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Bratislava Slovakia
My wife and I recently took a trip to Bratislava Slovakia, it fit our criteria of off the beaten path, and a rich history. While we were there we were asked several times, you came to Slovakia on purpose, which goes along with the humility of the people. We arrived in Bratislava in the evening, we were beat and only did a short walk around the block then and rested up to explore the city in the following days.
The Old Cathedral of Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois, was built between 1717 and 1727, while some interior work continued until the 1800’s. to the left is the old monastery, that was converted to an administrative building by the communists.
Ján Kuciak & Martina Kušnírová Memorial
Ján Kuciak & Martina Kušnírová Memorial
Ján Kuciak and his fiance Martina Kušnírová were murdered in their home on February 21st 2018, after Kuciak a journalist uncovered tax fraud and such, involving several businessmen and government officials. The murders sparked the protests across Slovakia since independence, the protests caused the resignations of several top officials.
Stará tržnica
Stará tržnica
The Old Market, was completed in 1910, and served as a market until 1960, when it was converted to a television studio and then a warehouse.
In the 90’s, the city of Bratislava regained control of the facility, and returned it to being a weekend market, in 2012 the market was renovated to it’s current state, and now host numerous events and concerts throughout the year, in addition to the Saturday market.
The architecture is beautiful with the exposed beam and supports.
Kaplnka sv. Jakuba
Kaplnka sv. Jakuba
The ruins Saint James’s Chapel were uncovered in the early 1900’s during the excavation of The Old Market. The catacombs, pictured, are 6 levels deep, and have been studied, as well as the human remains that were entombed there
Around Kamenné Námestie
I have no idea what this building is called, but I really like the facade.
I thought this was an interesting take on a clock tower, with bells that chime, regularly.
The king reaches for the moon.
Just a cool random mosaic, on the side of a building
The Blue Church
The Blue Church, is a relative youngster, compared to the others in Bratislava, built in 1913. The church get its name from the fact that it is blue, the roof is blue, the walls are blue, it is blue on the inside as well
The blue theme, continues to the interior, of this beautiful little chapel.
The blue is everywhere, is blue. If you you like blue, you will love this church.
Near The Danube
The Duck’s Fountain
in Šafárikovo námestie, a nice little fountain of children harassing ducks.
Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising or UFO bridge. This bridge crossing the Danube, was completed in 1972 after 5 years of construction. In the top of the tower is a restaurant, and an observation deck on top of that.
Ľudovít Štúr Statue
One of the creators of the Slovak language, to unify all Slovaks
Lurking in the shadows is a Tatra T3 Trolly the most widely used and reliable tram cars in the world.
Closing out the day is the Slovak National Theatre, a beautiful building, at the head of Hviezdoslavovo námestie
Bratislava Tourism
Bratislava Slovakia is truly a beautiful emerging city, that can be explored in a couple of days, it is unspoiled like many other European cities, that provides a great value for you money.
- Is Bratislava worth visiting? Very much so, as is most of central Europe
- How can I spend 2 days in Bratislava? Visit the old city, and Bratislava Castle
- For more information visit Visit Bratislava
Is Bratislava Safe
In a word, yes. One of the safer cities in Europe, we felt safe everywhere we went, I am sure there are some sketchy parts of the city that you should probably avoid. We made several trips to the train station and we were never approached by bigger or scammers and such like at the main train station in Prague.
bratislava currency
Slovakia is a Euro zone country, if you have Euro’s you’re good to go, there are quite a few mainstream back with ATM’s for you to get cash, remember to decline conversion. Most shops and restaurants take cards, so it is not a big hassle.
bratislava slovakia language
The language spoken here is Slovak, but if you only speak English, you should not have any major issues. speak a little Czech, and I was able to navigate just about everything, even in the small towns we visited
bratislava to vienna
Or Vienna to Bratislava, there are at least 4 ways I can think of off the top gf my head.
- Bus: Flix and RegioJet have several busses daily and a round trip ticket going to cost under $20 USD
- Train: OBB (Austria Railroad) and ZSSK (Slovak Railroad) Round trip tickets will be under €25 Euros as long as you book direct, there are plenty of services that will sell you the exact same ticket for €50 or more.
- Car Service: We used Welcome Pickups, from the Vienna airport directly to our hotel, and is was just over $100 USD, we have used them several times, and have had little or no issues, we usually use them when we are arriving late and don’t want to deal with busses and trains.
- Boat: The boat option Twin City Liner, is probably the most fun, and is the most expensive, where a round trip is going to cost you more then €70. the boat is fast they publish that it only take 1 hour and 7 minutes to make the run.
bratislava hotels
There is representation of just about every major hotel chain in Bratislava, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton and others. Hotels in the city are very affordable running around $100 a night. We chose the AC by Marriott, near the presidential palace, a short walk to the old city, and many other destinations.
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