Bratislava here we come!

August 2, 2024

Today we got up (significantly later than I have been) at 6am. I finally got 8 hours of sleep! Woohoo!! We hustled to get ready so we could grab some breakfast (for free!) at the hotel restaurant before we had to walk to the train station. The same guy that told us that our room would be ready in 15 minutes also told us the train station was a five minute walk, but I knew that wasnt right and thankfully we didnt listen to him and did our own research. The train station is in fact 15 minutes away on foot.

It is an easy walk to the station, so we make good time and still have time for PB to grab a tea for the ride! We get on the train and take our seats. Quickly someone comes and also has the same seat number, but we cannot tell from our ticket if we are in the wrong. PB goes to ask and confirms we are in the wrong cabin. We end up in the “nicer” cabin with just two seats (instead of the 6 per room) similiar to a bus sete up. At least this way we are sitting next to each other, in the other cabin we were not next to each other.

These train rides in Europe are so convenient and even nicer than I remember. This train has a service where you can order snacks and drinks on your phone and they bring them to your seat! We chatted for a while, but then I decided to journal while he read and napped.

Our seats have little screens and charging ports for our devices. 

The train ride was beautiful. It was pretty warm outside (over 80) and most places dont have AC, so it was nice to be in the AC for 4 hours. Sometimes though, the train would randomly shut off the AC and it would INSTANTLY get warm. Thankfully when they did this it was just for a few minutes at a time. We passed through the Czech and Slovakian country sides, through some lush green forests and some cute little towns. 

When we reached Bratislava it was lunch time! The train station is at the north side of the town while all of the old town area is south and down a little hill towards the water. We took our time walking down to get closer to our Airbnb. (We got a nice little “SuperHost Bonus” for having a year of continued 5 star reviews on our Palm Springs Condo. It was just the right amount to cover the cost of our Airbnb for our night in Bratislava.)

For lunch we chose a place that looked pretty good, it had a decent selection of food and had a few tables that had groups of people eating. PB ended up ordering garlic soup in a bread bowl and I got something called Bryndzove Halusky. It is basically little potato dumpling noodly things toss in sheep’s milk cheese. We both enjoyed our dishes very much! (We learned later our choice of dishes were perfect, considered perfect local dishes to try!)

After lunch we headed to find our Airbnb. It was only about a 5 minute warlk from the lunch place. We were shocked to find that the building in fact had an elevator as we were on the 6th floor. We took the elevator to the 6th floor and let ourselves into the unit. It is a two bedroom unit – but the second bedroom is really the living room with a murphy bed. It was very spacious though. The bathroom situation was a bit odd. We had a shower, washing machine and sink in one bathroom and a toilet and teeny tinsy sink in the other. We also had a full kitchen including a dishwasher. The view from the kitchen was of the castle on the hill (I missed an opportunity to annoy PB with Ed Sheeran on repeat). 

We hung out for a bit and then decided to go participate in a free walking tour. The tour was for the city center and the castle (on the hill, oooooooo). PB has never been on a free walking tour, so of course we get one that is uphill and 2.5 hours long, but we like to learn and these walking tours give you other things to do and see at the end, as well as recommendations for food and drink. 

We had a great guide and he was able to answer any question anyone had pretty easily. Bratislava is small compared to other cities we have been and for the capital I would consider it pretty small for its title. We had a gentleman in a wheelchair on our tour, and in case you dont know, no where in Europe is super accessible.  He is able to walk, just not long distances. Our guide was wonderful in accommodating this need and we were able to get to the top of the castle with as few stairs as possible. He could climb the stairs on his own and only once did someone need to carry the wheelchair to the top of the stairs for him. The ramp route up to the top of the castle was very steep, so it took a team to get us there without a delay. A couple guys in the group and the guide took turns assisting with the control of the wheelchair. It made me realize how easy some places in the States are to get around without even noticing. 

We took breaks along the tour route to hear more about the specific place we were stopped and to check out the views. Once on top we learned that the castle had actually burned down and in the 1950s it was decided to rebuild the castle instead of tearing it down. So the castle we see today is “new” and not original – however the grounds on which the castle are on are the orignial grounds. 

We ended the tour by St Michael’s gate where the guide gave us the must try meals (we had two earlier in the day!) and the must try restaurants (the one we went to was on the list). We tipped him and all headed on our way. 

We headed to get some gelato from the Anderson gelato place that we had seen on our tour. It is named Anderson because it is right behind the Hans Christan Anderson status in the parkway. It was very good. We did some people watching before deciding to head to dinner. On our way to dinner we stopped at a tourist shop so I could get my stickers and magnet and PB could get his deck of cards.

We ended up eating at another restaurant on his list that evening and again it was very good. A couple of the people on our tour ended up at the restaurant across the street from us, always fun to see a familiar face. 

After dinner we decided to head back to the Airbnb as we were starting to fade after a day of travel and walking.