B'lava

Oh Bratislava, how adorable you are. After traipsing around sprawling Vienna, Bratislava (from here on B'lava) was super easy. I recommend it as a good two-day trip. (Or really two nights/one day).


My sister and I got to B'lava at a decent time in the evening and once we got ourselves oriented we decided to do a bit of wandering, get some food and then call it a night early so that we could have a full day the next day. It would be our only real full day anyway.


It was a good plan anyway because it decided to start raining again not that long after we arrived. Weather did not approve of our taking a vacation.

But I kind of enjoy the night time rainy pictures. 

Here's something I bet you didn't realize: B'lava is tiny. It's the capital city of the Slovak Republic (or Slovakia, whichever you prefer) but it's just not that big. This was honestly a good thing because then we were able to walk around everywhere (who needs public transportation) and we did it all super fast.

This is the 'New' Old Town Hall. 

 Old Town Hall had apparently been recently restored or something. The thing I loved most about B'lava was the roof tiles like on the top of this building. They were all over the place and later we realized that they have them in Vienna and Budapest also, but they really stood out in B'lava.

Then there were the statues.

 My second favorite thing was all the random statues you could find all over the town center. They're all bronze and most of them are pretty funny. Like this guy which is right outside a bar called 'Paparazzi'.

The Castle

 Bratislava Castle looks like your standard castle from the outside. It's also ridiculously old. Unfortunately, it's under renovation so you're not able to actually go inside. We walked around the castle grounds for a bit and then decided to walk back down to the town center.

Michael's Gate

 I have this odd sense of direction which somehow took us in a circle and right over to Michael's Gate, the only part of the city fortification which has been preserved. It looks to be in pretty good shape. Under the arch there's a huge compass which tells you how far away (and in which direction) all the nearby capital cities are.


After a semi-full day of roaming mostly aimlessly about B'lava, Seester and I decided to get dressed up and go find some serious Slovak food. Which we did. But not until after she was nearly ripped off by a gypsy and we were called 'kurvy' by a homeless man.


How pleasant of you, B'lava.


But we didn't let it get us down. I practically inhaled a plate of Bryndzové Halušky which was just absolutely the most fantastic thing I had ever eaten at that point. Then we went for drinks.


We had an interesting encounter with a man who talked in circles and insisting one minute he's Slovak and the next that he's Czech. According to him he speaks five languages, teaches English in B'lava and used to live in New York. He had a New York driver's license but those things are easy as pie to fake so I'm still unconvinced.


After we bid him adieu I posed for this picture so that Seester could see if he was following us.

That and because I just wanted a picture like this.

After such an adventurous day, Seester and I decided to make it a chill morning in which we woke up late, stopped at a nearby cafe for mass amounts of espresso, food and ice cream we didn't need and then we headed off to the train station.

No, we were not on this train.

Next destination: Budapest.