Bratislava – Day One

October 19^th, 2026 

My next stop on my trip was Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, which sits also sits on the Danube, upstream from Budapest.  I couldn’t find a train from Győr to Bratislava, so I booked a bus ride with a company called FlixBus.  They didn’t go directly there either.  The first leg was to Vienna airport, and after a 45-minute wait, I was on to Brat.  The bus didn’t stop at the border crossing into Austria, but an obvious way to tell when we were in Austria by the number of wind turbines…there were hundreds of them!

 

Bratislava lies on the border with Austria, and it only took about five minutes from entering Slovakia to crossing the Danube over the Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising) into the old part of the city.  The bridge is quite unique as there is the “UFO” towering over one end of it.  It is a flying-saucer-shaped observation deck and restaurant sitting 95 meters high atop the bridge's main pylon…which I plan to visit at some point during my two-day stay.

Crossing the Danube.

Walking up on of the main streets in Old Town towards my accommodation.

This is Michael's Gate, which I checked out later in the day.

From my research online, I found that there’s a “Bratislava Card”, which can give you access or at least discounts to many sights and attractions.  I decided that it looked worthwhile shelling out 36 Euros to get a 48-hour card which included public transportation, and I definitely got my money’s worth.  The woman behind the counter at the tourist centre told me that there was an English walking tour in 45-minutes and since it was a Monday, many of the museums and sights were closed, so I decided to get some lunch and join the tour.

There were only five of us on the tour, a young Canadian couple from Hamilton and I think the other couple were Spanish.  I was a couple minutes late joining the group, so I missed the introductions.  Our tour guide was Iveta, a blonde woman in her late 40s or early 50s, who has been doing these tours for 12 years, not just in English, but German and Slovakian as well.

The tour started here, looking at the Primate's Palace, which has had various roles over time but lately it's the seat of the mayor of Bratislava.

Bratislava's Old Town Hall, which was closed today so I'll check it out tomorrow.

Our tour guide Iveta.  Hard to see, but the darker part of the wall is some old fresco which is almost gone.

Iveta pointed out these little crowns that one numerous streets in the Old Town.  They designated coronation routes taken by past royalty.

Iveta told us that after Napoleon’s troops bombarded Bratislava during an 1809 siege, local authorities offered tax relief or exemptions to property owners whose buildings were damaged by French artillery.  She pointed out a cannonball in the Old Town Hall but challenged us to find one on this building...

There it is.  She claimed that some of them may have been placed by the owner of the building after the fact, to save some money.

The main street, a bit quieter than when I first arrived.

Franz Liszt was born in a nearby village and by the age of 6, he was performing in this building on the piano.  Iveta stated that he then went off to Vienna to be tutored by Beethoven, but according to Wikipedia, he mainly took lessons from Carl Czerny, who did receive lessons from Beethoven.  Liszt did meet Beethoven when he was only 11 years old.

This plaque on a nearby building to the Liszt one, signifies that Mozart did perform here.  He lived in Vienna at the time, which is only 55 kilometres away, however the journey back then would have taken 10-12 hours on a super bumpy road in a horse-drawn carriage.  Supposedly, and not surprisingly, Mozart never returned to the city.

That's St Martin's Cathedral, which I checked out at the end of the afternoon.

This is an old pharmacy.  It's hard to see, but above the doors on the right and the window on the first floor, "pharmacy" is written in Slovak, German and Hungarian.  Iveta mentioned that this is the only building left in the Old Town like this, but back in the day, all three languages were quite prevalent.

A good shot of the UFO.

Iveta pointing out a statue of Hans Christian Anderson.  Some of his stories are represented on the statue...see the snail at the bottom?  That's from "The Snail and the Rose Tree".

And there are more on the back, like "The Emperor's New Clothes".

The Bratislava Opera House, which was where our tour ended.

Iveta did a great job and was quite knowledgeable and engaging.  After the 75-minute tour, I knew that I had two sights to check out before the afternoon finished as Iveta mentioned that they were not open tomorrow.

Iveta did mention that one of the most famous statues was around the corner, so I had to go and check out "Čumil" or "Man at Work".

Well fach you too!

The first one was Michael’s Gate, which is one of the central buildings in the old town centre.  It is the only remaining gate of four left from the medieval fortifications, and it was built around 1300.  Its present shape is the result of baroque reconstructions in 1758, when the statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top.

 

I started climbing up towards the balcony, which sits about 35-40 meters above street level (the tower is 51 meters tall).  On each floor, there were a few exhibits, but I did a cursory survey of them and kept climbing the stairs as they weren’t very interesting.  The view was decent but I’m glad I didn’t pay the normal 8 Euro entry fee as it was included with my card, and I didn’t think it was worth 8 Euros.

Looking back down the main street.

There's Bratislava Castle up on the hill.

Looking to the north.

Having a look around from Michael's Gate.

Back down on the street.

Interesting pharmacy sign, they can't help you if you have crabs, but no problem if you have lobsters!

This is one of the only, if not the only, section of the wall of the old fortification left.

Some interesting street artwork.

The other stop I had to make was to walk up a nearby hill to the Bratislava Castle, which dominates the skyline of the old town.  Originally build in the 10^th century, it has undergone a number of expansions and improvements over the years.  It was more impressive on the outside than the inside. 

An interesting statue on the walk up the hill to the castle, not sure of its significance.

Getting closer...

See the silhouetted of three figures?

It's a cool statue of the Saints Cyril, Methodius & Gorazd.  Not sure who they are though.

But I did like the statue.

The front of the castle.

The view from the castle.

The Most SNP with the UFO.

Looking towards Austria...look at all of those wind turbines.

Selfie time.

Charge!

The inner courtyard was not much to look at.

Like Michael’s Gate, I would have been disappointed if I’d paid the entry fee to see the inside as there wasn’t much of interest, to me at least.  I was in and out in about half an hour even though I walked around all four floors.  That must have been quick as the lady at the coat check remarked that she was surprised that I was already leaving.  I’m still glad I made the effort to check out the castle as you just never know what you might, or might not, find.

Heading up to the next floor...with stairs that were annoying to climb as they didn't work with a normal gait.

One of the few ornate things in the castle.

Well, and this chandelier.

An old Torah Scroll.

A variety of depressing looking Christian statues.

I'm not sure why old Christian artwork has to be so macabre.  I'm not religious, but if I had to pick one, it would be Hinduism as it's so much more happy and colourful.  Plus there are so many gods to choose from, you're bound to find one you like.

The gardens behind the castle.

Iveta had pointed out this building from a distance and I wanted to check it out closer up.  It is the only remaining old building in the area outside of the Old Town...and I liked the shape.

I ventured into St. Martin's Cathedral, and I think a new organist was practicing...

That was enough for today and after all of that walking around, I was ready to sit down in a pub and have a few beers while I did some blogging, and the Pheasant Pub fit that bill.  I grabbed a slice of pizza on my way back to my accommodation and called it an early night.  There’s still lots to see on my second, and final day in Bratislava tomorrow.