Bratislava – Day 5

It was another beautiful day today in Bratislava, but a bit cool to eat breakfast on the terrace.

We decided to start the day at The Slavin, a memorial monument and military cemetery, which is the burial ground of thousands of Soviet army soldiers, who fell liberating western Slovakia in April 1945.

We took the tram a few stops because our 72 hour pass was still valid, and I wanted to reserve my energy for walking new areas. Just after alighting, we saw another one of Bratislava’s famous statues.

Next we headed for the Presidential Palace.

While standing at an intersection, waiting to cross I did a panoramic shot and caught this distorted version of a streetcar which amused me greatly.

Bratislava has an incredible mix of architecture and many beautiful older apartment buildings.

The Slavin is on the top of a hill and the streets are so steep that the sidewalks are stairs.

This neighbourhood is a very odd mixture of ambassadors’ residences, the homes of wealthy people, and abandoned homes.

There are often staircases between streets, which is faster for pedestrians, and often easier, then walking up the steep roads.

Once we got almost to the top of the hill we were greeted with this relief on a staircase that took us up to the memorial.

The soldier on the top of the memorial is sculpted stepping on a swastika.

This is the Chinese ambassador’s residence.

This is the American ambassador’s residence, and unsurprisingly, the most fortified of all of the residences on the hill. It looks like a mini White House.

Here are some examples of crumbling buildings, sometimes next to, and even attached to, crumbling ones.

We used these stairs on our way down from the Slavin. Again, very run down on the way to a very popular tourist destination, and in this case, in a wealthy neighbourhood.

We had lunch at this restaurant. We seem to have cracked the code for getting tapwater and not having to pay for a bottle – ask for a jug of draft water and a glass. Michael has been asking in Slovak, but there still seems to be a fair bit of discussion. I said I can just show this picture when I’m out on my own.

Michael, and Andrej, have told me I must try Bryndzové halušky, traditional Slovak sheep cheese gnocchi, with crispy bacon, spring onion and chives. I’m not a big fan of gnocchi, but tried it for lunch today. All I can say is that I’ve now tried it.

After lunch, we visited the gardens behind the Presidential Palace and had coffee.

A lot of restaurants have blankets available for people to use when sitting outside in cooler weather.

There was a very impressive bathroom in the Gardens of the Presidential Palace, but it cost €0.50 each to use.

I saw this wonderful bike on our way to the Blue Church, one of Bratislava’s most famous sites.

This wide street is for pedestrians and cyclists only.

Ján Kuciak was a Slovak investigative journalist who worked as a reporter and focused mainly on investigating the tax fraud of several businessmen with connections to top-level Slovak politicians. He and his fiancée were shot dead in February 2018 in their home in Veľká Mača. This sparked protests and led to the fall of The Prime Minister and cabinet.

This is the Square of the Slovak National Uprising. In 1974, the sculpture of a partisan and two women was unveiled at the 30th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. It is the main place in the city for demonstrations. The revolutionary demonstrations took place here in November 1989. In 2018 even more people protested here after the murder Ján Kuciak.

This is the church of Saint Elisabeth, popularly known as of the Blue Church. It is consecrated to Elizabeth of Hungary, who was a princess in the kingdom of Hungary. She was married at the age of 14 and widowed at 20. After being widowed she regained her dowry and used the money to build a hospital where she worked. She became a symbol of Christian charity after her death at the age of 24.

After visiting the church, we decided to head back to the hotel on the tram. We had to purchase a ticket because our 72 hour pass had expired. One purchases a ticket by a combination of zones and riding time here.

We had dinner at Klubovňa, 50 steps from the hotel lobby, again. Dessert was good. And I made use of the provided blanket to stay comfortable on the patio.

It was twilight when we returned. Michael goes to work tomorrow and I will get around by bike share. This is the busy street in front of the hotel, but cars are required to stop for pedestrians. They have to drive up a ramp and proceed slowly through the pointed stones narrowing the roadway. It seems to work well.


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