Slovakia

Visited: 2022

Duration of visit: 2 days

Capital city: Bratislava

Population: 5.5 million (2022)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

• The concert of legendary rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers on Tehelne Pole Stadium.
• Bratislava old town – the historic center contains some important medieval buildings, churches and the castle.
• Breathtaking view over Danube River from the top of the castle hill.
• The story about the similarity and confusion between Slovenia and Slovakia.

Slovakia is the country that most of the people confuse with Slovenia. There are two good reasons for this:

• The official name of Slovakia in local (Slovak) language is Slovensko, which is very similar to Slovenia.
• Slovak and Slovene flags are very similar: white blue and red color as a base and a coat of arms on the top left site.

While the following story may appear to be a joke, there is a possibility that it is not. The story is about the resemblance between Slovakia and Slovenia, often leading to the mistaken identity of the two nations. The embassy representatives from both countries at certain locations get together once a month to exchange mail that was meant for the other country.

A landlock country of Slovakia with 5.5 million inhabitants used to be part of old Czechoslovakia. The second new country coming out of this union is Czech Republic, much bigger and well-known sovereign state in Central Europe.

Slovakia is only four hours’ drive from my hometown and I passed Bratislava a few times, while driving to other destinations in Eastern Europe. It wasn’t until 2022, when I finally visited the capital city.

The capital city of Bratislava is located right on the border with Austria and Hungary, at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the Danube River and the left bank of the River Morava. It is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states.

With population of approximately half a million is a pleasant city to visit, live in it and move around by car, public transport, bicycle or walking. Bratislava is the current capital of Slovakia, but it was previously the capital of Hungary from 1536 to 1783 under another name: it was called Presbourg!

Due to its position it was influenced by many nations or religions and has been home to many Hungarian, German and Slovak historical figures.

Even though the prices are lower than in Western Europe, in 2017 Bratislava was ranked as the third richest region of the European Union by purchasing power parity per capita (after Hamburg and Luxembourg City).

It is also the fact that Bratislava is much richer, more developed and with better infrastructure than the rest of Slovakia.

The backbone of the Slovak economy today is the automotive industry. Slovakia produces the largest number of cars per capita in the world – 191 per 1000 inhabitants.

My main objective to visit Bratislava, was to take my son to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert for his birthday. His favorite group since a very young age was performing at Tehelne pole stadium within Love Stream Festival. The concert was not sold out, therefore we were able to purchase two additional tickets on the spot, so the whole family was able to attend.

The show started at 10:00pm and lasted for an hour and a half. A mix of new and old songs with laser shows and strong sound system put on fired international crowd; young and old fans had a great night.

We used free time in Bratislava to explore the city: mostly the old town with the castle next to Danube River. It was not crowded, pleasant to walk around, with some activities and very few tourists in the beginning of June.

The main city gate, Michael’s Gate, preserved of the medieval fortifications, ranking among the oldest town buildings, was under renovations and unfortunately protected with curtains.

Grassalkovich Palace is the residence of the president of Slovakia, also known as Slovakia’s White House. On one side it is surrounded by large French garden which is one of the most popular parks in Bratislava, while on the other side a big fountain in the shape of Earth, which symbolizes freedom, can be found.

In the past this building used to serve as a venue for aristocratic society events and concerts, including Josepf Haydn, a well-known Austrian composer. Even though the palace is the official seat of the president of Slovakia, he actually does not live there. The palace is often used for various ceremonies with foreign officials.

Walking around the banks of Danube River I could see many boats floating on the river. They serve either as hotels, restaurants, bars or a combination. They seem to be orientated toward tourists’ groups with lunch or dinner packaging cruises on the river, therefore I preferred skipping them.

Bratislava Castle is the main tourist attraction and the most significant symbol of Bratislava. On the day of my visit the castle was closed, therefore I couldn’t appreciate the interior with expositions and collections of the Slovak National Museum and Museum of History.

A beautiful view over the old town of Bratislava, Danube River and other neighborhoods open from the top of the hill.

The main Castle building includes 4 towers. The building itself is quite impressive in size and some monuments around seem to be peculiarly missing parts of the bodies (mostly heads).

The small park offered great recreational opportunity to the kids that enjoyed various options for recreational activities.

Statues around old town in Bratislava are a modern touch to the historical center and make it even more attractive or bizarre. One of the most famous statues is Čumil, a sewer worker coming out of a manhole, just sitting there and watching the world go by. The odd statue was installed in 1997 as part of an effort to spice up the look and feel of the area, which was traditionally marked with drab, Communist-era architecture and decoration.

There are many churches around Bratislava, but for me the most appealing is a fairy-tale Blue Church (Church of St. Elizabeth). All done in different tones of blue, perfectly matching blue sky on a sunny day: the façade, mosaics, majolica, interior, the gate and even the roof. Its style, sometimes known as Hungarian Secession, is repeated in the nearby grammar school on Grösslingová Street.

Both were designed by Budapest architect Edmund Lechner and built in the early twentieth century.

National Theater was built in a Neo-Renaissance design by two Viennese architects between 1884 – 1886. The most outstanding personalities of the world opera scene have performed here.

It is impossible to judge the country only by visiting the capital city, but you can still get an impression of the language, food, habits, lifestyle and prices. A small brother of well-known Czech Republic – Slovak Republic has been a success story, raising out of the ashes from the old planning system with one political party rule to a young democracy with open market economy.

The landlocked country may not have beaches, but Danube River is excellently used for touristic and also logistical purposes.

I will need to explore much more than Bratislava in the future to understand better the history and culture of Slovakia.