(FYI: I will be adding pictures to go with the blog when my electronics start cooperating with me. Sorry.)

Last Sunday (April 6th), I took another day trip to Bratislava with a few other people. Bratislava is an interesting city; the main part of the city is very definitively split into two sections. On one side of the Danube, the lingering effects of the cold war are visible. When I climbed to the top of the UFO tower and looked out across the river, there were literally just miles and miles of socialist housing blocks. Some buildings were different colors, but other than that they were carbon copies of each other. However, on the other side of the Danube, the side with the Bratislavsky Hrad, the old town is visible along with individual homes. This side of the river is riddled with old homes and small cobblestone streets. The city has a lot of potential, and in another 20 years it could become another popular tourist destination in Europe.

Yet again, there wasn’t really a set plan of what to do when we arrived. We decided that the first course of action should be obtaining a map of the city (It proved much more difficult, than it sounds). After we ate, because finding maps makes you hungry, we set off to find the blue church. The Church of St. Elizabeth, aka The Blue Church, is a Hungarian Secessionist church. It’s called the Blue Church because it’s literally blue. Like all of it, every part, is blue. Though that may sound like an eye sore, it is actually beautiful. It stands out even more too, because across the street is what looked to be an abandoned health or living facility of some sort.

Next, we walked along the Danube River back to Novy Most. There we split off for a bit; they went to check out a museum, while I headed up to the UFO tower. The view is incredible. We met back up, and started our hike up to Bratislasky Hrad (literal translation: Bratislava Castle). Unfortunately, it was slightly hazy farther out from the city center. The castle itself was a little basic in design, but still pretty neat. At this point, we were all exhausted from wondering around the city and made our way back to the bus station. All in all it was a good day trip from Vienna.

Location: Bratislava, Slovakia