Because I had spent Saturday and Sunday in Vienna this weekend I decided that it would be great to take a day trip to Bratislava on Monday. This trip began in the early morning and I must say there were many things that I did not know to expect upon entering Slovakia. The first thing that I had no understanding of was Slovakia’s history in conjunction with the Habsburg Empire, therefore the history of this country wasn’t something I already knew a great deal about. The second issue was the comparable traits between Bratislava and other post-communist Eastern Bloc cities, such as Budapest. On both counts I was pleasantly surprised to learn a great deal of historical and cultural traits that can definitely be compared and contrasted with Vienna as well as Budapest.
When you get off the train and enter the Bratislava train station, you feel like your walking through a small mall somewhere in central California. It has none of the international prestige of Westbanhof or Keleti Station in Hungary. One of the main reasons for this lack of grandeur, both at the Slovakian train station and throughout the city itself, is because Bratislava was not a capital until Slovakia split with the Czech Republic more than a decade ago. Much of the city has now been modernized because such efforts took place after the fall of communism. I did not witness uch modernization attempts in Budapest and I hear not much has happened in Prague either because it never had to be rebuilt after the Second World War, therefore, Bratislava is surprisingly one of the most western looking eastern states. This is not entirely true when it comes to the architecture and scale of its political buildings, such as its parliament and assorted embassies. The embassies are spread out between the alleyways downtown Bratislava and could easily be confused with regular apartments if not for the foreign flags hanging outside the window. The parliament was even more comical, for it looked more like a hotel or large office building, rather than a government institution. Vienna’s parliament is designed in the style of neo-classicism, a direct reference to the foundations of democracy on the Peloponnesian coast. Likewise, Hungary’s parliament is styled after the British parliament, which was considered the ultimate symbol of an advanced society since Britain was so admired during the 18th century. The Slovakian parliament is bland with office building windows and a little fountain at the front with little to no security besides a camera at the front door and a simple metal detector. Vienna is similar in regards to its lack of security around its parliament but Hungary is surprisingly strict about its building, with armed guards patrolling the exterior and certain areas restricted from tourists.
We also visited the castle of Bratislava, which was built in 907 AD and soon came under the control of the Habsburgs under the reign of Maria Theresia, who modernized and expanded certain parts of the hillside castle. There was a good deal of construction going on there when we visited it and I don’t think the actual structure is entirely original because of the war but I found the castle to be a slightly less compelling retreat than the Buda Castle, or for that matter, the Schonbrunn palace or the Belvedere. I make these assumption based on certain illogical, though nonetheless substantial, observations such as the size and grandeur of a building. It may reduce a beautiful castle to simply sounding provincial but I believe my comments have some validity since my concerns were the same as those during the Medieval Age. Sometimes practical wasn’t the sole purpose of a castle and I believe the Buda Castle exemplifies this opinion since it is not only strategically well built looking over the Danube from Buda Hill but also opulent in its design and several times more grand than the Bratislava castle. I think that the only other evidence that could bias these opinions would be the fact that we were unable to go inside the Bratislava castle. Maybe if we did that I could better appreciate the castle’s beauty but since we were only allowed to walk around the castle’s bland exterior, it was less than exciting for us to see.
Some of the historical parts of Bratislava are interesting as well as comparable with Vienna and Budapest. All three cities have a lavish monument to the Soviet Red Army and all three have some sort of connection to the Habsburg Empire. I found it surprising that some people on the trip with us thought Bratislava was much more modern then they originally believed while others saw it as a post-Soviet backwater with little modernization. I think it was more of a mixed bag with both ideas having at least some validity. The transportation and streets around Bratislava are similar, if not equal, to Western European cities but their apartments look like they’re still from the eighties. I found it funny that a few of them looked like the Segundo dorms at Davis. In any case, Bratislava is definitely not as poor as I originally thought but its small size distracts one from defining it as a major European capital. It felt more like a charming city that you happen to pass by pm your way to another one of the major European cities. I’m sure Bratislava is larger than how I’m describing it but in regards to the city’s center and its main areas of commerce, it definitely feels like those cities that used to be famous but never renovated out of the medieval period and therefore loss prominence because of a lack in modernization. I guess the example we used in class of this situation was Augsburg, Germany, which used to be one of the major trading cities in the Holy Roman Empire but never took down its medieval exterior and therefore was unable to expand or update their city.
One of the more fascinating parts of the trip was looking the prices on menus and in stores because Slovakia both accepts the euros as well as another currency used in Slovakia too. Thus, there are two prices for everything in the country and it is interesting to view the price differentiation. Why a small country like Slovakia was able to access the euro while other Eastern European nations have decided to keep their original currency is beyond me. It is even remarkable to imagine how Slovakia was able to get the European Union to accept the use of the euro. The prices for such necessities as public transportation were pretty much the same as Vienna but there was still a level of cheap goods available in the city that would definitely cost more in Austria. For example, we were able to get a double scoop of gelato for eighty cents whereas such a dessert would cost about two euros at the ice cream parlor down the street here in Simmering.
Overall, I must admit that I was quite surprised by Bratislava and its culture. I think American tourists have a misconception that Slovakia is a backward country that one would visit with some trepidation but it was much more western then these original reports suggest. Yes, its housing was somewhat dilapidated and its city center was fairly laughable but the beauty of its winding street corners and small fountains definitely gave this quaint city a humanity I feel is lost on those who have never visited it. Its street corners have comical statues doing odd jobs and street musicians that help build up a charm where cosmopolitanism and industry may corrupt larger cities. It probably is only worth a day trip but to say you visited the charming little capital of Slovakia one weekend can be kind of fun.
