After a few days in Austria, we handed by Slovakia (the fourth nation on our Europe journey), on the best way to Czechia. Slovakia is a small landlocked nation recognized for its beautiful castles, folkloric traditions, and – surprisingly – automobiles!
Enjoyable reality: Slovakia is the world’s largest producer of automobiles per capita with main automotive firms like Volkswagen, PSA (Peugeot and Citroën) and Jaguar working within the nation. We didn’t spot any of these automobiles although, as the principle historic middle is pedestrianized, which made strolling round very nice.
Slovakia was previously a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later Czechoslovakia, so the Slovak tradition shares similarities with neighboring international locations. My first impression of Slovakia was that it was clear and orderly like Vienna, however the vibe within the cafes and retailers was a bit extra Bohemian.
Most locals we encountered in memento retailers and eating places in Bratislava had been pleasant and welcoming and the value of meals and souvenirs was usually extra inexpensive.
Bratislava is the smallest capital metropolis within the European Union and the one capital on the planet that borders two international locations (Austria and Hungary), making it best for day journeys. Bratislava lies alongside the Danube River, surrounded by vineyards and mountains and crisscrossed with forested mountaineering and biking trails.
The primary sights and landmarks within the historic middle are all inside strolling distance of one another close to the Previous City, so occurring a self-guided strolling tour is an effective choice for these with restricted time.
Listed below are some issues you are able to do (together with free sights) in Bratislava on brief visits.
Go to Bratislava Fortress
Bratislava is called the “Metropolis of Kings” because it’s the capital of a number of kingdoms and empires, together with the Kingdom of Hungary and the First Czechoslovak Republic. Slovakia ranks third on the planet within the variety of preserved castles of the XIII-XVII centuries designated by UNESCO.
The reconstructed Bratislava Fortress, one of many metropolis’s most well-known landmarks, is perched atop a hill overlooking the previous city and the Danube River. If you happen to’re on a brief go to, the grounds and gardens are free to discover. If in case you have extra time to spare, you possibly can spend a few hours and pay to enter the citadel, go to the museum and climb up the citadel towers.
Wander across the Previous City
Bratislava’s Previous City is a stunning, pedestrian-only, 18th-century space with all the main landmarks. This small, however preserved medieval metropolis middle is filled with charming cafes and boutiques, church buildings and retailers inside clear environment and cobblestone streets.
I admit I didn’t do a lot analysis earlier than our journey and we missed just a few sights. Notable landmarks embody the Blue Church, the Bratislava Riverfront and cultural establishments. The Previous City is the place a lot of the overseas states’ embassies and Slovak establishments are positioned, together with the Nationwide Council of Slovak Republic; the Summer time Archbishop’s Palace, the seat of the Authorities of Slovakia, and Grassalkovich Palace, the seat of the President of Slovakia. Even in case you don’t know the historical past behind every constructing, all of the buildings astound architecturally.
Cross Michael’s Gate
Michael’s Gate is a distinguished landmark in the midst of the capital, with a historical past spanning over seven centuries. Among the many oldest city buildings, that is the one metropolis gate with preserved medieval fortifications. The gate was constructed someday within the yr 1300, whereas its current kind is the results of baroque reconstructions in 1758 when the statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was perched on high.
The tower now incorporates the Bratislava Metropolis Museum, which displays medieval weapons. The sixth flooring of the tower has a balcony that provides views of the Previous Metropolis, the Fortress, and surrounding areas for these keen to pay the admission charge. You may climb to the highest of the tower for €4.50 to get views over the previous city.
It’s straightforward to overlook, however you can even discover a zero-kilometer with world sides proper below the gate. This landmark exhibits the gap of European and world capitals from Bratislava. It was cool to face on the spot from the place all distance measurements are made. The street previous Michael’s Gate incorporates quite a lot of luxurious retailers comparable to Christian Dior and Swarovski the place you possibly can browse, memento shops and cafes.
Snap images with quirky bronze statues
It’s arduous to not discover all of the bronze human-sized statues everywhere in the Previous City. These figures depicting historic or notable personalities together with Napoleon’s Military, Schone Naci, Hans Christian Andersen, and extra are a few of the most photographed sights of Bratislava.
One of the well-known statues, that drew the longest line from vacationers was that of Cumil, a employee peeking out from a manhole. This whimsical depiction of a sewer employee was created by Slovak artist Viktor Hulík in 1997 as a part of a undertaking to revitalize the Previous City after the communist rule. Right this moment, vacationers seek out and snap images subsequent to the assorted statues.
Dig into distinctive Slovak specialties
Slovak delicacies depends on seasonal veggies and fruits grown in Slovak gardens. Easy substances like potatoes, meat, cabbage, flour, mushrooms, onions, milk merchandise and garlic are used to whip up rustic, heartwarming Slovak dishes.
Slovakia’s nationwide dish is bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings with a particular sheep’s cheese known as bryndza), which has similarities to a gnocchi with feta cheese. Different specialties really helpful to vacationers embody goulash (tomato-based beef stew), Kapustnica (a bitter cabbage soup) and Vyprážaný syr (deep-fried cheese).
Numerous bakeries promote Trdelník, a candy, crispy dough pastry rolled round a stick and topped with walnuts, sugar or cinnamon. Bakeries like Pressburg had been additionally promoting “bajgels” or conventional Bratislava rolls, much like a bagel however with a half-croissant-like kind as a substitute of spherical like a donut.
Purchase crafts at ‘the Oldest Store in City’
Whereas strolling round, we stumbled upon Obchod v Muzeu, which branded itself as “the Oldest Store in City”. This conventional present store felt like a museum with previous posters and memorabilia displayed. Strolling round this pretty little store felt like stepping again in time.
The store bought stunning conventional presents, together with small dolls, postcards, meals merchandise and craft beer. We discovered bottles of wine, fantastically packaged goodies, garments bearing conventional embroidery, ornaments and quirky cat postcards right here. I extremely suggest you try this store even in case you don’t plan to purchase something.
Pattern the native brews
Among the native alcoholic drinks of Slovaks are Borovička, a standard spirit spiced with Juniper Berries and Slivovica, a blue-plum brandy. We noticed just a few craft beer bars together with Bratislavka, which supplied craft beer tasting, but it surely felt too early within the day to drink throughout our go to.
One other attention-grabbing bar is Slovak Folklore Backyard, a 600-year-old cellar bar that serves conventional meals.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for mainstream beers, the most well-liked manufacturers in Slovakia are Zlaty Bazant, also called Golden Pheasant and Urpiner. Different well-liked beers embody Saris, Steiger, Kaltenecker, Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, and Corgon, to call just a few. Czech beer is usually drunk in lots of pubs as effectively. Slovakia is thought for producing fabulously flavored honey.
You will discover honey-covered nuts and medovina, or honey wine. There are dry and candy varieties, finest served after dinner as a dessert wine. As a novel memento, we took house a bottle of Medobeer with honey.
Whereas we solely spent just a few hours in Bratislava on the best way to Prague, we loved the brief and candy go to. The capital had a pleasant small-town really feel and didn’t really feel too overwhelming.
Different issues to do
We didn’t have time to go to this, however one other high attract Bratislava is the UFO Tower which has an open-air remark deck positioned above the Danube River. On clear days, you possibly can get pleasure from a 360° view so far as 100 kilometers.
There’s a restaurant (reservations required) and bar right here and you’ll go on Skywalks exterior for an added thrill.
Subsequent nation: the Czech Republic/Czechia!
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