Bratislava - The Easiest Day Trip From Vienna
Getting to Bratislava could not have been easier, once you find your train. Hop on the light rail that runs through Vienna until you come to the Vienna Central Rail Station (Wien Hauptbanhof). This place is enormous, and has several levels. The subway comes in on one level, the regional trains on another, and the international trains on a third. Give yourself plenty of time to navigate this station and purchase your tickets. You are looking for the OBB (Österreichische Bundesbahne) ticket office, not the U-Bahn ticket office, which is the subway company. If you're German is good feel free to use the ticket machines in the lobby, but if not, grab a ticket and wait for one of the live ticket agents. Don't worry, like every good German and Austrian, they all speak fluent English. There was no first class on our train, and there was no need. The ride only took about an hour, and was €11 a person round trip. There are two stations in Bratislava, but either one will work for getting to the Old Town. Depending on which station you get off at there are several buses that will take you to the Old Town, so just look at the maps in the station. I know we took Bus #93, and it drove us straight into the heart of the city.
Bratislava, like many of the major cities of Central Europe, was once a Roman city in ancient times. People have been living in a city there for more than two thousands years. You will be shocked when you get off the train how the language has changed completely in just a 45 mile ride. The people no longer speak German, but now speak Slovak, a Slavic language. Again, no need to panic those of you who don't speak Slovac (neither do we), most of the people who work in the tourist district speak English. Bratislava is small compared to Vienna, and only has about 450,000 people in the city. The Old Town area is home to a well-preserved medieval city center. About a mile walk from the Old Town is Bratislava Castle. Originally built in the 9th Century, what you are seeing today is a Communist era castle that was built to boost national pride after the depression of communism had settled in. We decided not to visit knowing what we would see was not genuine. We did, however, walk out of the Old Town to see there national capital building and president's home. In the Old Town we visited the Old Town Hall. Home to the Bratislava City Museum, which is up to you to visit, we got a kick out of the wall facing the square. About twenty feet up you will see a cannonball. This was fired by the French forces who invaded in 1809 under the command of the Little General himself, Napoleon. They have left it in the wall for two centuries, I think to rub it in the faces of the French people who come to visit. Be on the look out for some interesting "people" scattered all around town. Apparently the people of Bratislava have a sense of humor, and have placed sculptures around town to make walking around more entertaining and a little more dangerous. There is Napoleon on a park bench, and some local legend named Cumil who apparently likes to hang out in the sewers. Like all medieval cities, they love to point out that I would not fit in their town. It's not Lisbon quality of small doors, but I noticed.
Emerging from the long shadow of communism, there are parts of the Old Town that are not nearly as well kept as the Altstadt of Vienna. It is impressive though how much they have accomplished in the last twenty five years after rejecting oppressive government control and embracing democracy. Sorry, I get distracted by my hatred of communism. Back to the tour! Everyone should next swing by the famous St. Martin's Cathedral. With the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the emperors and empresses were crowned in both countries. For three hundred years between the 16th and 19th Centuries, these monarchs were crowned in St. Martin's. Apparently they wanted you to be able to get to the church quickly, because the entrance to the cathedral is literally fifteen feet from a highway running through the heart of town. The inside is not awe-inspiring like many of the cathedrals in other nations, but it's the historic significance that makes it worth visiting. They do have a reliquary with some objects, but it is really not that impressive. If you pay to see the reliquary though, which was only a couple of euro, they will let you up in the choir loft for some elevated pictures of the cathedral.
The rest of your day just spend walking around looking at the shops and the people. They have an impressive state opera house that you can tour. They have a couple of gelato and coffee shops you can stop into if you want a snack. They do have their own unique styles of handmade crafts too. Every shop we went into had locally made corn husk dolls and strings of dried fruit that smelled amazing. We stopped in for dinner at a local brewery called Kláštorný Pivovar, and it was awesome! They had a stout on tap and ribs on the menu, both of which were very well done. We took one of the late trains back so we could see the city at night. The blue night sky never gets old to me. One man, who seemed to be impervious to the thirty degree weather, kept crossing my path all night. Who doesn't wander through a European city in sandals and shorts in December when the temperature is freezing. Well, not me, but this guy!
As always, I could go on forever. I wish we had more than a day, but we found our way back to Vienna so that we could pack up and leave the next day. We had an outstanding time in Vienna, and a wonderful day trip to Bratislava. If you are ever considering making these trips in the winter to visit the Christmas markets, we highly recommend it. We are happy to recommend the apartment we stayed at in Vienna, which is in the first post from this trip. Let me know if you have any questions!
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