A day in Bratislava, Slovakia

Continuing with my summer 2017 travel posts, I present to you..... Bratislava! Now,  Slovakia isn't really a place your mind springs to when you think of where to go in the summer. But it was only 2 hours from Vienna, so we decided to do a day trip there whilst we had the chance, because really, when were we going to be in Slovakia again?

And it was honestly THE most amazing place. Probably one of the nicest places I've been to. If there was a word to describe the city, I would say unspoilt. Or maybe charming. Or medieval. I just fell in love (can you tell??)

We had a tour from a local guide, who spoke good English and was really knowledgable about the history of the wonderful city. She took us around Old Town, which is the historic centre of Bratislava. The whole place was so picturesque, and there were loads of interesting things to see along the way.

There are quite a few little statues in the town, all with their own stories. My favourite was 'Man At Work'. This was a statue of a sewage worker peeping out of the man hole watching people. Apparently, if you touch his head your wishes come true. I don't know how lucky he really is, as the statue was beheaded by drivers running over it- hence the sign.

As you are walking through Old Town, you will see more than a hundred (I think the tour guide said over 170) of these little crowns all over the pavement. These mark the route of the coronation of the kings through the town.

My favourite street was Ventúrska Street. There is a side road where if you look down you can see the Bratislava castle, which has a distinct rectangular shape with 4 towers.

There are also some beautiful churches and buildings, like St Elizabeth's church (which is blue), St Michael's tower and the city hall. What I really liked was that each building was completely different and has it own individual charm. It was also really different to Vienna in terms of atmosphere and architecture, so a refreshing change.

In the afternoon, we decided to walk up the Castle. It was 33 degrees and a trek uphill (and I was dangerously dehydrated), but once we got up there it was 100% worth it. The views were insane, and around the castle there were pretty garden areas to sit. We easily could've spent more time there, but we only had one day to see as much as we could.

We were told by the guide to try Pressburg bagels, specially filled bagels. We knew no Slovak so had no idea what the fillings were, but there were two types so we tried both. 

One turned out to be a poppy seed filling, and the other was an apple/cinnamon one. I definitely preferred the apple one. There were also loads of places to get quite cheap beer and traditional Slovakian cuisine, but we were quite short on time. I don't know if it was because we were in the historical centre, but almost all the shops there were restaurants or cafes, so I feel like eating out is quite a bit part of the culture.

Overall, I loved my day in Bratislava. The atmosphere was friendly, relaxed and peaceful (although too hot). My only regret is not spending more time there! I can't wait to go back there one day.