Eastern Europe - Bratislava. Slovekia

The Castel

The "Working Man"

Email 28-Bratislava. Slovekia

After an overnite trip (no couchette) I arrived in Bratislava early in the morning and walked to the hotel. Another one of those where rooms in an apartment building have been transformed into hotel rooms. One of the problem with some of those is that the owners do not live on he premises. An awkward situation since I do not carry a cell phone! On a similar setting in Krakow, instead of making it the renters’ problem they provided a telephone. The people who own this place also run the Tourist Office. This is my contact .

Bratislava, like many of the Easten Europe cities, has a very complicated history and deep roots in many cultures; Slovak, German, Austrian, Hungarian, Jewish, Romanians and Roma (Gypsy). Under the Hapsburg the city was a favorite of Maria Theresa.

In the 20^th Century Bratislava was destroyed and rebuilt by the communist regime. They destroyed the historic Jewish quarters to make room for an ultramodern suspension bridge over the Danube. They also built many similar blocks of apartments on the other side of the Danube.

Today Bratislava with its 70,000 students in six universities and a population of 450,000 has become a thriving economic center, and its location, between Budapest and Vienna, has helped Bratislava become a successful tourist destination.

Much effort has been spent in the pedestrian-only Old Town.where most of the sights, and many of restaurants are located. The Old Town with several whimsical statues. A bare footed, hat covering his eyes is a statue of Napoleon leaning on a bench and turning his back to the French Embassy.

The most interesting building is the Primate’s House (!?) A large mansion, home of a series of archbishops and now a museum featuring a Mirror Hall for concerts, a series of tapestries, a chapel and many paintings. Few of the paintings are properly identified.

The imposing Bratislava Castel, a landmark, sitting outside the Old Town on top of a hill is square with a square tower at each corner, is nicknamed the “upside-down table”. The main reason to go up to the castel is to see the view over the Old Town, the bridges and the Danube.

Next Sopron, Hungary.

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