Bratislava is a delightful place to visit
We visited Bratislava on the evening of Easter Sunday, and stayed until Tuesday morning.
In some ways this was a little unfortunate since most of the shops (and indeed the tourist information offices) were closed for the Easter break, and we therefore had to make the most of our own resources to discover just what Bratislava has to offer the independent tourist.
We were quite surprised about the breadth and variety of historic buildings and architectural monuments that abound in the old town sections of the city, despite the fact that this city seems to receive less tourist information and publicity than many other places in this region of Europe.
We are able to report that we enjoyed our time in Bratislava immensely.
Bratislava is a very compact city, and it is possible to walk around the old town region of the city at a relaxed pace, yet have sufficient time to take in the history and grandeur of the old Bratislava.
Napoleon leaning over a seat in the square
Even today, Bratislava’s population is less than half a million people, so the city still maintains a human scale, enabling the tourist a much better
opportunity to interact with some of the locals and find out some more about what it is like to live in Bratislava today.
We found that the time we spent walking about Bratislava was one of one surprise and delight after another. Not only was a seat in the old town square somewhat distinguished by a gentleman in eighteenth century uniform leaning over and looking over the shoulder of anyone sitting there, but
Bronze papparazi photographer in Bratislava
around another corner just a block away, a sly photographer was catching a snapshot of events in the next street (maybe a 1920′s version of the papparazi!).
As we visited Bratislava on Easter Monday, there was a service underway in the Cathedral adjacent to the square. A number of tourists took the opportunity to join with the local people in the church to celebrate the Christian significance of this time of the year.
The castle overlooking Bratislava (Hrad Castle) dominates the town, and has outstanding views in both directions along the Danube River (Danuj), as well as the surrounding lands. It was documented as early as 907 A.D., and has had many face lifts as it’s function has changed over the centuries. It is currently undergoing major internal renivations, and unfortunately the inside is not open to visitors at the moment.
Ice Hockey Player Sculpture
The other aspect of Bratislava that became very obvious as we continued our tour of the city is the fact that the forthcoming world Ice Hockey Championships are due to be held in the city in late April and Early May of 2011. We encountered a number of slightly larger than life hockey players in various colours located around the city in strategic locations.
This event will be a major boost to Bratislava, bringing the eyes of the world to this great part of Europe for at least a few days.
We encountered many local people during our time in Bratislava, and found that the majority had sufficient grasp of the English language to make themselves understood, and (more importantly for us) to understand our comments and questions.
We chanced upon this amazing place during a recent trip through the Provence region of France, and were fascinated by the contrasts and rich history of the region.
According to a local legend, when the Marys and Lazarus were sent out to sea in a small boat during the persecution of Christians by the Jews, they left Sarah behind. She cried out and one of the Mary’s threw her coat onto the water. Sara stepped onto the coat and it bore her to the boat. They landed safely on the shore at the present Stes. Maries-de-la-Mer.