Day 2: The Beautiful Green Danube

In America: "Please remain seated."

In Austria: "Please feel free to walk around the boat."

I had a few choices for transportation to Bratislava – plane, car, train… but, boat was an option! How could I not take that and sail down the Beautiful Blue Danube?! I’d happily hum Johann Strauss’ waltz for the entire duration of the boat ride.  Well, the boat turned out to be a high-speed catamaran – awesome sauce – but the Danube canal and river, at least in Vienna through Bratislava, turned out to be murky green and not the crystal blue that I was envisioning.  The Danube River is Central and Eastern Europe’s longest river, touching 10 different countries. So, presumably it’s blue in other parts. I later read that it is a vivid shade of blue in Budapest and Hungary, especially in the winter. The Donaukanal, as the Danube canal is called in Vienna, is green due to water turbines and the canal’s heavy use as waterway which causes movement of the sediments on the river. BUT, Strauss was Viennese, so why was Strauss waxing poetic? Then again, the Red Sea isn’t red.

Holy high winds, Batman!

After over an hour of cruising down the Danube river, the ruins of Devin castle, which marked the Slovakia-Austria border, appeared. Soon, the UFO tower and Bratislava castle became visible too. Because I left on the first boat out and the conference didn’t start until afternoon, I had a few hours to explore Slovakia’s capital. I dropped off my luggage at the hotel, which is pleasantly situated in Stare Mesto (Old Town).

Devin castle majestically standing on the frontier of Slovakia and Austria

Bratislava is a small city.  The shops were very cute, and the restaurants in Old Town were touristy. Still, I felt an inexplicable melancholy while walking through the city.  It is old, though not by name. The city was mostly known in English by its German name, Pressburg, until it was renamed to Bratislava in 1919. Walking the old city became a confusing narrative of beautiful old architecture characteristic of many Eastern European, beautiful cobbled stone paths, and unshakeable presence of communist history. A memorial caught my eye because it had the word זוכר, a Hebrew word Zakhor:``Remember''. I tried to look around for an explanation for the memorial, but there was nothing…. No plaque, no pamphlets. Not that it would help because most of the signs here are in Slovak.

Bratislava old town

Čumil - Bronze sculpture of a man peeping out of the manhole. He is said to be either resting and watching passersby after cleaning the sewer or is looking under women's skirts.

“Van Gogh House”, a derelict structure where the vacant windows have been filled in with Van Gogh-style art.

During construction of Most SNP, parts of the old town was demolished to make way for the road leading to the bridge. The old Jewish quarters was sacrificed, including the old synagogue. The high price of "out with the old, in with the new".

Storming the Castle

I decided to quietly look for a lunch place that has a view of the Bratislava castle. Thankful for WiFi and helpful Yelp reviews, I picked one that popped up as the highly rated lunch spot with a view. After a while of walking thru the cobblestone path, I found the place, but was confused because I couldn’t see the castle from the outside. But as soon as I was shown my table, it dawned on me… OH. I’m under the castle. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten under a castle before. That’s neat. I decided to order traditional food which seems to be bread dumpling of some sort, but I wasn’t crazy about it. It was very dry. I moved on to dessert… which was weird. It’s supposed to be poppy seed dumpling, but I’m imagining all sorts of creepy things. Hey, did I mention I was eating under the castle? I’m sure it’s acquired taste, but I wasn’t acquiring it this time.

A big bowl of Nope.

I hiked up the castle, which is Bratislava’s landmark, built in the 9th century. Eleven kings and eight queens were crowned in this castle as it proudly stood on a hill by the Danube river, as it does today – after it was ruined and restored. I explored the expansive castle ground but had to skip the museum because my conference was starting.

The castle was infamously bombarded by Napoleon and his troops.

The crown at the top of St Martin's Cathedral (left) is made of real gold. This is a replica of the Hungarian crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence. 19 royal coronations have been held here.

Flying purple people eater?

When my meeting ended, it was night time. After briefly schmoozing at the cocktail hour, I hightailed it to dinner.

Now, let’s talk briefly about heights. I love the bird’s eye view from high vantage points. Sadly, those closest to me are not too fond of heights so I often find myself ground-bound. But when I’m traveling solo, sky is the limit. Next in popularity to Bratislava castle, the Most SNP bridge is a dramatic structure bisecting the Danube. The flying saucer structure on top of the Most SNP support pylon is actually a restaurant, cheekily named UFO. There is a lift (elevator) on the leg that takes you to the restaurant.  A couple of staircases above the restaurant is the open space observation deck.  I headed straight to the deck to get the 360 panoramic view of Bratislava.  I imagine this is spectacular in the morning too, but in the evening it’s more breath-taking. The restaurant, UFO, is modern, upscale, and romantic, serving Mediterranean fusion food. It was fun to sit and feel the gentle rocking of the tower as a truck passed by below or the strong winds blew. Sadly, the service was poor, and the server just seemed plain miserable. The food was mediocre too – costly, but not spectacular. 

I decided to climb back up the top deck post-dinner to brush off the disappointing meal. Since it was rather late, I had the entire viewing deck to myself, which ended my day on a high note after all.  I pondered on the day's adventure and Bratislava's many sides - the modern UFO, the baroque style churches, the castle on top of the hill - ruined and rebuilt, the countryside across the bridge, and the beautiful Danube river that witnessed all of the turbulent changes with time.

Superman's eye view

Black Danube at night