Day 33: Bratislava
Our 7 euro Student Agency bus from Budapest to Bratislava left at 11AM. Considering the price and the sketchy website, we did not have very high hopes, but were very pleasantly surprised upon entering and finding a spacious, well air-conditioned bus with headphones and individual TVs. Additionally, there were free hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc.), great service, and a nice selection of music and movies. Our server, a lanky, pimply youth with braces, reminded me of the Knight Bus conductor Stan Shunpike.
We got to Bratislava early, just before 2, and left our luggage at the bus station, then walked to the old town. Despite everything I'd heard about how Bratislava was plain and boring, I actually found the city to be very pleasant and full of character. The centre was filled with many squares, cobblestone, cute wooden stalls and shops, and restaurants.
We met up in front of the U.S. Embassy for a free walking tour at 3, led by an engaging 22 year old woman. In addition to showing us around and explaining locations, she also talked about the history, culture, and traditions in Bratislava and Slovakia in general, which gave me a much better sense of the country's character and the people's identity.
We passed by some well-known sites, such at the statue of Man at Work in the city centre, which had just appeared overnight for no particular reason.
We saw the old gate, the only one remaining of the original city's fortifications, and the compass underneath that indicated the distances of all the major cities in the world.
We also saw some sites a little further from the old town, such as the Blue Church, a beautiful baby blue Art Nouveau building.
One of the most sought-out churches for events in Bratislava, the Blue Church's waiting list for weddings is apparently years long.
After the tour ended, 2.5 hours later, we had to rush back to the bus station to pick up our luggage -- a 16kg suitcase --since the luggage storage office closed at 6. The weather was about 32 degrees at that point, and the sun was still fiercely glaring.
"So what did you guys do after you picked up your luggage?" a classmate asked us once we got back to residence the following day.
"... We climbed up the hill to the castle."
After much debate, it was decided that we could not visit Bratislava without going up the hill. So we hopped on a bus that took us halfway up, then proceeded the rest of the way with two backpacks, dragging a suitcase over very rough cobblestone.
The view, as always, was worth it. Although we could not look down on the old town, the Danube was in plain sight, as well as the communist suburbs in the distance, looking like colourful Lego blocks.
One of the four capitals on the Danube, Bratislava would've had to try very hard to not be beautiful. Though not nearly as grand as Budapest, I actually really enjoyed the view of the lesser developed parts along the banks, and the mountains and fields in the distance, covered by hundreds of slender, white wind turbines.
Short on time, we had to leave after a quick 15 minutes, and headed back down to the old town to walk around and find dinner, passing by the series of squares once more.
Unfortunately, not too much was within price range, so we headed back towards the bus station, hoping to find something on the way. Just as we were getting desperate enough to resort to fast food, we found a small bistro that was advertising some 6 euro meals, and made a snap decision to go for it. This turned out to be the best decision yet. I got a spaghetti pesto and mint lemonade, which were delicious, homemade, and fresh but took a mere 10 minutes to arrive. Best of all, the service was phenomenal. The servers were so pleasant and we had a very nice chat over dinner. I ended up getting a homemade dessert as well -- a sweet risotto custard with strawberry rhubarb at the bottom -- and Julie got a traditional Czech misa layer cake. The entire meal was less than 10 euros and it was such a great dining experience in every respect.
Taking the 8:40 bus back to Brno, again with Student Agency, we arrived back in residence at 11, ending six very eventful and exciting days in Budapest and Bratislava.
Photos by Julie Zhang.