A Day in Bratislava
This very underrated city may not be on your radar, but it is worth spending a day in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. We had a stop there on a river cruise on the Danube River, and found it was a lovely city.
About Bratislava
Bratislava is very small for a capital city, with just around 475,000 people. Its smaller size makes for a wonderfully walkable city without the overwhelming traffic of many other capitals. The city has existed for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until 1992 when Czechoslovakia was split that it became the capital of Slovakia.
What to Do
We spent most of our morning walking around the Old Town section of Bratislava. First, we hiked up to Bratislava Castle, on a hill overlooking the city. While we did not go inside the castle, we did wander around the grounds before making our way back down along some pathways and cobblestone streets.
One of the truly unique features of Bratislava are the many statues found in different spots. We passed by several of them but there are many more that we did not see. One of my favourites was the statue of The Witch, also known as Basorka. We passed by her right after leaving the castle. This statue is a monument to all women who were accused of witchcraft. As we made our way down into the main square in town, we came across the statue of Schone Naci. This one was modeled after a local man who was a bit of a Casanova. He would dress up and greet all the ladies by bowing down before them and kissing their hands. One other statue nearby we saw was that of Cumil, or Man at Work. It is the head and shoulders of a man peering out from a manhole cover. Legend has it that if you rub his head you will have good fortune and if you rub his nose you will get pregnant.
Next Time in Bratislava
We didn’t have time to seek out more of the statues, but I would have liked to see those of The Lion, Napoleon’s Army Soldier, or the Canoe. Aside from the sights we could see in a day in Bratislava, there are other activities I would seek out next time. The wine tasting in the dark that takes place in an historic cellar sounds very interesting. I would like to see how the lack of vision impacts my sense of taste and smell. About half an hour outside of Bratislava is the town of Modra where a large pottery manufacturer is located. There they offer a ceramic tour where you can also make or paint your own piece of pottery. And finally, something quite different would be a military guns shooting experience with a chance to fire a sniper rifle, an assault rifle and a submachine gun safely.
