Today was Bratislava and this was our view on arrival.
We were about 500 metres or so from the old town and joined our ‘gentle’ walking tour. At this stage of the trip everyone is tired and the people with mobility difficulties seem to be walking slower and slower, so today was hard going. Also our guide made a lot of stops for a good 10-15mins each which is also hard to just stand still. I have to say Me Jenny is keeping up nicely.
There’s a lot of history and dates and on these tours and the guides are incredibly knowledgable, but if they don’t throw some stories, anecdotes or humour into it… I tend to drift away.
Pics below:
1 – This is a viewing platform and the lift is in the left leg.
2 – 5 – Some statues, parks & cobblestones.
6 – Bratislava’s version of Shakespeare. All the children hate him because they are made to learn all his poetry by heart.
This little model shows the city and how the old town looked back in the day. It was a walled city with a moat around the perimeter.
The moat is now filled in and paved…
And one of the entrance gates is now a McDonalds… Outrageous!
There are beautiful buildings here, including the opera theatre
And lots of fountains. This is the ‘Animals Fountain’. It was designed specifically for animals. The dogs/sheep/short animals drank from the bottom, the horses from the middle and the birds from the top. A great design… Now, people are allowed to drink from the middle.
There’s also lots of sculptures, like this chap on the left… Our guide said that people rub his head for luck, but that dogs also like him, so choose your next move carefully.
And this chap on the right – one of Napoleon’s soldiers.. maybe left behind after the war or maybe he just couldn’t see when his soldier mates headed home, because of this hat.
There were no shortage of lovely doors here…
and lovely little streets. Today is a Sunday, so not much was open except for cafes and souvenir shops in the old town.
Apparently Mozart visited here or even lived here when he was very young….
Did you know that he had an older sister? Her name was Maria Anna and she was also very accomplished at the piano? But, of course, she was a girl, so that was that and all resources went into her baby bro, Wolfy.
This is one of the main squares in the old town. They are setting up for the Christmas markets, which they apparently start setting up early and earlier each year… and not terribly picturesque with fencing and trucks in the middle. It would’ve been lovely to have been here in time for the Christmas Markets though… maybe in a couple of years, they’ll start setting up in June?
A few interesting bits I spotted around town…
Searching for a spot to sit down for a bit of coffee and cake and we came across this lovely little spot. We asked for hot chocolates and couldn’t believe our luck when she bought these out… chocolate you have to eat with a spoon. Happy. As. Larry!!!
St Michael’s Tower and the only original entrance into the old town still there.
Then we had a small sit down in front of the nicest/oldest hotels in Bratislava – the Carlton Savoy before heading back to he ship.
We think, Me Jenny and I, that the police should be called and arrests should be made when architects do this… (building on left). I mean… you had a perfectly good one to copy right next door.
One the way back to the boat, there was a bright pink ladies wallet just sitting atop a railing pylon. I opened it and the driver’s licence photo was a face I sort of recognised from our ship. We took it back to the ship and handed it in to the reception, checking she was indeed a passenger, which she was.
About an hour later, there was a knock on the door to an almost teary, but every so grateful lady, whose face matched the driver’s licence photo. She didn’t even know her purse had been stolen out of her backpack. They had taken the cash, but left all her cards and placed it neatly near the ships, presumably for her to find on her way back.
Let that be a lesson for new players… never put anything worth stealing in your backpack!
Leave a Reply