Offers to get to a fairy-tale for a while.

Not much had changed in the two months since I had last visited Bratislava, except that this time my Slovak Crowns were useless. The switch to the Euro moved quickly, at least from my point of view here in the Czech Republic, which still refuses to set a date for adopting the new currency. The economic crisis certainly hasn't encouraged anyone to take the big step in the Eurozone, but I digress. During my third, and hopefully last trip to the capital of Slovakia, I had hoped to visit Devin castle, an ancient ruin dating from the Neolithic era, although certainly what remains today is much more recent, with surviving structures from the 13th and 15th centuries. Unfortunately it was snowing quite steadily all day, so I was confined to the city. On the other hand, in wandering the city I saw this weird guy:


Brightened my day a bit. But then on the way home my train stopped because of an accident on the tracks up ahead, and I was stranded in a train car in the Slovak wilderness for five hours. So adding it all up I spent 15 out of 24 hours on a train that day. So it goes. Check back again soon for the details of my upcoming trip to Budapest. It promises to be Hapsburg-tastic. Now, I would like to finish up my last entry on Bratislava with a passage from the official free guide to the city that I think sums up the city quite well:

Ones you visit Bratislava you feel like being in a fairy-tale. The history full of legends offers to get to a fairy-tale for a while. While walking in the city, mind 178 brass plates with crowns in the paving. They create track which was taken by kings during ceremonials.

My thoughts exactly.

A colorful day trip in the bitter cold.

The city lights of Bratislava strike a contrast with the red stained sky, morning twilight unlike any I've seen. Having climbed to the castle high above, I gazed down at the Slovakian town. It was no easy task to hike up here in the freezing cold of the early morning, but for this view it was worth it.


The week before I only had just enough time to apply for my visas, have a pastry, and then head back. But this time I caught the night train into Bratislava, and I had an early appointment at the embassy, so I had plenty of time to sightsee. Although it was a quite a cold day to be wandering through the streets, the Christmas market was good for keeping warm. Similar to those in Prague, the market was a series of stalls set-up in the main square with all manners of kitsch and food. One stall had a giant block of cheese that people were buying slices off of, I believe. Also most of the food stalls had some form of hot wine or a highly alcoholic punch. Most European cities have these kind of markets set up, but the Bratislava one had its own charm.

Another site I made it to was the aptly named Blue Church, which was, as you can see, quite blue. Sometimes in my photography I use my camera's color accent setting, which removes all but the selected color. This church looked almost identical to shot like that, where nothing but the blue remains. The building was constructed in the early 20th century in Art Nouveau style, and was dedicated to St. Elisabeth, who was the daughter of a Hungarian king who grew up in the city in the 10th century. I like blue.

And so with this second trip I have finished applying for my working visa, so hopefully in two months I will return once again to pick up my papers, and do a little more sightseeing. Until then you can enjoy a few photos of the city in my web album.

Don't hate it just because Hostel took place there.

When visiting Europe, few make Bratislava a major stop along the journey. An analogy I've heard made is Bratislava is to Prague, as Detroit is to Chicago. Now I've never been to either American city (outside of the Detroit International Airport) so I can't really speak for how genuine this is, but I can see why the comparison would be drawn. Bratislava is, on first appearance, rather rundown, and industrial. A quick walk through the city center, however, should improve one's view of the town. I am biased though, I was having a terrible week, but then the visa lady at the Czech embassy was so polite and helpful, it really turned things around for me.

As for the city itself, nestled on the blue Danube, this capital is structured much like Prague. There is a castle, an old town, a new town, and long weaving cobblestone roads. The street names are even identical. The public transportation system is also very similar, and if I wasn't at all familiar with the area I wouldn't have even known that I had in fact left the Czech Republic. It's only been about sixteen years since Slovakia split off, so the differences in culture are minor. Despite having lived in the shadow of Prague for so long, Bratislava has a long and unique history, going back as far as the Neolithic Era. I'll let Wikipedia fill in the details for you there.


In order to recieve my work visa, I am required to go to a Czech Embassy, which can only be found in foreign countries, so I will, within the next two months, have made three trip to Bratislava. During this first trip I was only able to get a quick look around but here are my first impressions: Much like Prague, the city is full of statues. Some of famous Slovaks, some figurative symbols, and some frolicing nymphs. There are also many huge cathedrals, and some strangly colored goverment palaces, such as the Primate's Palace. This building, having nothing to do with monkeys, mind you, is a bright pink hue, and featured an interesting statue of St. George slaying him some dragon. As for Bratislava Castle, unfortunately it was undergoing some heavy reconstruction, so it was covered in scaffolding.

It was a good trip, albeit a bit long (four and half hours each way). Hopefully I'll be able to do more sightseeing next week, when I return to pick up my short term visa. And finally, as the title said, yes this is near where the horror film Hostel takes place, but interestingly enough, most of that film was filmed in Český Krumlov, which you should remember from my previous post.