Three National Capitals in One Day

Three National Capitals in One Day



Okay,  so this probably sounds crazier than it actually is,  for those who are uninitiated to the realities of European geography.

But yes,  we made it to three national capitals in one day.

How?

Well,  we started early in the morning,  leaving Budapest,  the national capital of Hingary.

Before we left Budapest,  however,  we paid another visit to the Liberty Statue,  and took in the tremendous early morning view of Budapest, which was covered in a shroud of fog.

Then,  we left Budapest,  perhaps around 6:40 a.m.,  which was actually later than I had originally planned for.  We headed to Vienna,  the national capital of Austria.

There,  we spent most of the day,  doing the whole tourist thing. That is fine,  because we were,  in fact,  tourists.

We actually saw quite a bit of Vienna.  It was not as thorough a visit of that city as we did in Budapest the day prior,  but it was still a lot,  for one day.

Our visit included St. Stephen's Basilica,  including the top,  which towers over the older section of Vienna.  We strolled through the Old Town,  and visited another church.  Ate weiner schnitzel and enjoyed Viennese coffee.  Visited the Stadtpark.  Visited the grounds of Belvedere Palace.  Then,  we finished off our day by exploring the grounds of the Schonbrunn Palace,  which was truly spectacular!

Finally,  we left Vienna for Bratislava,  the national capital of Slovakia, where we had hotel reservations.

So, how far away are they from one another?

Vienna was less than three hours from Budapest.

And Bratislava is about a one hour drive from Vienna.

A lot of driving?

Yes,  but when I discovered that Vienna was about a one hour drive from Bratislava,  where I had already made reservations,  I simply could not resist. I had long wanted to see Vienna,  and this was a golden opportunity.  And so I took it.

All things considered,  I feel that it was definitely worth it! Vienna is,  after all,  a world class city!

I already wrote about Budapest.

And I just posted some pictures from Vienna.

But what about Bratislava?

Well,  it is smaller than I had expected.

What you see upon approach is a downtown area that would not look out of place in the United States. There is a modesty impressive skyline,  with modern looking buildings.

Also not what I imagined Bratislava to be,  and frankly,  not the part of Bratislava that I am interested in visiting.

However,  Bratislava does have an old city,  as well.

And despite our fatigue,  my son and I wanted to see it lit up at night.

/That is what we did. We went to the downtown,  or rather the old town, district.  Saw the sites lit up.

Then,  after walking around for the better part of one hour,  we were done for the night.

Obviously,  Bratislava does not have the world renowned sites of incredible beauty and historical significance that Paris,  Budapest,  or Vienna has.  It was a pleasant, charming,  cute place. But visiting that city,  after visiting Budapest and Vienna back to back,  Bratislava was bound to kind of be a letdown.  It felt a bit like going from seeing priceless masterpieces in some museum, to seeing a small city's token art museum.  Or like going from a trip to some incredible botanical gardens to someone's backyard.

It just wasn't in the same league.

So,  we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

But what a memorable day,  filled with great memories!