We left Vienna this morning after breakfast in our lovely hotel and drove to Bratislava, on our way to Budapest, Hungary. Although Bratislava is only an hour drive away from Vienna, it is the capital city of another country, Slovakia. Bratislava is actually right on the borders with Austria and Hungary. Slovakia formed its own country after splitting from Czechoslovakia in 1993 when the Eastern Bloc collapsed. Back then, I was surprised at the speed of this divorce between Czechia and Slovakia. Now I understand why. There is not much common between Czechia and Slovakia! Czechoslovakia was not an equal union and was dominated by Czechs (the elite and metropolitan) while Slovakia was looked down upon as rural and unsophisticated. Since joining EU, the economy of Slovakia has grown tremendously. It has become the largest car producer per capita in the world mainly due to western investment to take advantage of the skilled labor and proximity to Western Europe. This is evident in the number of auto plants we drove past on the way there.
Bratislava was once the center of the Hungarian Empire from 16th-18th centuries. This explains why the Old Town has so many beautiful buildings and atmospheric streets. Since we only had limited time to explore the city, we focussed on the Old Town area after parking our car. We started our walk at Michael’s Gate which is the only gate left from the original medieval fortification around the city. The main pedestrian street, filled with cute shops and charming back alleys, led to the Main Square where we found the Old Town Hall. This is one of the oldest buildings in Bratislava and is beautifully preserved. On its tower wall, we could still see an embedded cannonball shot by Napoleon’s soldiers in 1809. We saw several other embedded cannonballs in various parts of the Old Town during our walk illustrating the horror facing the population during the siege.
We walked a bit further through the courtyard and passed the Primate’s Square and more historic buildings into the modern parts of the city. After visiting our favorite supermarket on this trip, Lidl, we went back to our car and continued our 2.5h drive to Budapest.
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| Sumptuous breakfast in Radisson (see my custom ordered crepe?) |
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| Bridge before Michael's Gate |
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| Main pedestrian street from Michael's Gate |
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| Charming alley |
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| Can you spot the embedded cannonball in the wall? |
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| Main pedestrian street from Michael's Gate |
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| This restaurant is famous for its beautifully decorated interior, complete with stained glass, carved lamps and chandeliers to go with their food |
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| Posing with a statue in the Main Square |
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| Yes, Bro! |
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| Old Town Hall - spot the cannonball? |
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| Primate's Square |
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| Courtyard behind Old Town Hall |
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| Pretty street in Old Town Bratislava |
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| Famous UFO building on bridge leaving Bratislava. It is a restaurant |
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