Bratislava

Yesterday, we stopped for a little more than half a day in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

I’m getting a little ‘citied out’ now and this city started to meld with all of the others that we have visited. Every city has a cathedral, a market square and a town hall. The same obviopusly goes with Bratislava.

I would have been probably more interested to have learned something about the culture rather then the history by our local guides. We have had some very interesting and entertaining guides along the way, but this was not one of them. He told us every date from Charlemaigne in the 800’s to the Nazi occupation in 1944 and then the departure of the Russians in 1986. I would have liked to have larned more about what life was like under these regimes and how the people coped, more than to have been told only about dates.

I got the impression that the Russians were a better occupying regime than the Germans. Thete are still some statues recognising the Soviet liberation of the city (and Czechoslavakia, as it then was) at end of WW2. On the basis that the statues haven’t been torn down yet after 20 years, there must be some sentiment to the Russians.

Like my experience in Russia, there are many one grand buidings here  that are falling into decay. Many have missing pieces from their facades and in a lot of places, the footpaths are uneven and need repair.

I’m sure that David will recognise this style of tram from our trip together to Russia.