We took a boat from Vienna, along the River Danube to Bratislava, in Slovakia. The boat really took off like a rocket, leaving a huge wave in its wake. As we moved into Slovakia we saw churches and castles on the cliffs above us. The journey only took around an hour and it was a beautiful way to travel to Bratislava.
Finally, we were greeted by the huge spacecraft bridge that signals arrival into Bratislava. We later paid this structure a visit – it is a bizarre looking bridge, with a restaurant at the top. It was too expensive for us so we did not go up, but we wanted to check it out nonetheless.
We did the usual sightseeing thing in Bratislava, wandering around the old streets and taking in the churches, the trams, the shops and cafes, the fountains, sculptures and a castle! The castle is situated on a hill and I would recommend a visit purely for the views across Bratislava and across the River Danube. Typically, as soon as we got up there the heavens opened and we spent quite a while hiding from the rain in a doorway!
I heard that there was a Tesco in Bratislava, and I wanted to pay it a visit. Which is very sad, really. In England, Tesco is a supermarket selling food. So visiting it abroad is possibly like going to an English pub… but not really – this was the Bratislavan version of Tesco. It was the same company but in Bratislava it was more like a department store, with about five floors. It sold pretty much everything, from tents to lawnmowers, cosmetics to toys.
I was surprised by how expensive everything was. I thought that England was a relatively expensive country, and Eastern Europe was cheap. However, we found it to be around the same as England, from Tesco to restaurants. I think it has become popular with stag “do”s, which might explain the prices. I expect that rural parts of the country would be much cheaper than Bratislava itself.
I wanted to love Bratislava and be head over heels for it. Unfortunately I was mildly disappointed, partly as there was less to do than I expected, and partly because things cost more than I expected. I guess it didn’t help that we had quite a bit of heavy rain… in July! Overall, Bratislava was cute for a short break, with some pretty streets to wander through. But beyond a couple of days I think you’d struggle to find things to do. I was glad we had paired it with Vienna.
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