Bratislava

Good train trip from Krems to Vienna where we used the metro to get to the Sudbanhof station. From there it was an hour trip to Bratislava.

The main station in Bratislava on first appearance was dodgy. Cab drivers trying to fleece the tourist so we decided to walk to our hotel which wasn’t too bad. We started to get a feel for the city.

Bratislava is an enigma with cheap prices for some thing but prices for accommodation can get tricky. Anywhere where business travellers stay have extremely high prices. From previous research we headed to the IBIS hotel where the rates were reasonable.

They also had 24 hours service which included drinks and to Claire’s delight she could get a cup of tea whenever she wanted one.

After settling into our room we headed off to explore the town. It was cloudy and cool but not unpleasant. The old town is famous for its quirky statues and it was fun searching them out. The markets in the centre of town were worth a look as well.

Hlavne Square

Peter making friends

  Rubber Neck

On a recommendation from our hotel we found a traditional Slovakian restaurant which was located in a tremendous old building. Here we enjoyed drinks and very good food that up until this point represented the best value meal in our European sojourn. 35 euro for the night.

Main Square at night

The next day the weather turned sour with cold winds and showers through most of the day. We did venture out to visit the castle and explore the town, but by mid afternoon retreated to our room.

Bratislava Castle

Paparazzi

Church and Convent of the Order of St. Claire

Peter when ducking out for a smoke at one stage found a small restaurant pub about one hundred metres up the road from the IBIS hotel. Because of the weather we didn’t want to venture far from the hotel for the evening meal, so we tried this restaurant/pub out.

The “Business Pub restaurant” was the best value meal of all the places we have tried on our travels. Peter had a few beers and we both had several glasses of wine. Two excellent main meals. Peter had some beautiful spiced ribs and Claire had a mixed spice stew. We both enjoyed crepes with ice cream and cream and the total bill was 25 euro.

In some ways we are glad we did the trip this way around. If we had done the trip in reverse we would have been complaining constantly about the prices in Paris, Stockholm and Copenhagen.

We enjoyed Bratislava but the visit was tainted by the weather. Still we can’t complain as the weather for most of the trip hasn’t caused any problems.