Country Regions Month Stay duration
Slovakia Bratislava March 2019 2 days

For the sake of practicality and getting the most for my buck, it made all sense to visit Bratislava as I was coming from Vienna (Austria) where I had visited last.

All it took was roughly an hour on the bus from one capital to the other, the cities are remarkably close and even share the same river (Danube). For that matter, so does Budapest.

Bratislava skyline

Bratislava skyline from Slavín (war memorial) - click image to enlarge

A not so impressive first impression

On a first glance Bratislava seemed like a quiet town with not much going on. During day time that was fairly true as it only took me about a morning and an afternoon to see most of the attractions the city had to offer.

Everything in central Bratislava is well within walking distance so, walking through the city was fairly painless and allowed me to explore the city in a very relaxed pace as there was little planning necessary to find and reach the spots I wanted to see.

I wasn’t significantly impressed with their architecture and there was a lack of charm in comparison to other capitals I had visited. Granted this was probably exacerbated by my still fresh memories of Vienna.

As a first impression I was in dismay of how Bratislava was so strikingly odd when compared to other European capitals.

For a capital it was disappointing seeing so many dilapidated structures and housing, but it does instil Bratislava with a special identity and that didn’t seem to bother the locals none.

I was intrigued by their blue church (see below images) and UFO structure (aerial photo) which can be visited and is in fact a restaurant.

Redemptive nightlife

Out came the night time and with it a certain mood swing occurred and the city shifted into high gear. Bars which I had completely missed during daytime whilst walking through their entrances had their neon lights and blasting sounds on to allure party seekers.

I joined with some fellow food enthusiastic people and we had some delicious Spanish tapas. After that I was taken to a bar that was hidden away next to a pharmacy.
The bar, seemingly small from the exterior was gigantic from the inside and it was all one open space like a massive hall.

Many of their bars were build on locations that used to serve completely different purposes, like office spaces.

This made for odd looking bars where consistency was not a consideration in a sense that not a table nor a chair was of the same model/style, instead a state of organisation disarray was common in Bratislava’s bars when it came to decoration and space layout.

Bratislava’s chaotic randomness and its adaptable locals ultimately make the city.