One Year Anniversary of the Trip to Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is a small,  almost provincial city.  And,  let's face it: it is often overlooked.

Then again,  how could it not be?

Vienna is one hour away. Budapest is about two hours away.  Even Brno, which is not as well known as either Vienna or Budapest, seems to have a stronger draw for visitors,  and it is less than two hours away.

Plus,  this is Europe.  People from the world over come to see some of the most beautiful art and architecture to be found anywhere.  Cities that draw huge crowds include but are not limited to Paris,  London,  Rome,  Madrid,  Barcelona,  Venice,  Florence,  and many others. There are almost too many such beautiful and incredible sites on this continent to list here.

So,  with all of that going against it,  how can Bratislava compete? Hell,  even the receptionist at the place we were staying at sounded legitimately surprised to find out that we were Americans,  and asked what we were doing here, as she put it,  "at the end of the world. "

Clearly,  they know that they are overlooked.

Bratislava is sandwiched in between two cities in particular renowned the world over for their beauty: Budapest and Vienna. And so, it does not attract nearly the kind of attention that those cities get. Yet, it is a European city, even a national capital. Thus, it certainly has some real points of interest. Indeed, some of the pictures that I took, particularly in the very early morning as it rained, or just after, were some of the most memorable of the trip, and felt particularly characteristic of Europe. These were pictures of cobbled streets slicked by the recent rainfall, a look to old cities that I always felt seems to give them a particular charm. See some of the pictures below as examples of what I am talking about.

Yet,  Bratislava does have some charms.

While there,  I took some photos of both day and night.  It was a rainy morning,  and I always felt that wet streets enhanced the romantic effects of city streets,  and particularly in Europe.

Here are the pictures from our visit to Bratislava:

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava at Night:

The Presidential Palace

Downtown Bratislava, with the castle overlooking the city atop it's hill.