Make Time: Bratislava - Amazing Charm and Old School Beauty

Stasha and I jumped on a train to Bratislava on Sunday, which was an absolutely great idea. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, which was formerly part of Czechoslovakia - though now there are two countries: Czech Republic and Slovakia. Slovakia is only an hour train ride from Vienna, and we got into town around lunchtime. Funny - on the train ride we were first addressed in German by the Vienna conductor, and then as we crossed into Slovakia we were then addressed again, but this time in Slovakian, by a new conductor. Our tickets were stamped twice - one for each conductor. They didn't check our passports, which was random, but I guess they assume we were coming from Vienna so they didn't worry much about us. The previous night we had been out pretty late, so we had a later start than we had anticipated, but it was all good because it's a very small town. We got off the train and immediately you could feel that we had crossed into eastern Europe. Yes, it's very close to Vienna, but you can just sense a difference in the architecture and overall vibe when you arrive. We walk out of the station, which is pretty drab, and head towards the downtown area. We've been told there is an old city part, so we ask a few people and find our way into these very small and windy streets - absolutely felt like a time travel experience. On top of all this there was a marathon going on throughout the city, so we saw runners going by as we were enjoying the tourist aspects of the old city. We grab some grub at a pub in the old city and then walk around for a few hours, hitting up all the sights - the Danube River, St Michael's Gate, Bratislava Castle, St Martin's Cathedral. There are some great pictures below, so I'll let them speak for themselves, but I can't say enough about how much charm and beauty this old city had for us both. We really felt like we jumped back in time, and the people were very lovely and nice everywhere we visited. Eventually we found an adorable little cafe called St Martin's Cafe, which was right next to the cathedral, and we sat for a while before heading back to Vienna for a low key dinner - just Stasha and me. Although it was just a few hours, I think Bratislava really touched both me and Stasha. It's the type of place you wish everyone you knew could experience. So much beauty in such a small space. It really felt untouched through time. After getting back to Vienna that night we grabbed pub food at an Irish bar - Stasha's favorite pastime :) - and then we hit the hay relatively early. We were anxious to get after some tourist things in Vienna on Monday, our last full day in Austria.

Classic entry in Slovakia!

St Michael's Gate

One of the main squares in town - such a throwback!

Saw this woman playing just off the square and had to take a pic. The keys were all colored, which was probably for learning, but this woman was amazing.