Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia

June 26, 2013
A Weekend in Bratislava, Slovakia

When my husband and I found cheap flights to Hungary, I’ll admit I was a bit concerned. After Prague, Budapest has become the most visited destination in so-called Eastern Europe. I have a fetish for Eastern European countries. By fetish I mean the type of places that make you feel like you’re entering a time warp. Because they’re not top travel destinations, I feel like an explorer. Uncovering things that many travelers have not yet stumbled upon. So when I realized that Bratislava was a 2 ½ hour ride from Budapest, I decided we had to go. I wanted to experience two days in Bratislava.

Friends tried to convince me otherwise by sharing the famous Eurotrip scene in which the kids get stuck in Slovakia. Obviously didn’t deter me.

I have a fetish for Eastern European countries—and by that I mean the type of places that make you feel like you’re entering a time warp.

When we arrived, I wondered if I’d actually made a mistake.  The neighborhood near the train station was tired and filled with unromantic Soviet-bloc style buildings. We decided to hit up a few museums. First, the Museum of Jewish Culture.  Located on “Zidovska,” or Jewish street. It was pretty much our worst nightmare.  It would have more appropriately been called, the Museum of the Extinct Race. Which was the museum that Hitler dreamed of creating.

Inside, there were Jewish objects enclosed in plastic display cases. For example, a Torah, Shabbat candlesticks, and Jewish books—with explanations of what Jews once used them for.  It was as though Jews were not alive and well and still using these items today.

Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia

We left that with a bad taste in our mouths and headed to the Museum of Clocks. I’d read about it in the New York Times and was curious to see it. It was an incredibly narrow three-story building filled with, you guessed it, clocks.  Apparently, about two hundred years ago, Bratislava was one of the clock capitals of the world. We spent no longer than 25 minutes there.

We had tuna salad at a street café with an overeager waiter and figured we’d roam a little more before picking up $7 opera tickets that I’d pre-ordered.  And of course, that’s when we found the Old City. It’s an absolutely gorgeous area of town with quaint cafes, bustling bars, and a beautiful fountain.

It was as though Jews were not alive and well and still using these items today.

That night we headed to the Chabad house in Bratislava, where we had pre-paid for Shabbat dinner.  The husband and wife, originally from the US, came to Bratislava just after communism fell. It turns out that they left their comfortable lives in New York to live in a place where there was no Jewish community—let alone food.

They learned how to cook potatoes in all sorts of ways—and they learned Slovak fast.  They built some semblance of a Jewish community, which is what they came to do, but aside from their seven out of thirteen children who were there, my husband and I were the only guests at the house.

Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia
A fountain in Bratislava’s old town

Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia

The food, which in 2013, had come to include much more than in the 1990s, was delicious and plentiful and the conversation was fascinating. We were shocked to learn that the husband had given up Yale graduate school for Chassidic Judaism and that they’d been thrilled to become emissaries in Bratislava. Though, they admitted, it hadn’t been easy at first. Their thirteen year-old daughter, an outgoing, mature girl who attended school in Vienna and knew five languages fluently—her favorite being German—was especially impressive.

Many international Chabad houses are places where Jewish tourists, a large percentage whom are Israeli, seek out a home-cooked meal and some community during their travels.  But this Chabad house was different because until a year ago, Bratislava was only a place that people passed through on the way from Budapest to Vienna.

Though we didn’t understand a word of the French or Slovak, it was an experience to sit among this very well-dressed crowd in plush velvet seats.

The next day, we saw more of the city center through Be Free Tours, a tips-only tour company, which exists in many European cities and then hiked up to the castle, which overlooked the city.  It was absolutely gorgeous and my husband enjoyed looking at the adjacent museum’s ancient artifacts.

We ended the night at the opera, Daughter of the Regiment. Though we didn’t understand a word of the French or Slovak, it was an experience to sit among this very well-dressed crowd in plush velvet seats. Plus, I’ll admit, I had a fantastic nap.

When we left the next morning at dawn, I was confident that while many travelers spend a night—at most—in Bratislava, we’d made a good decision in spending two days.  But I was also sure that two days were more than enough.

Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia

 

Have you spent two days in Bratislava, Slovakia? What were your impressions? Email us at [email protected] for information about sharing your experience and advice with the Pink Pangea community. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia photo credits: Rachel Sales, Unsplash and Pixabay.

About Rachel Sales

Rachel Sales is a co-founder of Pink Pangea.

4 thoughts on “Two Days in Bratislava, Slovakia

  1. March 4, 2015
    Reply

    I´m glad, that after first bad impressions, you also found something good in Bratislava.

  2. cara trager
    June 28, 2013
    Reply

    Sounds like two days is more than enough to get the feel for Bratislava, but it also sounds like an intriguing place clearly off the beaten path.

  3. Charlene
    June 26, 2013
    Reply

    You make Bratislava sound like a must see adventure!

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