In the 'Slav

I had wanted to go to Bratislava mostly because I think the name is great, it is the capital of Slovakia,   it's technically Eastern Europe and because a day trip would be inexpensive but get us to another place in the world. After Shiri finished her morning class, we found the bus stop and boarded on our way to Slovakia. It was cold and kind of empty but luckily we had Rick to guide us around the town. Although I had to admit, one of our favorite things about Bratislava was the crazy signs hanging around the town- see below for one example and imagine a ballet about Nazis. Yep, that's what we saw...

We started with a walking tour around the Old Town. Only in the last 20 years or so has the town council been working to figure out who actually has ownership of the buildings in the Old Town and so if there is a house that's not quite put together yet, it's most likely because they haven't determined who owns it yet. Thank you Eastern Europe. Old Town seems pretty unchanged though- it wasn't hit during WWII but was taken over during Napoleon's time- you can actually see unexploded bombs still buried in the facades of some of the buildings.

Bratislava is also known for its humor- there are three statues around town that are quite bizarre. One of the man with the top-hat dedicated to the actual man in the top-hat that would hagn around the corner. There's another one that's a "man at work" who has survived being driven over by drunk people a few times. And then there's the paparazzi man who creeps around corners and takes your pictures. Weird? Yes. Amusing. Absolutely.

see the cannonball in the facade?

On the main stretch of street, you can see the gorgeous Philharmonic Hall, the tacky American Embassy, some oddly named restaurants and a statue dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen.

Bratislava also has a castle where Maria-Theresa's favorite daughter would spend time with her husband. Unfortunately, the Communists took it over during the Cold War and it feels more like a prison cell than anything else. Accordingly to Rick, they're renovating it back to their former glory and should be finished soon. We didn't end up going inside because yes, it really did end up looking like a prison cell but it gave us some awesome views of the city.

hiking up to the castle

gates to the castle

outside the Castle

We went into the Primate's Palace (no, it was not a monkey house) and the Town Hall. The Primate's House had a beautiful little chapel but was mostly known for the large tapestries that had been hidden for years and then discovered preserved in a closet somewhere. The tapestries were gorgeous but it was hard to tell the order they were supposed to be in and we weren't entirely sure about the story.

The town hall was gorgeous- we got to climb all the way up to the top of the tower which gave us some great views and the people working there were really nice and friendly, despite the language barrier. Because I have about zero knowledge about the history of Bratislava, it was really interesting to get a glimpse of it through the artifacts in the museum- of which there were plenty.

inside the Primate's Palace

courtyard of the Primate's Palace

courtyard in the Primate's Palace

outside the Town Hall

We got some hot chocolate in a little restaurant and then waited for the bus- we really didn't need more than a few hours there. I'm sure it's gorgeous in the summer and the spring but January was not the best time to be there. But definitely check it out! At least for a few hours!