The Heart of Europe
When and Where: 9/2022 – Bratislava
60th Country Visited; 31st European
Country Visited
Interesting Facts:
·
The capital, Bratislava, is the only national
capital to border 2 countries (Austria and Hungary).
·
The geographic center of Europe is in Slovakia.
On occasion, I’ve traveled to a place
I knew little about. Slovakia is one of
those places. A coworker told me I needed
to pay a visit to the Blue Church, and I knew Bratislava was the capital, but I
knew little else. I was staying in
Vienna and decided to make a day trip to Bratislava. I woke up early in the morning, left my hotel
which was across the street from the main train station (Wien Hauptbahnhof),
and headed for the ticket counter. With
ticket in hand, I boarded a 7:30 am train east to Bratislava. An hour later, I arrived at the central
station. I navigated my way through the
bustling station and out the main entrance.
The train station sits atop a steep hill in the city overlooking
downtown. I felt adventurous so I pulled
up Google maps and made my way downhill to the city centre. Five minutes into my walk, it began to
drizzle. Although I forgot an umbrella,
I did remember a poncho. In the back of
my mind, I could hear Joe making fun of me as I always carry Dollar Store
ponchos when I travel. But better to be
dry in a poncho then drenched in street clothes. Aside from the spitting rain, it was also in
the low 50’s, so the weather wasn’t ideal.
As I made my way down this winding route into town, I got lost several
times. Google maps kept rerouting me and
what should have taken 45 minutes, took nearly double that. By the time I got to the city centre, I was
tired and frustrated, but nonetheless anxious to see this quaint national
capital.
Once I was in the heart of the
city, everything was a short walk away.
My first stop was at Grassalkovich Palace, which is the presidential palace
of Slovakia. The Baroque architecture accentuated
the grandeur of the palace. From the Palace,
I meandered down the cobblestone walkways to the Primate’s Palace (aka The
Mayor’s office) and the Old Slovak Theater, both located in the center square
of town. The Baroque architecture all
over the city was original and immaculate.
As I walked about, the beauty of the city made the walking in the rain
an adventure instead of a burden. From
the center square, I walked down to the banks of the Danube River. As I looked up the hill, I saw the monumental
Bratislava Castle. There is an older
part of the castle which dates back to the 9th century and a large
modern section, known as the Palace, which was built in the 18th
century. As noon approached, the weather
cleared up and I took the 15 minute walk over to the Blue Church, which is a fixture
in Bratislava. A Federal Reserve
coworker told me I needed to pay a visit to the church, and the visit did not
disappoint. The church dating back to
1913, is known as the Blue Church because of it’s façade, the mosaics, and the blue-glazed
roof. The church, also known as The
Church of St. Elizabeth, is decorated in an art nouveau style. After the church, I made my way back to the center
of town. One thing I love about visiting
cities is checking out their public art.
Bratislava had a lot of fun quirky art which attracted a lot of attention
from tourists including myself. My
favorite was a bronze piece of sidewalk art which depicted a man crawling out
of a manhole cover. After taking in this
fun and eccentric city, I took a public bus back up the hill to the train station. Bratislava is definitely worth a day trip if
you are in Vienna or Budapest.
Grassalkovich Palace
The Old Slovak Theater
The Blue Church
Quirky street art in Bratislava
.
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