Bratislava: when the young meets the old and mixes it with life, history and culture.

English:

Bratislava: when the young meets the old and mixes it with life, history and culture.

Let's go back, once again, to 2014, when, after a long academic year working, I decided to travel by myself to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest for ten days.

Bratislava was my second stop, for it is located only 65 km away from Vienna. Therefore, it took me no more than one hour by train to go to a different city, in a different country. To all those who ask me, I always describe Bratislava the same way: "The capital city of Slovakia is a contrast between the ancient and the new, the lively and the historical. What surprised me the most about it was its intense past and its combination with the animation and cultural life on its streets". I said that for the first time almost three years ago and, up to this day, I still feel the same way about it.

The first thing I did once I arrived there was to find a way to reach my hotel. Well, botel. A 'botel' is a ship which has been converted into a hotel and which is located in the Danube river. The one in which I slept - and in which I ate the delicious Indian food served in its restaurant -  was called Botel Marina and it was right opposite Bratislava Castle.

As Bratislava has no Metro, I had to take the bus. For those of you interested in that specific botel, you should get off at the stop called Zochova and, from there, cross the street, climb some stairs down and walk along the river shore until you find it. 

Vienna: a massive imperial city where dreams come true.

English:

Vienna: a massive imperial city where dreams come true.

From July 1st to 3rd and from July 9th to 10th 2014 I embarked on an adventure alone through three European capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. I had always intended to travel through these cities (with very clear objectives) and had never succeeded. So, without further ado, I decided to plan this trip and do it by myself. Given the large number of places I visited in ten days, I think it is better to cover these cities one by one, and in this post I am going to talk about Vienna.

Vienna is a monumental city, full of imperial palaces and Renaissance and Baroque buildings, in whose streets, avenues, cafés and gardens some of the intellectual movements that determined the art of the twentieth century were born. Starting from the Hofburg Palace and ending at the Schönbrunn, Vienna is a city to dream about. Here you have a walk through some of the most representative monuments of the Austrian capital.

My room at the Hotel Pension Suzanne, located right in the centre of the city, was right next to the famous Vienna Opera House and had the most important shopping street in Vienna on the other side, plus many restaurants, the cathedral, and was a few steps away from other palaces and Viennese buildings of interest.

The Vienna State Opera (or Wiener Staatsoper) is a Renaissance building built between 1861 and 1869. During World War II, the building was bombarded and burned, events that destroyed the decoration and about 150,000 pieces of clothing. Finally, after the war, it was rebuilt and restored. Its surroundings are filled with men dressed as characters from other centuries, with white curly wigs, making offers to anyone who looked like a tourist.

The cathedral of St. Stephen is the main church of Vienna. It is located on St. Stephen Square, right in the center of the city, at the end of the most important shopping street in Vienna, which was just a few steps away from my hotel. All the streets that reach this square are the most lively in the city, full of cafés and always with many people wanting to get lost in this capital of the Danube and imperial city.