Blogislava, Bratislava

The last time I have written about traveling was all the way back in May, and that was about our trip to Milan that we took on Valentine’s Day (Matt’s birthday). We wanted to update everyone on our experience with COVID-19, but after that blog, I felt mentally exhausted at the prospect of maintaining writing and keeping up with everything. In my head, I knew that I only had one more blog to catch up on, but between pandemic wedding planning and trying to still be productive at work, I skipped out on writing about Bratislava, which we went to at the beginning of March. BUT, now that we are somewhat traveling again and now that I have been dabbling with inspiration for a new possible section of the blog, I figured it was more than time to fill you in on how surprisingly fantastic Bratislava was and how different it was from what we anticipated.

Before we get in to the itinerary details, I must be honest and tell you that my only prior impression of Bratislava was from the cinematic masterpiece, “Eurotrip.” While most parts of that movie are extremely accurate (like the ease with which they entered the Pope’s chambers in the Vatican), they portrayed Bratislava as a very poor, Eastern European country, where a quarter can buy you the nicest hotel suite with a five-star dinner. Bratislava, Slovakia is by no means the most expensive place we’ve been (OSLO), but it was very reasonably priced, modern yet filled with a rich history, and a great place to spend a weekend. It was also the first place we traveled to long distance (~5 hours) by train! Planes are obviously the fastest mode of transportation between countries, but by the time you get to the airport, go through security, wait, have layovers, etc., I would MUCH rather be on 1-2 trains and get straight there. For Matt, he loved having the ability to get up and walk around on the train while also simultaneously enjoying the incredible views of the Austrian countryside. With how much we loved traveling by train, and how much safer it is relatively speaking (COVID-wise), we are now trying to only take trains as much as possible when we travel.

We left for Bratislava on Saturday morning with our detailed itinerary all planned out. We arrived at noon and made our way to our hotel, the Hotel Danubia Gate, which was super reasonably priced, a five minute walk to Old Town, and provided an impressive free breakfast (this matters a lot to Matt haha). When we checked in and freshened up, we walked to Old Town, and grabbed a quick lunch while waiting for the first of our free walking tours to start. The tour was entitled the “20th Century Tour,” as it covered the stories and experiences of the Slovak people during WWII and the subsequent communist era (when it was still part of Czechoslovakia). The Slovak role in WWII is quite interesting as it was a member of the Axis powers and a client state of Nazi Germany. The alignment with the Nazis was strongly motivated by the desire to become autonomous from Czecho-Slovakia (the hyphenated name here is the correct form in this period), with the alternative decision leading to even further division of Slovak lands between Hungary, Poland, and the rest of Czecho-Slovakia. The territorial losses that occurred were largely blamed on the Jews, which led to the passing of the Jewish Code, one of the strictest anti-Jewish laws in Europe. As we made our first stop on the tour to Heydukova Street Synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in Bratislava, we were struck by the negotiations made between Slovakia and Nazi Germany. The Slovak government arranged for the mass deportation of Jews to Poland - they arranged for the transportation and paid Nazi Germany for the “resettlement” of each Jew. Ultimately, ~69,000 of the original 89,000 Jews in the country were murdered in the Holocaust with fervent antisemitism persisting throughout the subsequent Communist era. Now, the synagogue that remains is still a place of worship and a national monument.

Michal’s Gate in Old Town (Click image below for more pics of Old Town)

Heydukova Street Synagogue - the only synagogue in Bratislava

Next, we headed to Liberty (or Freedom) Square, which currently houses the Slovak government and has a massive fountain of a linden flower. Unfortunately, the fountain has not worked since 2007 with no evident plans for its restoration. We then walked to the Slovak Radio Building, which is shaped like an upside down pyramid. Though its structure is defended by architects, it has been included as one of the 30 ugliest buildings in the world, which infuriates the locals. Matt did not think it was too bad, but I thought it was an eye-sore all things considered haha.

(Click the image below for a close up version of the linden flower)

Finally, we made our way to the Slavin War Memorial, which had a stunning view of Bratislava. The cemetery and monument memorializes the Soviet troops who were killed during the liberation of Bratislava at the end of WWII. The six mass graves hold the remains of ~7000 Soviet soldiers. The memorial itself was really a beautiful area at the top of a hill. It was very serene and quiet, but you could see the Bratislava Castle, the UFO tower, and other prominent structures within Bratislava from up there as well. It was out of the way, but I am really happy the tour made a point to take us there. As we were approaching evening time, we finished the tour near Old Town at the memorial created for Ján Kuciak, a Slovakian investigative journalist who was murdered with his wife in 2018 for exposing top Slovakian politicians for tax fraud (a lot of Mafia/mobster vibes going on with these politicians). The murders shocked Slovakians as Kuciak was the first journalist murdered since their independence, propagating a massive desire within the people to change the political party and inciting protests throughout the country. Coincidentally, we were in Bratislava on the day of elections and the tension was palpable. Locals were on edge about which parties would have however many seats in Parliament. The results of the election showed a defeat of the current Smer-SD party and the rise of the OLaNO party, which is short for “ordinary people and independent personalities,” and whose platform was based on “anti-corruption” in politics. I do not want to insert my opinion here on the results, but I do recommend reading up for yourselves on Slovakian politics  if you’re interested - it is fascinating and you may notice some parallels. 

Click image below for more pics of the War Memorial

Click image below for more pics of the stunning views from the top of the memorial

The memorial made for Ján Kuciak which led to a massive political shift within Bratislava

After the tour, we ate some traditional Slovakian food, consisting of cauldron goulash, dumplings with bryndza sheep cheese, pirogi with sheep cheese, and dumplings with cabbage and bacon. It was all quite good, but there was a LOT of lactose haha. Before heading back to our hotel, we walked by the Blue Church, which also was the first place we went to the next morning as it was so unique. The church has a definite Disney vibe and has so many different architectural blends featured. The inside was adorned with blue and gold as well and it was definitely a fairytale church.

The Blue Church (Click image below for more pics of the interior and exterior of the church)

Our traditional Slovakian feast

Following our second visit to the Blue Church, we went to our second free walking tour, the “City and Castle Tour.” This tour was generally more informative on the current lives of people in Bratislava and what the city itself now has to offer. We started in the Main Square in Old Town and were told about the plethora of statues that are all over the streets. My favorite statue is the “Man at Work,” which is a communist era worker sticking his head out of a manhole. According to rumor, he’s there so he can look up women’s skirts, which seems to be confirmed by his creepy smile. There are also more serious statues depicting the life of famous Slavic poets and even Hans Christian Andersen. These statues are in the same square with the beautiful National Opera building.

“Man at Work” (Click image below for more pics of statues and the National Opera Building)

We then walked to St. Martin’s Cathedral, a 15th century Gothic cathedral along the city walls. It is on the way to Bratislava Castle, but most importantly, was a coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary. As we walked along the walls to Bratislava Castle, we saw a plaque dedicated to the Jewish man who invented Krav Maga in Bratislava, which was really nice because there is not a lot of good news where Jewish people are concerned in Bratislava. The hike up to the Castle was rather long, but the view from the top was gorgeous. We could see St. Martin’s (obviously), the UFO tower, and interestingly enough, two other capital cities of two other countries. Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is extremely close to Vienna (the capital of Austria), and Budapest (the capital of Hungary). When you get to the top of the castle, you can look to your left and see the windmills of Austria while on your right you see Hungary!

Click image below for pictures of St. Martin’s Cathedral and surrounding area

The plaque for the inventor of Krav Maga

On the way up to the castle - behind me, you can see UFO Tower (aptly named)

Quick picture with St. Martin’s Cathedral in the background (Click image below for more pics of the views on our way up to the castle)

Bratislava Castle (Click image below for more pics of the castle)

As the tour ended after the church, we decided to grab a quick lunch and try to figure out public transportation to get to Devin Castle. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for Matthew and me. Sitting at the edge of Slovakia and a stones throw from Austria, the castle is a ruin on top of a 700-ft cliff. It was blown up by Napoleon in the 19th century as it controlled the trade route on the Danube and was a valuable location, but it is one of the oldest castles in Slovakia (dating back to 5th century BCE) and sits at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. It took about an hour to get out there on public transportation, but it was definitely worth it. It had a Lord of the Rings/New Zealand vibe and Matt and I were in awe of the incredible beauty.

(Click image below for pics of the walk up to the ruins of Devin Castle)

(Click image below for more pics of the ruins themselves)

(Click image below for more pics of the rivers as the sun was setting)

All things considered, Bratislava really shocked us. We had an inaccurate impression of the country (thanks Eurotrip), but the rich history and proximity to other important capitals has made it a very interesting city to visit. There were more than enough sites to see in a weekend and we had a really nice time. Bratislava may not be on your top 10 cities to see in Europe, but if you’re in Vienna or Budapest, you should definitely swing by and enjoy the spectacular views of the region, the Blue Church, and definitely Devin Castle. 

Until next time,

Alexandra