People don’t give this city enough credit. Yes it’s small and there isn’t as much to do as its neighboring capital cities, but small can be just as good. You can do the same things in Bratislava as in any other European city, soak your feet in the fountains, wander the cobblestone streets, go to the lake, see a castle, walk along the river, relax at a cafe, and have a cold beer. On top of that there are strange statues all over the city. Look for them.
I went to a couchsurfing meetup am met a lot of wonderful Slovak and non Slovak people who have me an even better impression of what small capitals can offer. Friendly attitudes go a long way. They told me about a beach not to far out of the city, Zlate Piesky, were you can jump on trampolines in the water, wakeboard on a mechanically designed pulley system, and of course cool off with a beer in one of the many small cafe’s. I got there early in the morning as my host headed to work.
The crowds were nonexistent. but by early afternoon it was hard to maneuver around all the sunbathing bodies. I left the beach as my skin is brown enough and made an excursion out to the other side of Bratislava suburbs, Devon.
This is where a historic castle is positioned in the hills. It was the entry point of Christianity in 863 AD with its river-side location ideal for travellers, and the castle was a major seat of the Greater Moravian Empire of the period, the last time Slovakia was a major regional power. Its vivid medieval history touches several empires, undergoing multiple makeovers, it is maintained as a historically accurate ruin ordered by Napolean in 1809.