We skipped out of Czechia into Slovakia for a couple of days to visit Bratislava. As we drove into the Bratislava it was all graffiti, sex shops and so littered with billboards it made your eyes bleed; along with concrete seediness, and endless casinos. Thank god for the historic centre, which, though tiny, is completely pedestrianised and has a completely relaxed feel to it. A very pleasant place to spend time: which almost makes the drive into the country worthwhile. With little effort you can even imagine a precocious six year old Mozart and a nine year old List performing here in the lovely old theatres.
Downtown, too, is full of whimsical statues that parody modern culture -- like Rubberneck, reputed to emulate a lazy Communist 'worker' with his body parts way out of an underground sewerage drain resting his chin on his hands, as he waits for tourists to take his photo; or Paparazzi, looking inquisitively around the corner of a trendy café, camera in hand, searching for a star, yet he is the star.
Old castles overlook the Danube. There is a tidied up town hall and numerous spired cathedrals within easy reach of the city centre, as are modern meeting places like universities, cafes and restaurants.
Where we are staying, tho’, is likely to be the most memorable bit of Bratislava, unfortunately. We’re in a campground, which, if you were rating in the negative, this one would hit the continuum as the worst there ever was. Virtually nothing works. Everything looks tattered and suspect. The laundry has been vandalized and never replaced, and there are no other laundramats in all of Bratislava. Tough cheese. Showers fair flood the other amenities, and the drains don’t work properly. About one in twenty electrical hookups function, and the reception folk do not care. The place is filled with seedy hangers-on, who occupy most of the very dirty and very dilapidated outbuildings, giving the impression of doing little or nothing at all.
Overlooking the site a group of destitute looking prostitutes hang out of upper floor balconies in appalling conditions in what looks like decrepit hotel rooms. They are operating from the hotel just over the fence where I go to find decent wifi reception. The campground is part of the same complex, because anywhere it is painted, which is not a lot, it is the same colour.
Camp sites in central Europe have varied from basic to primitive. If this one was condemned tomorrow it would be too late. Bratislava really deserves better.
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| Rubberneck |
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| Paparazzi |
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| National Theatre, Bratislava |
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| Billboards proliferate entering and leaving Bratislava |
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| St Michael's Gate, ancient northern entrance to the city |
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| Stylish courtyard in downtown Bratislava |
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| UFO Observation Deck with a view of the city |
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