Anniversary trip: Bratislava

 

Did you know that Vienna and Bratislava are the two closest capital cities in the world? They are only about an hour apart from each other. We took a bus from Vienna to Bratislava to spend the day and check off Slovakia from the list of countries we have visited. 

To get the most of our time in the city, we booked a walking tour through Airbnb. It was the perfect start to our day as it gave us a ton of interesting information and history about the city, but it was short enough that we could meander around afterward. 

The above picture is showing where the Jewish synagogue used to stand. You can see it outlined in stone on the ground and there are a bunch of displays talking about the history and showing pictures of it. I love that they memorialized it this way and it's a shame that it was torn down.

There are a few quirky statues around the historic center of Bratislava and this is one of them. It's located just outside the French embassy and is poking fun at the French. 

This statue, as was explained to us by our guide, is memorializing a man who was iconic to Bratislava. From my understanding, he was a homeless man, but he was always dressed to the nines as depicted in the statue. He was a very jovial and friendly person and I just love how the artist is showcasing an everyday person. 

This one is called Man at Work. In normal times, our guide said, this statue is surrounded by crowds for pictures. When we went after the tour to grab a picture, there were a few people but it was nice not to have to wait around too long for a picture. 

When researching Bratislava, we saw this blue church and chose to see it in person. It's just outside the historic city center, but it was so neat looking that I am glad we took the detour to see it. We did not go inside, so I'm not sure how it compares to the unique exterior. 

This is a fun statue of Hans Christian Anderson that is along the boulevard in the city center. This was a lovely tree lined area with cafes and benches. Great for people watching!

For lunch we found a restaurant that serves traditional Slovakian dishes and gave it a try! Everything was delicious!