Pages

28 April 1999

Bratislava, Slovakia

We came in to Bratislava by train on our way to Poprad. We found that we had some time to spend in the city before leaving, so off we went, walking through the gritty, urban air from the train station to the hrad (castle) overlooking the Dunaj (Danube). The view alone was worth the walk. The hrad is now the Slovak National Historic Museum, and it's full of artifacts and exhibits on the national heritage; arts, crafts, coins, weapons, furniture, tools and other articles of daily life are housed in this museum.

From the castle, it's a short, although by no means direct, walk into the Staré Mesto (old walled city). The streets are cobblestone and extremely narrow, and the city appears to be unchanged over the centuries, except that the people and shops are all quite modern. We had lunch just outside the old city at a café on the sidewalk with a view of the passing crowds, then we walked back up the hill, past the presidential mansion, to the train station and headed for Poprad.

No comments: