[caption id="attachment_175941" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Welcome to Slovakia"][/caption]
Vienna and Bratislava are the nearest two Capitals in Europe or may be in the whole world. The distance is only around 60 kilometers and thus, a visit to Vienna will not be a perfect journey without a short trip to Bratislava. This is the story of a 6 hours trip to another country, another world so different and only for 14 Euros.
My journey to Bratislava started from Wien Südbahnhof (Ost- bahn) where the reconstruction of a future new Wien Hauptbahnhof was in progress. When completed, this new station will be Vienna’s main station connecting this Austriancapital with major cities in Europe. The 14 Euros return ticket could be purchased from a vending machine and also included local transportation in Bratislava. The notice was written on the ticket in both German and Slovakian languages.
[caption id="attachment_175943" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Bratislava Petrzalka "]
The short trip via Bruck an der Leithaand Kittsee mostly passing through the panoramic Austrian countryside. A few minutes after the train departed, an official from ÖBB (Österreiche Bundesbahn)did the inspection of passengers’ ticket with a very polite greeting in German. Our tickets were punched and marked with the date and time of the inspection. Most of the train journey was in Austria since Bratislava is located very near to the border.
Bratislava Petržalka, The Second Gateway to Slovakia.
After around one hour, the train arrived at Bratislava Petržalka. The station looked quite new, decent, and modern, but a little bit deserted. I put a glance to the electronic schedule and noticed that the only train servicing this station wasthe hourly OBB to Vienna departs at 32 minutes after the hour.
Our journey into the enchanting city of Bratislava started from this secondary station. In the next six hours there were many interesting places in Bratislava to be discovered and enjoyed. It would be impossible to visit all the places at this short time, but at least several most adorable as well as famous landmarks of the city can be sighted in this “ brief encounter”.
[caption id="attachment_175945" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Presidential Palace"]
The Classical Bratislava of Palaces and Churches
We managed to get on the trolley bus no 93 with final destination Hlavna Stanica . The bus brought us via the area of Bratislava full of Soviet Style apartment blocks and passing through the UFO style Novy Most or New Bridge over the Danube.
Our first stop was at the Hodžovo námestie. The stop was only two stops after passing the Novy Most and we were sure that we already in the proximity of the old town or Stare Mesto since we could observe the presence of Bratislava Castle on top of the hill on our left.
We alighted at a square in front of a big building with many Slovakian flags. Later we found out that this beautiful building was the Grassalkovich Palace, which is the Presidential Palace of Slovakia. In the middle of the square there was a fountain decorated with a globe. This fountain is called “ Earth – Planet of Peace”, and the square are nicknamed “Mierko” by local folks.
[caption id="attachment_175947" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Earth - Planet of Peace"]
The journey through classical Bratislava was mostly performed with tram ride and a lot of walk in the old city. Many landmarks of Bratislava were sighted including the most adorable Slovenske Narodne Divadlo or Slovak National Theatre. This Neo-Renaissance building was the icon designed by Viennese architects in the late 19th century and until the present days still retains her splendor with many performances of ballets, dramas, and orchestras.
[caption id="attachment_175949" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Slovakian National Theatre"]
Hviezdoslovovo Namestie was a big square in the old city where locals and tourists can enjoy the unique atmosphere Bratislava has to offer. Street vendors with kiosks selling local souvenirs, restaurants, and cafes were there to serve and welcome the visitors at the heart of Bratislava old city. A big bronze statue of Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav decorated with a beautiful fountain is located in the middle of the square.
[caption id="attachment_175962" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The UFO-shaped Novy Most"]
The square was the centre of Bratislava old town where most of Bratislava landmarks can be found. Entering the Rudnayovo Namestie, the other landmark of Bratislava is located. St Martin’s Cathedral which is one of the finest and oldest church in Bratislava. The cathedral was the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary.
From this cathedral, the stroll lead us to another landmark of Bratislava, Michalska Brana or Micahel’s Gate, the only remaining fortification of the old city with a 50 meters tower and a small statue of St. Michael on top of it. In this area, many other classical landmarks of Bratislava are also located. Just follow the signage, and you will easily find the palaces, museums, and many other places of interest.
[caption id="attachment_175952" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="The Blue Church of Bratislava"]
The other “not to be missed” place of interest of classical Bratislava wasBratislava Blue Church or Modry Kostolik . The church located not far from Safarikovo Namestie and absolutely beautiful with her distinguished blue colour. This Art Noveau building was built in 1903 to 1913 and also named The Church of St, Elizabeth.
The Unique Statues of Bratislava
From Michaels Gate we strolled the cobble stone narrow streets of Bratislava and arrived at the heart of Stare Mesto, which is Hlvana Namestie or the Main Square.
Many important palaces, museums and many other places of interest can be found near the square. But we did find several informal icons of contemporary Bratislava.
In one of the benches in the Hlavna Namestie, sitting a bronze statue of French Army Soldier. The statue was made to resemble Napoleon, sitting comfortably on the bench. This is to commemorate the arrival of the French General in 1809.
[caption id="attachment_175966" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The Legacy of Communist Era"]
Just off the main square, the most famous statue of Bratislava is located. Cumil the peeper is the funniest statue in Bratislava. Cumil is the only statue in the world equipped with a dedicated traffic sign “Man at Work”. Cumil is located near the junction between Panska and Rybarska brana.
Not far from Cumil, another funny statue in the shape of a photographer nicknamed “paparazzi” was located in front of a café in Laurinska .
[caption id="attachment_175954" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Statue in Bratislava"]
ModernandCommunist Monuments of Bratislava
During the stroll of the city, many interesting monuments from the communist era were also there to be enjoyed and pondered. Tram number 13 ride would bring us to Namestie L’Stura where a strikingly soviet style monument can be sighted. This monument was dedicated to immortalize L’udovit Stur , the leader of Slovak National movement during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
[caption id="attachment_175955" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Soviet Memorial"]
We took a stroll along the Mostova and found another striking soviet monument of Bratislava . The Soviet War Memorial was erected to commemorate the liberation of Bratislava by the Soviet army on 4 April 1945. A bronze statue of a woman stretching her arm with a bunch of flower on her right hand mounted on a maroon marble pedestal decorated the entrance to the most adorable square in town, Hviezdoslovovo Namestie.
[caption id="attachment_175965" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Hviezdoslovovo Namestie."]
The other legacy of the communist era was the huge apartment blocks in Petržalka area where our train arrived from Vienna. However on our way back to Vienna, we took the tram no 13 to Hlavna Stanica, andnear the STU(Slovenske Teknika Universitet) tram stop, an inverted pyramid shape building was sighted on our right. The unique Slovak National Radio Building, which was built in the 1970, just another architectural gem of Bratislava.
