any of you been to slovakia?

[Zoomerang96]

or bratislava more specifically?

just curious what you thought of the city. it looks nice in pictures, and all the people i've talked to say mostly good things about it.

it's certainly nicer than warsaw, from what i gather.

 

[Calluna]

Notiti has been to Slovakia, as you can see from the related threads feature at the bottom of the page. She is both krunker than you and she has been to Slovakia, in 2002. I'm sure she'd just love to tell you all about it but she won't see this thread posted here, you'll have to bring it to her attention.

 

[anitram]

Yep. I've been to Bratislava about 3 times, both when it was still Czechoslovakia and later in the 90s. I've also stayed in the resort area of Zlate Piesky which is sort of on the outskirts of town. There were quite cheap cabins out there to rent in the summertime on a weekly basis.

It is far less cosmopolitan than Prague, but some really great and cheap food back when I went. There also weren't too many tourists - mostly Austrians, actually (I guess due to the proximity to the border).

 

[phillyfan26]

It was Slovak Day last Sunday at PNC Park, and I was there.

 

[notiti]

Of course I've been beary.
Bratislava is a great little town, very easy to get around, very friendly locals. I've been there about four times all up. Of course this was pre-Euro, but according to my friends in Prague it's still sufficiently inexpensive that you should be able to stay near the town center for cheap, which is what I would reccomend. If you want to be in town then the stary mesto is pretty much the place to be. The museum up in the castle is lovely and highly reccomended, also there are a lot of galleries that you can find just having a wander. I found a great Mucha exhibit last I was there just walking down the street.
Oh and seek out the bar paparrazi. Really fantastic martinis.
I would reccomend it just for a look at the Novy Most as well. It's pretty impresive from the top of the castle hill. It's just giant bridge and communist era arpartment blocks into the distance.
If you're going to be in Slovakia for a while try going up to Trencin as well. It's a fantastic town, beautiful country side, plus you can go see Eljbetta Batroy's castle. Or castle ruins. Everyone loves a good vampire story.
Anyway yes, go. And tell the Slovaks you perfer them to the Czechs and they will be all over you.

 

[angelordevil]

Never been there, but I'd absolutely love to go. The history, the hockey, the people.

Joe Schlesinger, the great CBC reporter, grew up in Bratislava. I've heard him mention the place quite often in his documentaries.

 

[randhail]

It was Slovak Day last Sunday at PNC Park, and I was there.

Did you run into my high school classmate Chris Slovak?

 

[Zoomerang96]

thanks everyone, particularly anitram and notiti.

my journal sort of explains why i made this thread in the first place.

 

[last unicorn]

Since I live only a few miles away from Bratislava, I have been there several times. It has a beautiful little city center, much less cosmopolitan like Prague, but quite precious. I like the old city hall and the opera house very much, and it's still pretty cheap, there are some nice restaurants, and you have a great look from the castle and especially from the "ufo", a restaurant on top of the bridge, you can go up there in an elevator and have a great panoramic view of the city and its surroundings.

I live in Vienna and we have a great and very quick ship connection to Bratislava via the Danube, it takes us about 1 hour to go there by ship. If you go there in the morning and back in the evening, you can have quite a nice day there, do some sightseeing and shopping and go back in the evening.

 

[Varitek]

I went when I was living in Austria - I thought it was pretty average, or subpar as nearby European cities compare. But cheap. We went to the castle and the Jewish Museum, I wish the clock museum had been open. Then we had a cheap decent meal but the wine was pretty poor. Then we went ot an Irish pub and then hopped back on the train to Vienna.

It was 12 euro round trip from Vienna on the train, about 45 minutes.

 

[anitram]

I'm not sure why anyone would expect great wine in Eastern Europe to be quite frank. Aside from Croatia (due to the Mediterranean coastline) and parts of Romania (due to warm climate), there really isn't good local wine.

Another great thing to see is the Dobsinska Ice Cave, which isn't that close to Bratislava (it's further east by Brezno), but it's a stunning place to see.

 

[kafrun]

Dying to go. That's where half my family is from, so I've seen pics and heard stories.

 

[Dulce de Leche]

I've just asked someone who has been there several times and all he said was that it's a typical eastern European city and you could get loads of women if you want.

 

[Varitek]

I'm not sure why anyone would expect great wine in Eastern Europe to be quite frank. Aside from Croatia (due to the Mediterranean coastline) and parts of Romania (due to warm climate), there really isn't good local wine.

Another great thing to see is the Dobsinska Ice Cave, which isn't that close to Bratislava (it's further east by Brezno), but it's a stunning place to see.

Hey, I'm a beer girl, my friends didn't like their wine. But I believe they claimed it was Croatian. Incidentally I've had hit or miss wine there as well.

We also had the most wretched mixed drinks ever at the "rock n roll" bar we went to before we found the Irish pub.

 

[last unicorn]

I was always drinking beer in Slovakia and the Czech Republik, never wine, mainly because I am so "spoiled" by our excellent Austrian red wines, so I am very critical when it comes to other wines, except for Italy and Spain. BUT the beer was very good and also the meals, and they are still quite cheap.

And yes, it's true, there is still very much of the eastern Europe "charm" in and around Bratislava, which is, of course, no charm at all. Outside of the really nice city center there is a lot of communist architecture, it's really an ugly sight. We had a city tour with a guide once, it lasted for about 3 hours and was very interesting, we learned a lot about history and the development of the city and country after the fall of the iron curtain.

The St. Martin's cathedral is also a very nice church to visit, it's Bratislava's main church.