Bratislava
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There are a lot of reasons why people decide to travel. One of them is just having quit your job and board whatever plane the very same afternoon, because you fucking can. Come to think of it, I had a shit ton of jobs over the course of my life and quit all of them eventually (never got fired – yet), and my go-to response has always been immediate travel, get the hell out of there, celebrate life after selling lifetime for money. Long unnecessary introduction to tell you how I ended up in Bratislava one day, the capital of Slovakia.
Now I know y’all lead busy lives, and are probably reading this on the toilet to take some extra paid pooping time before some zoom-calls or powerpoint-presentations are demanding your undivided attention, so let me make this quick. Let me explain to you in three clear points what I liked about Bratislava (and why you could maybe also just quit your job and fly over there to celebrate life one day).
1. Cheap Booze
I could pretend this isn’t relevant and shuffle this in the back of the article somewhere, but who am I kidding? It was a downright moment of glory… sitting down on some picturesque market square, plunging my overpacked backpack beside me, feeling the rays of sunshine gently brushing my face and ordering a good glass of wine, because something made me feel like I deserved it. “Would you like the best wine or the cheapest one?”, the good lad asks. I’m on a holiday, give me the best you have, young man. “Okay, that’s 1 euro and 20 cents.” Excuse me what. How much does the cheapest one cost then?!
Now I know y’all lead busy lives, and are probably reading this on the toilet to take some extra paid pooping time before some zoom-calls or powerpoint-presentations are demanding your undivided attention, so let me make this quick. Let me explain to you in three clear points what I liked about Bratislava (and why you could maybe also just quit your job and fly over there to celebrate life one day).
1. Cheap Booze
I could pretend this isn’t relevant and shuffle this in the back of the article somewhere, but who am I kidding? It was a downright moment of glory… sitting down on some picturesque market square, plunging my overpacked backpack beside me, feeling the rays of sunshine gently brushing my face and ordering a good glass of wine, because something made me feel like I deserved it. “Would you like the best wine or the cheapest one?”, the good lad asks. I’m on a holiday, give me the best you have, young man. “Okay, that’s 1 euro and 20 cents.” Excuse me what. How much does the cheapest one cost then?!
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The only regret I ever had is doing my university “study” exchange in fancy-pants Milan where they charged me 8 bucks for a glass, and not just in down-to-earth, non-pretentious Slovakia. Needless to say, this formed the red (w/)line of my visit, and I immediately signed up for that night’s pubcrawl to meet some like-minded souls. Oh, and may I add: Cheep booze, cheap everything. Especially if you just backpacked your way through western Europe, you’re gonna be positively surprised how much longer you can stay on the road when staying east.
2. Funny Statues and Fountains
Okay, given the generous amounts of wine coming my way here (because I ordered it), this might have seemed funnier than it actually was… but still, you got to appreciate the wink towards daily life presented in Bratislava’s pleasant cityscapes. Sure, you could portray your biggest poets, former conquerors and greatest (?) politicians, but why not just scatter the city with goofy depictions of witches, fairytales and street workers? There’s even an UFO-shaped observation deck, if you want to go all in.
2. Funny Statues and Fountains
Okay, given the generous amounts of wine coming my way here (because I ordered it), this might have seemed funnier than it actually was… but still, you got to appreciate the wink towards daily life presented in Bratislava’s pleasant cityscapes. Sure, you could portray your biggest poets, former conquerors and greatest (?) politicians, but why not just scatter the city with goofy depictions of witches, fairytales and street workers? There’s even an UFO-shaped observation deck, if you want to go all in.
3. Good Culture-Nature Balance
More in a serious, cultural mood? Bratislava contains no less than 30 specialized museums, to get your Culture-with-Capital-C-kicks. From cutting-edge art, to bunkers to ancient clocks, whatever makes you tick (HAHA – okay sorry). Dive into the country’s vibrant history (check the Budget Fact Sheet for a quick overview-in-30-seconds) that can still be observed in the easy-on-the-eyes downtown area today, or mix it up with some fresh dose of nature. Because hellsss yeah, Bratislava does that too: the Bratislava Forest Park, Zlate Piesky and Strkovecke lakes, as also the Koliba which is part of the actual Carpathian Mountains… it’s easy to forget you’re in the country’s capital city.
That’s it. That’s all I have to say.
Just a roaming nomad rambling the world since 7 years telling you why Bratislava could be your escape plan. Do with it as you please. G’day.
More in a serious, cultural mood? Bratislava contains no less than 30 specialized museums, to get your Culture-with-Capital-C-kicks. From cutting-edge art, to bunkers to ancient clocks, whatever makes you tick (HAHA – okay sorry). Dive into the country’s vibrant history (check the Budget Fact Sheet for a quick overview-in-30-seconds) that can still be observed in the easy-on-the-eyes downtown area today, or mix it up with some fresh dose of nature. Because hellsss yeah, Bratislava does that too: the Bratislava Forest Park, Zlate Piesky and Strkovecke lakes, as also the Koliba which is part of the actual Carpathian Mountains… it’s easy to forget you’re in the country’s capital city.
That’s it. That’s all I have to say.
Just a roaming nomad rambling the world since 7 years telling you why Bratislava could be your escape plan. Do with it as you please. G’day.
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