Tags
Authentic Slovakia Tours, Bratislava, Central Europe, Communism, Iron Curtain, Old Town Bratislava, Slovakia, Tourism, travel
Previous trip entries:
Part 1 – Travel and Day 1 in Budapest
Part 3 – Days 3 & 4 in Budapest
Part 5 – Getting out of the City
Interlude – The Blood Countess
Part 6 – Visiting the Blood Countess
Oh boy, lost my trip diary momentum there for a bit! Gotta finish before everything is forgotten!
I have to admit, the day after my day out of the city was a bit more low key. How could this day live up to a day that was so fulfilling and awesome that it required 3 whole blog posts to itself!!!!
So, I had booked a tour with Authentic Slovakia tours. These folks are awesome! Well, I only met one of them, but they do unusual tours and leave the typical touristy stuff to other touring companies. I had originally contacted them about their Carpathian Castle tour months before when I was trying to figure out how to get to Čachtice. They didn’t have one available during the time I’d be around, which wound up being for the best because their tour included 4 castles in 10 hours and I wouldn’t have had the experience that I did. But they did have their Post-Socialist City Tour available so I was pretty excited about that.
Before leaving to walk to the hotel where they were meeting the group that had booked them, and who apparently didn’t mind if others joined in, I once again enjoyed the delicious breakfast left out by Erich, my AirBnB host, and his dad. Erich was gone but his dad was around so I got to practice my German (he didn’t speak English or even Slovakian apparently). The homemade jam was delicious!
I walked off, once again enjoying the twisting residential streets. In total, it was about a 40 minute walk. I got to see a nice mix of historical buildings and more contemporary constructions on the way. When I got to the hotel entrance, I only waited about 5 minutes before Brano from Authentic Slovakia showed up in their van. Brano is a very friendly guy! Then the original group showed up: 4 co-workers from Germany, and another individual participant who was also from Germany. I shared a package of maple candies I had brought for this kind of occasion and we were off.
Brano was a fun guide and shared a lot of family history that was linked with the communist history of the area. We visited several locations in town that had significance in relation to that history such as one of the original communist-era apartment buildings. It still had images from that era as well as flag holders. And we were lucky enough that someone who had lived there since the building’s original construction stuck their head out and chatted with us a few moments.
We continued on our trek, stopping at Námestie Slobody, the square with Fontána Družby, or Fountain of Union, a big ugly fountain that no longer works and very uncomfortable looking benches. I don’t remember the whole story behind it at this point, though, but it was apparently a significant landmark. There are now plans to demolish it. Then we headed to the Slavin Memorial to the Soviet soldiers who liberated Bratislava from the Nazi regime.
After the memorial visit, Brano said it was break time and treated us to a Slovakian snack: a kind of chocolate and nut filled wafer. They also handed out bottles of Kofola, which was a communist-era cola to keep people from wanting to drink Western colas. I kept it to share with my son and my partner back home! Then, they took out a triangular pallet with shot glasses along with a bottle of …something…that their family produces. I’m not much of a hard liquor person, but I said I would try it since it was made by their family – a half-shot for me, though, please! And I have to admit that it was neat to just drink booze right there on the street! In Canada, we have to HIDE INDOORS to drink alcohol. *shakes head* But anyway…it tasted like…well, it tasted like hard liquor. But it was very good, according to people who seemed to know what they were talking about.
After the break, Brano took us to the parking lot of their apartment building. This is apparently unusual, but they wanted to show us the Skoda van they usually use for group tours, as well as their little Skoda car 🙂 Brano had actually written me an email a couple of days before with some “very bad news”: The Skoda van was out of order and we would be using a regular van. Hilarious! It seemed to be a big deal for them. I was just happy to be there, but seeing these old vehicles was still pretty cool. Maybe I was jaded because I had gotten to ride in a Skoda the day before in Čachtice!
We continued on our drive, with Brano pointing out some landmarks and interesting buildings here and there, including some in residential areas, and sharing some more funny anecdotes. We wound up going through the borough of Petržalka, known for a large concentration of communist-era apartment buildings called panelák, and to the border between Slovakia and Austria. There was a soviet bunker and small posts that were remnants of a checkpoint. Brano said that cars used to line up in this area just to get a glimpse of “the West”. But that if they dared cross the “no man’s land” field, they would risk getting shot by Czech soldiers lying in wait. It was pretty neat to just take a step and be out of Slovakia.
Up ahead, a group of people were walking into Austria – likely refugees, according to Brano. And they waited until they were out of site to continue along that road since it’s very narrow and they didn’t want to crowd them. At least this is what they said – the anti-refugee sentiment seemed to be very strong 😦 We eventually drove along a narrow road that went around the former soldier infested field and along the former “iron curtain” on the other side, then back through Petržalka and into the Old Town part of Bratislava. Brano parked and we all got out, paid, and went our separate ways.
It was at this moment that I started to feel a bit weary. I felt like the other participants, other than the solo participant, had been pretty cold and aloof, but even with that, I was quite a bit put off that they just walked off without even acknowledging that they had just spent 2 ½ hours with us. I was also tired, since I hadn’t really stopped moving since I arrived in Hungary 5 days earlier. Honestly, including the hike up the mountain the day before, I think I did more exercise in those 5 days than I usually do in one month!
I decided to find another tour so I could park my butt for a while longer and then possible find that place Erich had suggested I eat at. That was a bit of a mistake – I should’ve eaten first. I think my low energy for the rest of the day had a lot to do with not having lunch – it would’ve helped me feel better. But anyway…I did still enjoy the day! I found a little trolley type thing that did a tour through the old town, which was good because I got an explanation of all the important landmarks that I could visit later. I hadn’t done as much research on Bratislava as I had for Budapest. Everything I read said that the Old Town could be explored in one afternoon so I hadn’t worried about having to pick too much. After that part of the tour was over, there was a half hour break for another trolley that would take me up to Bratislava Castle. Since I knew I wouldn’t have the energy to figure out the public transit to get out to Devin Castle ruins that day, I figured I’d at least catch that castle. So I did, and I got a nifty view of the Danube and of the UFO bridge from up there (the castle is on a hill, of course!).
Once we got back down to the Old Town, I decided to explore and do some souvenir shopping. I like to get unusual souvenirs for people, so I hit up a little honey show (apparently honey is a big deal in Slovakia) and found a few other nifty things. Then I wandered through the tiny old streets, which was really cool. One of them was the former executioner’s street, which I knew because of the tour. So that was pretty cool. It was explained, on the tour, that people would be afraid to walk on this street in the past, but that they had to because the executioner had a bunch of other important roles – none of which I can remember at this time.
I enjoyed the vibe of the Old Town quite a bit. It seems to be a pretty popular destination for European tourists. I heard a lot of different languages, and only a very occasional North American accent (English). My favourite part was standing between the highway and the old town wall…where a moat used to be! Ha! And touching these old buildings and walls from hundreds of years ago is always a thrill!
After I was done walking around, I went to the Slovak Pub and had a kind of pasta made with sheep cheese, which had been recommended by Erich, and glass of beer brewed on location. It was all good – the staff was a bit aloof. I had been spoiled out in Čachtice!
After my meal, I headed back to Erich’s place. There was no way I was going to walk up the hill for 40 minutes! So I tried to figure out the public transit. Unlike Budapest, the local transit system isn’t incorporated into Google Maps. So I had to look up the Bratislava transit app. And even that was kind of confusing. I finally figured out which tram to take, and how to pay at the machine at the stop. Instead of a fixed rate, you pay for a period of time. I probably overpaid…but I wasn’t sure how long it would take. I wound up taking the right bus but in the wrong direction! I only realized it when I realized I was halfway across the UFO bridge! So I got off, found my way under the overpass so I could get to the other side, paid again, and got on the right bus. Silly me. Oh well, even that was kind of exciting.
I finally got back to Erich’s place, relaxed a bit, packed and headed to bed for an early start the next day. I enjoyed Slovakia quite a lot and I would definitely go back! Next time, I will make more time to explore different areas in Bratislava, including the TV tower which is apparently pretty cool, and Devin Castle. There are a few tours that I’d like to do with the fun folks at Authentic Slovakia because they are unique and also because it’s great to hear people’s personal stories as well. And I would *DEFINITELY* go back out to the country side, to Čachtice and other locations!
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Great post 🙂
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Pingback: Jacky’s Triple B Trip Part 9 – From Bratislava to Halle (Saale), Germany, with a Stop in Prague | Jacky with a Y
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