Traveling for work isn't something that I do very often at this time. But when I do travel it seems like the trips are to more unique places that are much further from home. This week I have traveled to the Bratislava, the capital of the Slovakia.
Never having been to Bratislava or Slovakia before I have been surprised by the beauty of the city and it's dynamic, modern character. Though the city is not large, it seems to always be busy with people moving throughout it's neighborhoods day and night.
My trip began on Sunday May 25th when Lisa dropped me off at the Denver airport for a 5:25pm flight from Denver to Frankfurt. Arriving in Frankfurt around 11:00am on Monday, May 26th I had a several hour layover there before flying on to Budapest, Hungary. From Budapest I caught a train and made the 2 3/4 hour trip to Bratislava.
Bratislava given it's size and proximity to other international airports doesn't have a large airport. Commercial flights are flown into the Bratislava but the cost of these flights are extremely high. Most travelers arrive by air in Bratislava via the international airport in Vienna, about 40 miles to the west of Bratislava. My trip went through Budapest as the flight was almost $1000 cheaper than flying through Vienna. Despite this being a business trip there was no reason to spend a much larger amount of money as taking the train trip allowed me to see a good bit of the Hungarian and Slovakian country side.
Arriving in Bratislava in darkness I had no idea that my hotel, the Sheraton Bratislava, was situation right on the banks of the Danube River! Imagine my surprise as I got up to walk to the office on Tuesday morning when I noticed that I was right on the banks of the Danube. This might not seem like a big deal to most but the Danube has conjured up images of castles and pitched medieval battles in my head and it gave me a pleasant surprise to find myself walking to work on the bank of this famous river.
Unfortunately my trip has not offered me much opportunity to explore the city. My of my time has been spent in the office or in my hotel room working away on the project that has brought me to Bratislava. Fortunately I was able to take two hours on Wednesday evening and take a walking journey through the streets of Bratislava to the castle that tops the high point of the city. Below are some of the pictures of the castle and the city that I captured during my stroll through the city.
(Michael's Tower which is the only surviving gate/tower from Bratislava's original medieval town walls.)
(Michael's Tower was originally one of the gates into the city through the town's defensive wall.)
(The Castle is an impressive large building. However this current incarnation of the castle was only started in 1957. The original castle was bombarded by Napoleon in 1809 and the remains were destroyed in a fire in 1811. The castle sat in a state of ruin for the next 140 years before restoration began in the 1950's.)
Never having been to Bratislava or Slovakia before I have been surprised by the beauty of the city and it's dynamic, modern character. Though the city is not large, it seems to always be busy with people moving throughout it's neighborhoods day and night.
My trip began on Sunday May 25th when Lisa dropped me off at the Denver airport for a 5:25pm flight from Denver to Frankfurt. Arriving in Frankfurt around 11:00am on Monday, May 26th I had a several hour layover there before flying on to Budapest, Hungary. From Budapest I caught a train and made the 2 3/4 hour trip to Bratislava.
Bratislava given it's size and proximity to other international airports doesn't have a large airport. Commercial flights are flown into the Bratislava but the cost of these flights are extremely high. Most travelers arrive by air in Bratislava via the international airport in Vienna, about 40 miles to the west of Bratislava. My trip went through Budapest as the flight was almost $1000 cheaper than flying through Vienna. Despite this being a business trip there was no reason to spend a much larger amount of money as taking the train trip allowed me to see a good bit of the Hungarian and Slovakian country side.
Arriving in Bratislava in darkness I had no idea that my hotel, the Sheraton Bratislava, was situation right on the banks of the Danube River! Imagine my surprise as I got up to walk to the office on Tuesday morning when I noticed that I was right on the banks of the Danube. This might not seem like a big deal to most but the Danube has conjured up images of castles and pitched medieval battles in my head and it gave me a pleasant surprise to find myself walking to work on the bank of this famous river.
Unfortunately my trip has not offered me much opportunity to explore the city. My of my time has been spent in the office or in my hotel room working away on the project that has brought me to Bratislava. Fortunately I was able to take two hours on Wednesday evening and take a walking journey through the streets of Bratislava to the castle that tops the high point of the city. Below are some of the pictures of the castle and the city that I captured during my stroll through the city.
(There are many intricate carvings on the buildings of Bratislava's old city center.)
(One of the many small streets/lanes in the old city center.)
(Bratislava castle is home to the Slovakian National Museum.)
(View of the Danube from the castle.)
(Statue of Svatopluk I in front of the castle)
(Statue with the clouds and castle as a backdrop.)
(Some of the fortification walls around the castle.)
(View of the old city center from the castle fortification walls.)
(Interesting statue on the castle grounds.)
(A church with castle high on the hill in the background.)
(Clock tower in the city center.)
(A beautiful fountain lit with lights in the gathering dusk.)
My journey to Bratislava is almost over and though it has been interesting to see and experience this land I am much looking forward to arriving home and stepping back into my day-to-day life!
Thanks and peace to all! ~J.
1 comment:
Thank you for the tour!
Sharon
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