So I’ve figured out there was actually a method to my madness when I planned out this trip. While the sequence of the towns was originally planned based on proximity between them it’s working out to be a nice balance between smaller town and big city. While I loved Budapest, being as large as it is it’s more work to learn the public transit, navigate the city, etc. Bratislava is relatively small so I just walk out of my hotel and am right in the Old Town. A lot more relaxing. The next few weeks I’ll be interspersing small towns with big cities to balance things out.
Today I just wandered around most of the Old Town seeing the sights I didn’t see yesterday and taking pics of the cool architecture. I’ll highlight a couple of the pics.
The big church with the orange roof is St. Martin’s Cathedral. This cathedral has been witness to some pretty important history (my two favorites, churches and history! Lol). While Buda and Pest were occupied by the Ottomans from 1543 to 1689, Bratislava was the capital of Hungary. Nineteen Hungarian Kings and Queens were crowned in this church – more than have been crowned anywhere in Hungary. In fact the Hungarian coronation was not in Budapest but in Bratislava. If you zoom in really close you’ll see a replica of the Hungarian crown on top of the steeple.
The pinkish building with the statues on top is called the Primate’s Palace. I don’t have any real history on this one but just liked the building!
And the craziest picture is the “Starship Enterprise” designed bridge. This flying saucer capped bridge was completed in heavy handed communist style in 1972. It’s referred to by the locals as “the UFO” and is now a high priced restaurant.
I also included a pic of the castle and a nice sunset over the castle ramparts. But the most important pic is the one that shows my mantra about making sure we all have balance in our life! Lol
Tomorrow I’m crossing the border back in to Austria to spend 6 days in Vienna. I hear it’s a feast for the eyes. Stay tuned!
TGIF to all!
Jeff
The Wandering Italian 