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Abstract

ded back to the apartment to brush my hair. The wind had picked up and the fallen autumn leaves were being swirled around the cobble-stoned streets. A similar thing has happened to my hair — it was a mass of tangled knots. The wind wasn’t cold. It was 22C and quite warm.</p><p id="0d7c">I arrived early back to the square not wanting to miss the tour. I sat down on a bench in filtered sunlight next to a guy in a t-shirt whom I thought must be a tourist. All of the locals are rugged up in puffer jackets. Heavens only knows what they’ll wear when it gets cold! He was an Australian from Sydney who’s been living in Europe for six years and takes private tours all around Europe. He was waiting for his tour group. What a life!</p><h2 id="c565">The Panorama Tour</h2><p id="4afc">I boarded the tour bus and chose a seat close to the front. We drove through the wealthy part of town on the hill overlooking the city up to the Slavin monument. On reaching the summit, there were still about 100 stairs to climb. Luckily, I had brought my hiking pole, as there were no handrails. The wind was pretty fierce up here, but nothing like it was when we reached Bratislava Castle. It was gale-force and the protective sheets that had been erected around the renovation were being ripped to shreds. I was afraid some of the smaller tourists would be blown off the parapet. I was being buffeted around and I’m no lightweight. However, the view was magnificent. I could see one of those luxury cruise ships that I’ll never be able to afford, making its way downriver, and way off in the distance the farmlands impregnated with wind turbines.</p><figure id="9130"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*lZquew2EYgyx4w1u"><figcaption>The Slavin monument Photo by author</figcaption></figure><p id="63b4">We continued back down to the town back to our final stop back in Hviezdoslavovo Square. I was starving! It must have been fighting the wind to stay erect that had made me hungry, also it had been a long time since breakfast and I’d walked 5.3km and climbed 11 flights of stairs since then! I almost ran to the Regal Burger Bar, which my host had recommended. I had no idea what to order so chose the Classic Burger and Fries for €9.90 and headed back to my apartment to enjoy my feast, washed down with a Stella Artois. Completely exhausted, I lay down and fell asleep immediately.</p><h2 id="04e0">My second day</h2><p id="54d6">A cold morning was predicted but by the time I made it out, it was a perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of a breeze, warm in the sun, cool in the shade. I wandered round to <i>my</i> coffee shop, hoping for some breakfast as well as coffee, but was disappointed they only had sweet treats. I was determined not to resort to McDonalds, so I ordered two treats. I was still early for my free walking tour. I recommend you go on one of these free walking tours in every city you visit. You will learn so much!</p><p id="9035">I needed to stock up on food. I needed lunch for today, and breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. I bought sandwiches, as well as two tiny bread rolls for the ham and cheese I have, three pastries and splurged on a limoncello dessert. Probably real limoncello if the price was any indication! Checking the time, but not wanting to carry this load on the walking tour, I dashed back to my apartment, unloaded everything except the 25-percent-off pack of sandwiches (I can’t resist markdowns), and made it to the meeting spot for the free walking tour in front of the statue of Hviezdodslav.</p><h2 id="b5b5">Learning some history</h2><p id="4d7a">Simona, our guide, told us a little about him. We learned more about Slovakia’s chequered history; the Candle Demonstration that occurred in this square in 1988, which precipitated the Velvet Revolution the following year, the collapse of Communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Czechoslovakia was split peacefully in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That was just recent history. Bratislava and Slovakia have had, like many places in E

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urope, a turbulent history. Political unrest still exists because of corrupt government officials. Just last year, an investigative reporter and his fiancée were murdered; the perpetrators have not yet been brought to justice.</p><p id="f299">With all the facts about Slovakia’s history, the Nazi occupation, the liberation by the Soviets, Simona included personal anecdotes of her own family; how her great-grandparents hid a Jewish family during World War 2. The family survived and the four-year-old little boy became one of Slovakia’s top neurosurgeons.</p><h2 id="ff7c">Learning about very strange traditions</h2><p id="3b4c">She also told us of some strange Slovakian traditions. On Easter Monday, all of the women and girls stay at home and the men go around visiting their friends and relatives with a bucket or bowl of water and a willow switch. They throw the water over the woman who answers the door and beat her (gently) with the willow whip. She responds by giving them gifts: chocolate Easter eggs or even money. It doesn’t sound very fair to me, but the belief is that the water and whip will give the women the gift of beauty. I’d rather have the Easter eggs! Simona told us her little brother collected 150 euro from his female relatives last Easter!</p><p id="829d">Another strange tradition involves Christmas. The family catches a carp, a fish living in muddy rivers and lakes, but to make it edible for Christmas Eve, they keep it alive swimming in fresh water in the bath for the days leading up to Christmas. It amuses the children; they feed it and treat it as a pet. They kill it to be eaten on Christmas Eve dinner and the children must eat all of their dinner before they can receive their presents from under the tree. Of course, they are in a hurry to get to their presents, but they must eat slowly as the carp is full of small bones, and they don’t want to get a fishbone caught in their throat. Maybe this is meant to teach them patience.</p><figure id="a9f9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*1qQ5vR5ohQE-DRjS"><figcaption>One of the many statues around town Photo by Simona</figcaption></figure><p id="3c10">The third strange tradition is not quite as strange, but parents must name their child one of the name days of the year. Each day has a name day, and the parents can choose one of 365 names. The child then celebrates a birthday and a name day in much the same way. Because so many men and women are called Mikhail or Mikhaila, their name day often becomes a festival for a few days! So much celebrating! Only recently, you have been allowed to choose a foreign name, but it must be a real name with a real history; you are forbidden to call a child Apple here! My name day (Adriána) is 26 June!</p><p id="08ca">Sorry if I bored you with this, but I found it fascinating, so much so, I didn’t even notice the state of my feet until we reached the Blue Church — my favourite. I wanted to sit down but the church was closed, and I didn’t have the energy to hoist myself an extra inch to sit on the wall as others did. And I still had to walk back to my apartment!</p><figure id="2d70"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*vvSlambLxBze632V"><figcaption>The Blue Church Photo by author</figcaption></figure><p id="df5c">My feet are f***** after only two days of walking. How am I going to manage 5 months? After bathing my feet in a cold bath, I made the supreme effort to put shoes on and hobble down to Koun to experience “the best <i>gelato</i> in Bratislava”. It has a Trip Advisor 4 and a half stars award on the wall, and it lived up to its reputation. Not cheap — €5 for a triple serve. I sampled the sesame seed and honey, the elder-flower and poppy seed, and the cinnamon flavours. My favourite was the sesame seed and honey!</p><p id="8a83">Such a shame my bus to Budapest departs at 11.05 am and Koun doesn’t open till 11 am! That’s done it! I’ll have to make a return visit to Bratislava one day — just to eat another of those delicious ice-creams!</p></article></body>

Beautiful Bratislava

Number One on my itinerary.

My First Day

Bratislava was my first stop on my last European trip. On my first big trip, I’d only been to the railway station, passing through from Prague to Brasov. This time, I’d caught the bus directly from Vienna and fell into a deep sleep as soon as I reached my airbnb apartment. I had been travelling for more than 24 hours.

Waking early to a drizzly day, I donned my new rain jacket and headed down to the Danube. ( I think it’s the Danube but it could be a tributary.) I walked along the footpath until I came to a pedestrian crossing because I was not going to attempt crossing four lanes of traffic with tram tracks in the middle without traffic lights! The Danube looked quite dreary under the grey skies, but I walked along to the Most SNP Bridge (the one with the UFO Restaurant) before re-crossing the road and heading back towards Hviezdoslavovo Square.

The rain jacket was far too hot so I headed back to my apartment through the square, which is supposedly a pedestrian area. Delivery vehicles, taxis, trams, buses and trolleybuses are also permitted to use it, so it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Turning the corner into my normally quiet street, I came across a traffic jam. The whole street was clogged with cars! Earlier, I hadn’t noticed the primary school at the corner of my street, and every mum in Bratislava was dropping their kid off to school. I say, kid, because strangely, every mum had just one kid, usually a girl.

Hanging my wet rain jacket on the door hook, I headed out again. One of the local coffee shops was open! Dare I give it a go? I handed my eco-friendly keep cup over and asked for this much coffee and this much milk. €2.10 ($AU3.40) and it was filled to the brim! They made it perfectly. I have found my coffee shop! And it opens at 8 am! I was so happy to get coffee, (my first since I left Australia), I forgot to ask if they make breakfast.

Crossing Hviezdoslavovo Square once again, I walked up a side street in the direction of the Main Town Square, and found it without referring to a map or phone. It was empty but for a few Asian tourists. I walked around taking photos of the beautiful buildings and statues. I walked over to the other side of the square to check out an interesting little shop called Wine Not? and noticed another cute little shop right beside it.

The owner was lovely. While serving me, she excused herself to take off her undergarment, as she was very hot. I had a sleeveless top on which probably made her feel hotter, but it was really warm in the shop. I bought a Slovakia pin, and because she also sold stamps, a few postcards. Now I just have to find somewhere to post them!

I retraced my steps back to Hviezdoslavovo Square and paid €20 for the panoramic tour, which started at 11 am. It was still only just after 9 am, but I had walked 3.8 kilometres. I deserved a reward so toddled down to KOUN, reportedly the best ice-cream shop in Bratislava. But I wasn’t rewarded because it’s closed on Mondays!

I headed back to the apartment to brush my hair. The wind had picked up and the fallen autumn leaves were being swirled around the cobble-stoned streets. A similar thing has happened to my hair — it was a mass of tangled knots. The wind wasn’t cold. It was 22C and quite warm.

I arrived early back to the square not wanting to miss the tour. I sat down on a bench in filtered sunlight next to a guy in a t-shirt whom I thought must be a tourist. All of the locals are rugged up in puffer jackets. Heavens only knows what they’ll wear when it gets cold! He was an Australian from Sydney who’s been living in Europe for six years and takes private tours all around Europe. He was waiting for his tour group. What a life!

The Panorama Tour

I boarded the tour bus and chose a seat close to the front. We drove through the wealthy part of town on the hill overlooking the city up to the Slavin monument. On reaching the summit, there were still about 100 stairs to climb. Luckily, I had brought my hiking pole, as there were no handrails. The wind was pretty fierce up here, but nothing like it was when we reached Bratislava Castle. It was gale-force and the protective sheets that had been erected around the renovation were being ripped to shreds. I was afraid some of the smaller tourists would be blown off the parapet. I was being buffeted around and I’m no lightweight. However, the view was magnificent. I could see one of those luxury cruise ships that I’ll never be able to afford, making its way downriver, and way off in the distance the farmlands impregnated with wind turbines.

We continued back down to the town back to our final stop back in Hviezdoslavovo Square. I was starving! It must have been fighting the wind to stay erect that had made me hungry, also it had been a long time since breakfast and I’d walked 5.3km and climbed 11 flights of stairs since then! I almost ran to the Regal Burger Bar, which my host had recommended. I had no idea what to order so chose the Classic Burger and Fries for €9.90 and headed back to my apartment to enjoy my feast, washed down with a Stella Artois. Completely exhausted, I lay down and fell asleep immediately.

My second day

A cold morning was predicted but by the time I made it out, it was a perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of a breeze, warm in the sun, cool in the shade. I wandered round to my coffee shop, hoping for some breakfast as well as coffee, but was disappointed they only had sweet treats. I was determined not to resort to McDonalds, so I ordered two treats. I was still early for my free walking tour. I recommend you go on one of these free walking tours in every city you visit. You will learn so much!

I needed to stock up on food. I needed lunch for today, and breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. I bought sandwiches, as well as two tiny bread rolls for the ham and cheese I have, three pastries and splurged on a limoncello dessert. Probably real limoncello if the price was any indication! Checking the time, but not wanting to carry this load on the walking tour, I dashed back to my apartment, unloaded everything except the 25-percent-off pack of sandwiches (I can’t resist markdowns), and made it to the meeting spot for the free walking tour in front of the statue of Hviezdodslav.

Learning some history

Simona, our guide, told us a little about him. We learned more about Slovakia’s chequered history; the Candle Demonstration that occurred in this square in 1988, which precipitated the Velvet Revolution the following year, the collapse of Communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Czechoslovakia was split peacefully in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That was just recent history. Bratislava and Slovakia have had, like many places in Europe, a turbulent history. Political unrest still exists because of corrupt government officials. Just last year, an investigative reporter and his fiancée were murdered; the perpetrators have not yet been brought to justice.

With all the facts about Slovakia’s history, the Nazi occupation, the liberation by the Soviets, Simona included personal anecdotes of her own family; how her great-grandparents hid a Jewish family during World War 2. The family survived and the four-year-old little boy became one of Slovakia’s top neurosurgeons.

Learning about very strange traditions

She also told us of some strange Slovakian traditions. On Easter Monday, all of the women and girls stay at home and the men go around visiting their friends and relatives with a bucket or bowl of water and a willow switch. They throw the water over the woman who answers the door and beat her (gently) with the willow whip. She responds by giving them gifts: chocolate Easter eggs or even money. It doesn’t sound very fair to me, but the belief is that the water and whip will give the women the gift of beauty. I’d rather have the Easter eggs! Simona told us her little brother collected 150 euro from his female relatives last Easter!

Another strange tradition involves Christmas. The family catches a carp, a fish living in muddy rivers and lakes, but to make it edible for Christmas Eve, they keep it alive swimming in fresh water in the bath for the days leading up to Christmas. It amuses the children; they feed it and treat it as a pet. They kill it to be eaten on Christmas Eve dinner and the children must eat all of their dinner before they can receive their presents from under the tree. Of course, they are in a hurry to get to their presents, but they must eat slowly as the carp is full of small bones, and they don’t want to get a fishbone caught in their throat. Maybe this is meant to teach them patience.

One of the many statues around town Photo by Simona

The third strange tradition is not quite as strange, but parents must name their child one of the name days of the year. Each day has a name day, and the parents can choose one of 365 names. The child then celebrates a birthday and a name day in much the same way. Because so many men and women are called Mikhail or Mikhaila, their name day often becomes a festival for a few days! So much celebrating! Only recently, you have been allowed to choose a foreign name, but it must be a real name with a real history; you are forbidden to call a child Apple here! My name day (Adriána) is 26 June!

Sorry if I bored you with this, but I found it fascinating, so much so, I didn’t even notice the state of my feet until we reached the Blue Church — my favourite. I wanted to sit down but the church was closed, and I didn’t have the energy to hoist myself an extra inch to sit on the wall as others did. And I still had to walk back to my apartment!

My feet are f***** after only two days of walking. How am I going to manage 5 months? After bathing my feet in a cold bath, I made the supreme effort to put shoes on and hobble down to Koun to experience “the best gelato in Bratislava”. It has a Trip Advisor 4 and a half stars award on the wall, and it lived up to its reputation. Not cheap — €5 for a triple serve. I sampled the sesame seed and honey, the elder-flower and poppy seed, and the cinnamon flavours. My favourite was the sesame seed and honey!

Such a shame my bus to Budapest departs at 11.05 am and Koun doesn’t open till 11 am! That’s done it! I’ll have to make a return visit to Bratislava one day — just to eat another of those delicious ice-creams!