from Hungary.
My rating reflects my dread with taking the car back to the rental guys –
who looked a bit thug-like (all ended up okay). However, I did worry a
bit if something happened to it, that it would haunt me forever. Parking
was also a be-atch, with having to drive down a dead-end street full of
tourist cars causing me to anticipate a long, difficult back-out.
Leaving town was hard – we were trying to get to the castle and the
directions weren’t quite clear – and because I was already car-freaked,
it made me a be-atch. Then I apologized to my wonderful family, followed
the directions and saw the wonderful castle.
Dave
3 zlatys -
Traffic was light and it was easy to get around. Parking did suck. City center was easy to just walk.
Ian
2 zlatys -
Seemed to have an extensive tram network, but having a car and it being such a small city we didn't need to use it. Although I must admit, driving seemed hectic with lots of on way streets and poor markings.
ebe
3 zlatys -
Our drive through Hungary and into Slavakia was less scenic and more boring. Luckily, the whole "scenic" drive from Budapest to Bratislava only took about 3 hours. Once inside the city, it is infinity walkable. Parking was ok to find, but paying for it was bizarre. Men in orange vests wander the streets and you pay them in increments of time. Strange.
Accommodations
cheryl
2 zlatys -
We
rented an apartment through AirBnB – that was priced right, convenient
and without many amenities. It was a spacious apartment with two
bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen and an outside porch. The building
itself was none-too-pretty. We were awakened by garbage trucks arriving
at a nearby restaurant early in the morning. There was no coffee maker
and most of the kitchen items were a bit dirty-looking.
Dave
2 zlatys -
We
rented an apartment through AirBnB – that was priced right, convenient
and without many amenities. It was a spacious apartment with two
bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen and an outside porch. The building
itself was none-too-pretty. We were awakened by garbage trucks arriving
at a nearby restaurant early in the morning. There was no coffee maker
and most of the kitchen items were a bit dirty-looking.
Ian
3.5 zlatys -
I like Igor's eastern European dry sense of humor. Great location int eh center of the city. Really pretty spacious rooms at a good price. The big drawback was that it was a little hostel-y feel with single beds and decor.
ebe
4 zlatys -
Actually wasn't AirBnB, unfortunately we couldn't find a place on the site. But this was a similar arrangement as we were able to stay in our own apartment with 2 bathrooms & 2 rooms - perfect! The back balcony looked out over a yard area where we watched a woman feed feral cats. Def a bit odd. The poor guy - Igor- renting it to us was nice, but seemed quite downtrodden.
Sights
cheryl
4 zlatys -
We
ran into a street fair when we were in the old town section of
Bratislava and found some wonderful folk art and handcrafts. Old town
had beautiful plazas and a large cathedral. There were lots of bronze
sculptures, many of them humorous in nature. Some of the buildings had
foundations that were over 1000 years old. There is even a walkway over
what used to be a moat. When we left old town we went to Bratislava Hrad
(Slovakian for castle). The castle has recently undergone an extensive
maintenance program – and is beautiful. There are walls around the
castle, some of which are many stories tall. From inside the castle
walls, there is a great view of the Danube River and the UFO Bridge. The
UFO Bridge is nicknamed this due to the spacecraft-looking restaurant
on top of the bridge. Outside the city, there are lots of buildings that
look like early communist block houses and not so pretty. We did see a
branch of my favorite store on our walk around town – amazon.sk!! We
also got ushered up to the sidewalks by a large parade of local men
accompanied by riot-gear cops for some sort of protest. According to
Eryn, these are fairly common throughout Europe – although I found it
very intimidating.
Dave
3.5 zlatys -
Nice
view from Bratislava Castle of the Danube. City center was clean and
well-maintained. Crowds were quite light and it was easy to get around.
Ian
2.5 zlatys -
The sights that are there are interesting. For example, the castle & old city center. Just compared to Budapest or Vienna, a bit lacking in sights.
ebe
4 zlatys -
One of the main concerns of visiting Bratislava was that there wouldn't be much to see. Several nasty internet reviewers were proved wrong as we enjoyed the lovely old town, little market, and magnificent castle. We lucked out with a beautiful weather and the town hit the mark of "charming". There wouldn't be enough to see for a multi-day trip, but there was too much to see for just a short one-night stay.
Dining
cheryl
4.25 zlatys
The Slovak Pub was recommended by our AirBnB host and a convenient walk from our apartment. At first it looked like it only had smoking areas, however, when we asked for non-smoking – they walked us through what seemed like miles of happy restaurant patrons eating wonderful food – to a quiet no-smoking section. The food was awesome. We even ordered appetizers and desserts. They specialized in many local foods from area farmers. There was a huge menu and I had my first Radler (a beer and Sprite mixture) that was better than it sounds. We had homemade bread and desserts of dumplings and strudels. Yummy!!
Dave
4 zlatys -
Quirky,
a little hard to find – sprawling once inside. Good, authentic homey
food. Quite tasty. One of the best meals (Top Five) that we had on our
vacation.
Ian
4 zlatys -
Went to the Slovak Pub and was blown away by how awesome a college bar it was. Food was hearty, drink was cheap, tummy was fool...Ian was happy.
ebe
4.75 zlatys -
When looking at reviews of where to eat, Slovak Pub kept coming up, but I just wasn't sure. When our host suggested it and we wandered up to it, it seemed like fate. We made our way up the stairs, saw a full front room, then were led through one room, then another..another....and another! This place is huge and offers a great selection of inexpensive dining options and some awesome brews. Locally brewed and interesting adaptions of black and tans, radlers, etc. Plus - bagels! They are becoming more common in Berlin, but I haven't had one in a year. Tasted like fatty heaven.
Overall
cheryl
4 zlatys -
Bratislava
is a beautiful European capital city with a lot to see – and we saw
very little of it. The skyline of the Old Town area is fascinating with
many steeples, towers and turrets. The dated buildings made the walk
through town much more interesting. The statues made it clear that the
people here have a great sense of humor and pride – I took photos of my
family sharing a bench with a bronzed Napoleon-type general, a large
antique bicycle that was made into a modern-day bike rack, beautiful
copper doors, buildings with dated cornerstones and a red
geranium-decorated town hall. Seeing the protesters was a bit
disconcerting, but made our visit infinitely more interesting. The
castle was beautiful and the views of the Danube River and the UFO
Bridge were amazing. There are a lot of shops and a museum I would have
liked to visit. We did stop by a church as we were walking that was very
plain on the outside and ornately beautiful inside. Slovakia, on the
other hand seemed quite financially depressed in many ways, which is
interesting as it is only an hour from here to Vienna, Austria. Would
definitely spend more time here if the opportunity arose.
Dave
3.5 zlatys -
Bratislava
where we stayed was very nice, the surrounding areas were full of many
old eastern European block housing. Enjoyed the sights that we saw.
Could have spent more time there.
Ian
4 zlatys -
