In my last post I talked about what it was like visiting a FKK resort for the first time whilst I was in Vienna. I talked about my reasons for going as well as how it made me feel. If you haven’t checked it out please do! It’s completely safe by the way and it may invite you to try a new experience or be open about it. Do let me know what you think!

In this post, I visit Bratislava in Slovakia which is a short train ride away from Vienna. This turned out to be a gem in my holiday. The castle has a lot of history and the town is really remarkable. Keep reading to find out why I would 100% recommend visiting Bratislava and why Slovakia is a bit of a hidden gem in Europe.

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Bratislava, Slovakia

The next morning I tried breakfast at Wombats. It was a hot beverage, toasts with jam, a fruit pot and some granola with yoghurt. This sounds and is very basic, but I kid you not, it was the best thing in the world. 

Sometimes the basics on holiday just make you feel more at home. It wasn’t an overcomplicated breakfast and at 7.50 Euros, by far was more value for money than anything outside. It was a buffet breakfast but I never saw many people go for seconds as it was quite filling without needing it. 

My plan for the day was to get the train to Bratislava which is the capital of Slovakia. From my hostel it took about an hour and a half door to door so it wasn’t too bad of a journey. What’s absolutely bonkers is that the train journey from Vienna (Austria) to Bratislava (Slovakia) costs half the price that it costs me to get from home to work (Farringdon). So a train journey in Europe costs less country-to-country than it does to get intercity connections in the UK. And the journey is often more reliable and comfortable. It’s absolutely mad! 

What I really appreciated was that at Vienna Central Station, people were very kind and helpful when asking if I got the right platform and right train. The platforms are humongous so they are actually broken down into parts A-E. You need to make sure you’re in the right part to make sure you board the right train. 

The trains themselves are very modern and advanced and comfortable. What was also handy was that the train ticket which looked like a boarding pass can also be used for public transport in Bratislava without needing to buy a separate ticket when you’re there. 

When I arrived at Bratislava station I had to take a bus to my first stop which is next to Bratislava castle. It is very steep and has a lot of steps before you enter the castle museum so if you look around while you’re walking up and at the top, there are just some stunning and amazing views of Bratislava and the river that runs through it. The castle museum is quite large and the interior architecture is stunning. There are many exhibitions. It gives you the history of Bratislava, how it was constructed, as well as different relics and artefacts. It is definitely worth a visit if you’re there as the views from some of the windows are just stunning. 

The castle itself and the surrounding parks are again beautiful. It’s so peaceful and I remember just sitting down on one of the benches admiring the view for about half an hour. Bratislava is really quite beautiful.

I walked back down the steps and my next stop was an old church which was more in the town centre of Bratislava. This was a smaller church than the ones I had previously visited but it was still quite large. 

Again the architecture was beautiful and the religious statues and mosaics inside were amazing. Following the church I walked more towards the town centre. I decided to get something to eat. Bratislava reminds me a lot of Nice in France. It has lovely wide and organised roads where pedestrians can walk and there are a lot of shops on the side which normally have seating outside where you can enjoy the weather. 

It was sunny and 27 degrees at this point. I didn’t walk very long to find a restaurant which looked nice and had a great looking menu. I can’t remember exactly what I ordered but it was some potatoes and some salad I think. 

The waitress who served me was really lovely. She asked me where I am staying in Bratislava and I mentioned that I’m actually here on a day trip from Vienna. She mentioned a lot of people do this and we talked about Bratislava and how I will definitely come back and stay here in the future. She was really lovely and a fantastic waitress. 

My lunch at the restaurant was lovely. I really enjoyed it. It tasted awesome. I was a little tired because of the heat. I visited the Old Town Hall following my lunch at the town centre of Bratislava. It’s a really lovely area and with beautiful oldish but authentic feel much like nice or Croatia. There are many souvenir shops and places to eat or get a drink. It was just lovely to walk around. 

Going to Bratislava on a day trip was amazing and some of the photos I took and the views were just stunning which even my mum said looked beautiful which seemed to calm her nerves as to what I got up to (If only she knew!). 

I will however stay there next time I go and make day trips into Vienna rather than the other way around. Vienna is lovely but it’s more of a metropolitan city whereas Bratislava feels more relaxed and fresher in some ways – it’s just more a beautiful place to relax and walk around in. 

This is just my opinion but again I was only in Bratislava for say 6-8 hours, so these are temporary impressions I guess. I would have loved to have gone closer to the river which looked stunning and clean. I did see a lot of boat cruises which looked amazing so that’s something else on my to do list.

I wish I had spent more time in Bratislava to explore, I didn’t see much of the city and I was mostly in the Old Town. I made my way back to Vienna late afternoon and I was really tired by this point that I actually fell asleep on the train back to Vienna Central Station. 

The train journey is so comfortable, honestly. Interestingly, everyone else in my carriage was an English speaker with a British accent – I’m pretty confident about that. I think a lot of people make day trips from Vienna to Bratislava, although next time I’d probably do things the other way around.

Final Friendships

There was another new person in my hostel room once I got back. Her name was Angie and she was from New Zealand. We got talking and I asked if she was from the UK as I couldn’t really tell a big difference from her accent and a British one. She was very lovely although I do regret not speaking to her a bit more as she left early the next day. 

She was actually in Bratislava when I was there and she visited the castle as well. I don’t recall bumping into her and I asked if we saw each other, we hadn’t. Angie would’ve remembered if we had as she has a good memory in her opinion when it comes to faces.

Katie came into the room a short while later and she looked exhausted. I asked her how her day was and where she went, and she had just visited a bunch of museums in Vienna which she really enjoyed. She was going to go out in the evening with some friends she’d made in Warsaw. 

That evening there was also someone new in the room. Now for the life of me I can’t remember what her name was but she was British, and she was I assume ethnically East Asian. I didn’t initially start a conversation with her as it was just her and Katie. 

I was lying on my bed, topping up my Monzo for the second time on my trip. I got talking to her a little while later and she was a pleasure to speak to. A very interesting convo about our travelling plans and what I really loved about her was that she made an effort to ask me really enquiring questions like what has been my favourite place so far on holiday and why. 

So it didn’t feel like just a Q&A. A bit of the funny side of the conversation which involved Katie as well was when they asked me how old I was. I was 32 at that time but my birthday was next week (I’m 33 now as I write this) and they were completely taken aback. The new girl laughed and said omg you look 19, you must have really good genes. 

I found this a bit funny but it was a little thing that bothered me prior to going on holiday. I do look very small and my concern was I look more like a teenager than a man. I think being slightly bigger would make you look less vulnerable as a man and you’d get taken more seriously. 

This to an extent was confirmed by this comment. It wasn’t so much a problem, it didn’t bother me but I guess I think I really should do something about gaining a bit of weight/muscle mass in the next year or so. This would be healthy to do as typically past 40 you lose roughly 3-8% of muscle mass every decade. Given I look 19 now or thereabouts, I should probably try to put on some weight in the next few years.

I’m almost at the end of my amazing European tour! If you’ve loved this so far stick around for my next post where I spend the last day in Vienna and get a heads up on some tips if you ever decide to go.

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Check out a small slideshow with more pics on my visit to Bratislava Castle!