Okay so how many people know where Bratislava is? Or that its the capital of Slovakia? Well Bratislava is a great little stop if you are doing a road trip between Budapest and Vienna since its basically on the way! It is known for its pedestrian-only 18th century old town with cute bars and cafes. It also has the Bratislva Castle that is perched ontop of a hill and overlooks the town and Danube River. Bratislava used to be the “Capital of the Kingdom of Hungary” and so eleven Kings were crowned here from 1562 and 1830. Most importantly, Maria Theresa was coronated here in St. Martin’s Cathedral. So super historic little town.
So we decided to spend the night in Bratislava, mainly to add another country to my list, buuut also because I love little historic towns. And then I can be like, "oh hey, I've been to Slovakia" and its not like Italy where you're all "Yeah I've been to Italy" and everyone and their cousin responds, "Me too!" But anyway, my favorite thing was the Blue Church! Seriously though, how pretty is this church?
So the best way to see the little town is the trolley tour. It’s a cute little red bus that drives through the narrowest rows all through the Old Town and then it also takes you all the way up to Bratislava Castle. There were only about 4 other people on the trolley when I went, so its not some overcrowded tour bus and it really hits the highlights. The trolley takes you by Michael’s Gate, built in 1300 and is the only city gate that has been preserved of medieval fortifications and it ranks among the oldest town buildings. This was where guards kept a lookout from the tower to keep people out. The trolley tour guide also points out which buildings used to be used as the homes for different professions like the locksmith’s house, guards house, etc, which I found pretty interesting. There are also soooo many ice cream shops and coffee houses. I loved this little statue of a man coming out of the ground. They had to install a “Man at Work” sign to keep cars from hitting into him.
Bratislava definitely has a lot of character and is a nice little medieval town to see if you are getting tired of big cities. Doesn’t compare to Cesky Krumlov, but it’s a perfect stop during a European road-trip and how many people do you know who have been to Slovakia?
