So, at the end of my last blog, I mentioned that you can take a day trip to a different country from Vienna… you can jump on a train and take an hour-long train journey to Slovakia’s capital city, Bratislava.
Going to Slovakia for any length of time was not really part of my original travel plans. I had booked onto a day trip with Get Your Guide but then an old school friend messaged me when I was in Switzerland to say he lived in Slovakia, near the capital, and would love to meet up if I was out that way. The trip with Get Your Guide allowed for some free time in the afternoon so we planned to meet up. But then the trip got cancelled last minute so instead, I ended up spending the whole day in Bratislava with my friend and his girlfriend.
So here we are, a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia from Vienna, Austria…
I left Vienna around 9am and took the scenic journey to Bratislava, arriving at around 10:15am. The train journey is really scenic so the journey is quite nice. When you arrive into Bratislava, the train station is just outside the centre so you’ll need to catch the tram to the centre, this takes around 15-20 minutes.
When I got off the tram a short walk from Františkánskeho Námestie (Františkánskeho Square), I thought the surrounding architecture was beautiful. The city hall in the square, as I was told by a passing tour guide, was one of the oldest buildings and had a cannonball lodged visibly in its wall from when Napoleon invaded. There was a small Christmas market just setting up in the square which my friend and I visited for a snack after catching up over a cup of hot chocolate at a nearby café.
As I had no idea what to do in the city when we were planning to meet up, my friend had booked us onto a “free” walking tour. The tour was around 2.5 hours long and we saw so much – from the streets marking the ceremonial coronation route of the past to Bratislava Castle perched up on a high overlooking the Danube River to the old Jewish quarter of the city where nearly all of the Jewish residents were deported to concentration camps during WW2 never to return. There was so much information and history given to us in such a short amount of time but it was so interesting and we really enjoyed it. Towards the end of the tour, our guide taught us a little bit about how the Slovak and Czech languages are different and how rare it is to be able to speak both – she even taught us a little. It was not very successful, the pronunciation of words and even just specific letters was DIFFICULT…
Be aware that although advertised as a free walking tour, the guides run the tours based solely on tips they get. At the end of the tour they ask you to review them and tip how much you think it was worth. Our guide was fantastic and her knowledge was exceptional! You can find the tour we did by clicking here.
After the walking tour, we had a drink and a sit down in McDonalds to warm up (it was late-November so it was pretty chilly out and about). We then set off for a walk to find the Blue Church (The Church of St Elizabeth). The Blue Church is a catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town of Bratislava. It is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. You really have to see it with your own eyes!
It was then time to say our goodbyes and head back to Vienna for my last evening before heading off to another new country.
Something to try while in Slovakia… Langoš
Langoš is a traditional Slovakian/Hungarian dish. Essentially, it is a fried flatbread smothered in garlic oil, salt and a variety of toppings. I went for just cheese, but you can have vegetables, meat, sour cream, and so many more toppings. It’s got to be eaten warm/hot to make the most of the crispy, garlicky, cheesy goodness!
I really enjoyed my day in Bratislava. If I had planned and had more time in Bratislava, I would have liked to explore more of the city as well as more of the country. Perhaps, I’ll have the chance to go back someday!
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