Tom`s travels: Bratislava (5-6/01/2018)

Ania and I decided to take a trip around a few countries for several days starting with Slovakia, where we up meet up first. I took a flight from Italy in the morning while Ania was taking hers from Germany in the late afternoon. So after arriving in the capital city, Bratislava, I decided to visit a bit while waiting for Ania. I took a bus from the airport which took me quickly to the city center. First I wanted to check in our accommodation so I could leave my bag and explore more. So after reaching the address of the Downtown Bratislava Hostel, I went to check in. However, to my surprise, there were workers doing construction work there to which I asked regarding the hostel no one knew what to tell me so I headed to the bar next door which told me the hostel was closed due to reconstruction going on. At that point, I felt quite lost as we had booked a room for that night without knowing and without being told that it was closed. I panicked a little and then proceeded to quickly look up another accommodation. I managed to find one across town so decided to continue my visit of the city and head there later. I passed by the western walls of the old town and started climbing uphill past the church of St Nicholas which was unfortunately closed, and then reaching the top of the hill where the castle is located. I checked the Baroque garden first, which due to the time of the year was not at its best appearance, and then admired the view from the terrace in front of the castle spacing over the Danube river. Then it was time to enter the castle proper. Dating originally to the 9th century, it was modified several times throughout the centuries, then suffering near-complete destruction in the 19th century. Finally, during the mid 20th century, it was reconstructed its current Baroque forms. I bought the ticket and then entered the museum. The Slovak National Museum, contains many objects, paintings, and coins ranging from the Middle Ages to modern times. Once back out in the cold of January I headed down the hill and into the old town. I then visited the Cathedral of St Martin which served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. It was built in the Gothic style and the interior reflected that style perfectly. It was then time to head to the bus station where Ania was soon arriving from the airport. After picking her up and bringing the luggage to the hostel we then headed out into the city. We walked a bit around the city center and grabbed a hot chocolate at a bar. Then we had dinner at a place called U Sedliaka which had good food for reasonable prices. The next day we headed into the city center again and passed through St Michael's gate, the only surviving city gate from the medieval fortifications of the town. Despite being built during the 14th century its present form is due to a Baroque reconstruction which gives it an extremely photogenic look. After passing under the gate we walked further and reached the Frantiskanske Nameste or Franciscan square. On one side of it stands the Jesuit church which we proceeded to visit, built during the 17th century for the local Protestant community. Right next to the church the area opened up to form the Hlavne Namesti, or main square. The place was still decorated with the Christmas lights which gave an extra feel to it. At the center there is a bronze statue of a Napoleonic soldier leaning on a bench; this was made to signal how Napoleon and its army entered the city in 1805. Right by the statue stands the Roland fountain, a 16th-century monument with the statue of Maximilian II the king of Hungary who financed its construction. Walking through another street we then encountered Cumil, the statue of a man at work which as the legend goes, is either uninterested about his ongoing work or is trying to look under women's skirts. We passed by the Slovak National Theatre, a neo-renaissance building, and walking further eventually reached the church of St Elizabeth. This church is very interesting as its fully blue and built at the beginning of the 20th century in the Art Nouveau style. A mass was going on inside so we gave a quick glance and then went out once again. Heading back towards the city center we passed by the Holy Trinity column built during the 18th century and walked through the old town streets filled with baroque and neoclassical buildings. We then reached the main square again and walked under the town hall, considered to be the oldest town hall in the country. It was built during the 14-15th centuries by connecting three townhouses into one complex. After passing under the town hall tower, we reached the small yet pretty courtyard surrounded by renaissance colonnades. Behind the town hall complex, we passed by the ice rink which was put up for Christmas and went through the Primate's Palace, a neoclassical building from the 18th century. It was the site of the signing of the fourth Peace of Pressburg ending the war of the Third Coalition in the early 1800s. The courtyard at its center holds a really nice statue of St George and the dragon. It was then time to go so after grabbing our luggage we headed for the bus station where we took our ride onwards to Vienna.