A Day in Bratislava

For my second trip, one of my roommates and I went to Bratislava, Slovakia. When I told my friends where I was going, some of them were confused about why I was traveling there instead of somewhere like Barcelona or Paris. But when else was I going to get a chance to go to Bratislava? There might not be big tourist draws to the capital city of Slovakia, but it’s only a four-hour bus ride from Prague and an important center of former Czechoslovakia’s history.

It’s not a huge city so we only went for one full day. We took a bus and stayed in a nice hostel right by the Old Town. The city center looks very similar to Prague or Český Krumlov with a maze of cobblestone streets and the main square with the town hall and a clock tower.

After exploring Old Town, we walked up the hill to the Bratislava Castle, which had an incredible view of the city. From there we could see the juxtaposition of Bratislava’s architecture. The historic center is surrounded by modern structures established during communism. The most obvious example is the futuristic UFO bridge that starkly contrasts with the red rooftops and church steeples just across the river.

We spent the rest of the day just wandering around the city. We saw the Elizabeth Church which looks like a wedding cake, the beautiful national theater building, and we found a walking trail along the Danube river.

One of the strangest things was how quiet the city was. We barely saw anyone in Old Town there were hardly any tourists in sight. It was a nice change from Prague’s constantly crowded tourist areas. We ended the day and finally found the entire Bratislava population at Urban House, a huge restaurant/cafe/bar with a Portland hipster vibe.

All in all, I’m glad I went. You don’t need more than a day in Bratislava, but it’s definitely worth a trip to see a new country, a new capital city, and understand more about Czech and Slovak history and culture.