BRATISLAVA IS LIKE SOME RICH DESSERT
It sounded like a dessert, the sweet, layered pastry Baklava. Whatever, Bratislava sounded exotic, so we were definitely going. It was just about an hour’s drive from Vienna, Austria, where we already were, so my sisters and I booked the day trip to Slovakia’s capital without any discussion.
Slovakia is not the homeland of Melania Trump. That would be Slovenia.
Rather, Slovakia is one half of the former Czechoslovakia, the other being the Czech Republic. The split took effect in 1993 “without any referendum,” our tour director Viktor, a Czech national, said. “Politicians decided on the split.”
In Bratislava, the Old Town borough has practically all the things one needs to see in this city, including the Bratislava Castle, a border fortress set on a hill above the Danube River. Fortified settlements on this hill from 3500 BC morphed into the first stone castle here in the 9th century which, of course, is not the castle we see today because naturally, every occupant who used the castle over the centuries wanted to change its look and use.
The castle housed Hungary’s crown jewels for 200 years starting in the 1500s because from the year 1000 to 1918, Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, the castle hosts museums containing archaeological finds and exhibits on Slovakia’s history.
After taking outdoor shots of the castle and the Danube, we were back on our bus, which soon swept past the stately white, rococo-baroque style Grassalkovich Palace. Built for a Hungarian aristocrat, the 18th century palace is now the residence of Slovakia’s president.
The presidential palace looks immaculate despite its age, which makes me wonder if they secretly repaint it every year. Bratislava can well afford it, as it
is the sixth richest region in the European Union.
Gate to the past
One way to enter the Old Town is through Michael’s Gate, named after St. Michael the archangel. Built in 1300, it is the only one of the four medieval gates into the town to remain standing.
We got to the gate by walking over a pedestrian bridge that used to be a wooden drawbridge over a moat. I tried to take a photo of the statue of St. Michael mounted on one side of the bridge, but a tourist was taking forever to take photos of herself beside the saint. Moats have their uses, and if they hadn’t replaced the moat under us with a garden, I might have thrown her into the water below just to remind her that other tourists’ patience is not infinite.
The gate’s tower houses a museum on weapons.
Once through the gate, restaurants and cafés make their appearance, and we stopped by one of them later to get an ice cream for one euro (P52). On the way to St. Martin’s Cathedral, we strode past postcard-perfect 16th and 17th century buildings that looked like they had come straight out of a movie.
The Gothic-style St. Martin’s Cathedral was the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary for 300 years, since Bratislava was the kingdom’s capital. It is a Roman Catholic Church. Slovakia is 80 percent Roman Catholic.
In the church, St. Martin is depicted in an equestrian statue in Hungarian cavalry dress, as he was a soldier. The statue of the 4th century saint is eclipsed by the stained glass windows and gold altarpieces in the cathedral.
Surprises
Among the surprises the Old Town revealed were the noblemen’s palaces that tourists may enter. Economic realities forced them to evolve, so they now house trendy bars and restaurants.
At the Main Square, one of the Old Town’s four squares, the top attraction is the Old Town Hall comprising three buildings. Dating back to the 14th century, Slovakia’s oldest city hall hosts the 150-year-old Bratislava City Museum, which has an exhibit on, among other things, the city’s feudal justice (meaning dungeons and torture devices).
In the open, the Old Town features a number of sculptures that are popular photo stops, like the Cumil Sculpture of a man coming out of a manhole. Don’t lean on them, though. In the squares, a gold or bronze figure in medieval armor may not be a sculpture but a real person able to keep perfectly still, for which you may show your admiration by dropping a euro or more.
At the Old Town’s Hviezdoslav Square, we saw the Slovak National Theater for opera and ballet performances still looking splendid at 130 years old.
Age-defying itself at 1,000 years old, the square also features embassies, the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, fountains, restaurants, bars, souvenir stalls and comfortable benches one could lounge on while enjoying the view.
Bratislava is just like dessert. It’s small, rich, and something you can sneak in without reservation.