Bratislava is a cool city that was once part of the Soviet Union. Even though Wikipedia says it's the 3rd richest region in the European Union, tourism in Bratislava is remarkably affordable. If my memory is correct, Bratislava was one of the top 3 cheapest places in Europe that I visited.
I arrived in Bratislava by train from Krakow, Poland. It's a little difficult to put my finger on the details, but there was definitely a sense that I was moving from Western Europe to Eastern Europe. Or whatever those terms mean in my mind since Krakow is further east than Bratislava.
I found a nice little hotel at a great price. Penzión DONET really impressed me. Originally I had booked 2 nights, but extended my stay another two because the bed was so nice. They also washed my clothes at a great price. If I didn't have a meeting to make in Budapest, I might have stayed for a week or two.
Bratislava is a really cool city with a weird vibe. Wandering around some of the streets, it felt a little bit like the post-apocalypse. Or like something had happened that removed all of the people.
I had just spent 3 months visiting cities that were packed with tourists. It was a little strange to be in a place that wasn't full of people taking photos and following tour guides.
In some areas there would be a lot of tourists, but most areas seemed empty of tourists and locals alike. It was kind of like visiting a Spanish town during siesta, or maybe all of the locals go on vacation after peak tourist season is over? I remember walking 1 or 2 kilometers to get some lunch and only 1 car passed me on the street. It just felt a little strange.
For example, this big park with a cool fountain in it. It looks like it used to be really nice. Now it's empty and covered with graffiti. In my mind, it raises so many questions. What was this place built for? What happened to it? It's a fun mystery to explore while traveling. There's also a little hint of danger. I never felt like I was in danger, but compared to some cities that felt like Disneyland, Bratislava felt like it had an edge to it.
These pictures were taken a few years ago. I wonder if the park has been restored or if it has fallen into more disrepair.
Another weird thing is this giant office building in the shape of an inverted pyramid. The building looks pretty badass. But it also looks like one day someone just locked the door and never opened it up again. Seeing things like this make me so curious. I just want to explore and figure it out.
I'm really curious about the story of this building. I did a little searching and it's a radio station?
The building of Slovak Radio ranks in the top 30 buildings in the world even though many prominent architects designed its intriguing structure.
If you like to see buildings with a difference, take a walk around to see its ‘inverted pyramid’ structure. The building has a concert hall and a large concert organ along with its function of being a Radio center.
I'm not going to link to the source of that text because it's a garbage travel website that had a ton of pop-ups. Who does pop-ups anymore?
I went by the building at night and one office still had a light on. The single light on added more mystery than if they were all off. Does someone still work there?
The old town part of the city is very cool and impressive to look at, but it's also a little run down. I've got mixed feelings about it. It's not as pretty as the perfectly maintained buildings of Poland and Germany, but there's a certain amount of character and mystery that comes with a building that has peeling paint.
There are lots of interesting and historical areas to see in Bratislava. It's a great city for wandering around with your camera.
Some of the buildings had some great Soviet Era decorations on them. I think the photo above is a daycare or school. The little heads popping out strike me as a little creepy.
There's a lot of really impressive graffiti in Bratislava, but there's also tons of really shitty tags too.
I think Bratislava had the most murals out of any city that I visited. This city has a ton of artistic talent.
A river runs through Bratislava and a long bridge crosses over it. Walking across it doesn't take too much time, but I didn't find much to do on the other side.
While the city does have an abandoned feeling to it during the day. It comes to life when the sun goes down. Lots of people go out for restaurants, bars, and clubs.
Here are a few more photos taken while wandering. There was no shortage of little side streets and alleyways that lead to fun things to snap pictures of.
And that concludes my tour of Bratislava. I really enjoyed my time in this city. The prices for food and beer were the cheapest I had seen so far in Europe. And the strange vibe to the city was more of an attraction than a deterrent to me. I liked the oddness of it all.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the City to City tour. Next up with be the amazing and opulent city of Vienna!
Something unique from Bratislava
This is the front of a little stand for selling nuts. Something about the colors and graphic design really appeal to me. I wasn't in the mood for nuts, but I would have liked to see what was for sale here.