The many faces of Bratislava

Sunday, May 31, 2015
Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia

The drive from Zakopane to Bratislava was quite spectacular . The journey took us deeper into the Tatra mountains and through parts of the Mala Fatra National Park. At some points it seemed like the densely forested mountains were reaching up from the road at almost a 90 degree angle. At other times the road was more open as we travelled through a wider valley with the mountains in the distance, always an incredilbly deep green with rocky outcrops. Occasionally out of nowhere we would see a castle perched high on a isolated piece of rock.

At first Bratislava seemed quite intimidating. As we approached the street where our apartment was situated we passed rundown buildings and grimy streets. It occurred to me to wonder what I was doing in this city. Large parts of the city seemed to be either under construction or in decay. The building that was in view from our apartment window was in decline to such an extent that large chunks of concrete render were missing or falling off. Yet our apartment building and several close by were either brand new or totally renovated . It seemed like investment in the city was either just starting to happen or limited to only isolated areas. Walking from our apartment to find a somewhere to have dinner was quite confronting. The smell of the open sewers, the dust and the grafitti was not endearing me to this place at all.

Fortunately though there were other more attractive parts of the city that were in stark contrast to what we initially encountered. The historic centre was kept clean and looked attractive, dotted with restaurants, shops and ice cream cafes. There was a vast area centred around the Sheraton Hotel which featured a large shopping mall for the affluent where pretty much every upmarket brand name was represented. Behind the galleria and facing on to the Danube was a river promenade. We were pleasantly suprised to find a long line of very upmarket eateries spread along the river front. The environment was very inviting and relaxing. We had finally found somewhere where we felt comfortable . Bratislava was not so bad after all.

 We spent the day checking out the historic sights and relaxing by the river. As with any large outdoor area the main occupation is people watching and this area of town was no exception. The women in particular were fascinating to watch with their upmarket and uniquely Slovakian brand of fashion. Dogs were popular. They had to be either very large or very small and sometimes with a haircut that made them look like another animal. Among others we saw a very large dog that had its hair cut to look like lion and a poodle that looked like a llama. Very amusing!!

So we had seen quite a diverse mix of cities and towns in Central Europe. There was just one more stop to go on our way back to Prague before we left this part of Europe behind. Fortunately though it was now officially summer and the weather was warm and sunny. We could pack our jackets and warm hats in in the bottom of our suitcases, we wouldn't be needing them for quite some time.

 
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