So our 90 days was up again and continuing our Central European tour we decided it was finally time to go to Slovakia. Most people had told us that Bratislava is generally unimpressive. The nightlife is ok, but generally that's not what I travel for, so Megan and I decided to go somewhere else. Looking through our guidebook we found Trnava. The oldest city in Slovakia, a large portion of the medieval walls still surrounds the historic old town. It was once dubbed the Slovakian Rome because of the many churches inside the walls, and also it is the seat of the Archbishop. Sounded perfect to us, so we got up early on Friday and headed South.
We had found a hotel online that was near the center and also had reasonable rates. It also included an "American Cocktail Bar" which we thought might be fun to try out. Once we arrived in the afternoon, we had a little trouble getting into the hotel. It seems that tourist season hasn't really begun, and they seemed entirely unprepared for guests (when we got to our room we realized the breakers hadn't even been turned on for our floor). Once they realized we were there however they got us checked in and into our room which was actually quite nice, certainly nicer than our previous hostel stays. So we threw down our stuff and headed into town for lunch.
Though our little guidebook made a couple of mistakes about some of the places listed we managed to find a good little lunch spot, though Megan ordered some pasta that turned out to be too spicy and so we swapped plates during the meal. After lunch we started our walking tour of Trnava which begins at the Western Wall and the Bernolak Gate, which is the only surviving tower gate. Outside the gate is a very nice park that stretches along the river the length of the old town. On the way back in we passed the Church of St. James (1640) and headed into the central square where they have the Renaissance Municipal Tower and the 17th Century Trinity Column which was removed by the communists in 1948, but replace in 1989 by popular demand. On our way to lunch we had passed the Old Town Hall and also the Old Theater without noticing so we took notice of them now. The town square also includes the ubiquitous House of Culture found in most former communist cities, which is generally the ugliest structure around.
From there we wandered past Trinity Church (1729) and the baroque Church of St. Anne on our way to the university district where we saw the university Church of St John the Baptist. The guidebook describes this as severe on the outside though I didn't find it to be severe at all. He also describes the inside as lush baroque and rococo, but unfortunately we were not able to go in.
Leaving the university district we headed for the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (1380) that was rebuilt in the 17th century after the Archbishop arrived. Next to it sits the Archbishops palace, though it's difficult to see as it sits well back from the street and is fronted by lots of thick trees. Walking south from here is possibly the loveliest part of Trnava. Kapitulska Street is lined on either side with Burgher's Houses with renaissance facades and there is a tree lined garden running down the center.
From here we also stopped in to see all that remains of Trnava's Jewish heritage. There are two synagogues sitting very close to one another. One of them has been turned into a museum, while the other sits behind heavy fencing and has been abandoned to the elements and birds.
Our last real stop was the West Slovakian museum, housed in a former Clarist convent (1239). The museum had some interesting collections of local minerals and animals, as well as collections of local ceramics crafts, clothing, and photography. The proprietors were very friendly and even spoke a little English to us. After this we headed back to the hotel, passing on the way the final sight, the Church of St. Helen, which has never been rebuilt and is a great representative of an early Gothic structure.
Back at the hotel we rested and tried to decide where we were going to eat. We settled on a place called Phoenix which we had passed earlier in the day and was also recommended in the guidebook. We walked back through the old town noticing the strange blending of post communist economic depression, and newer middle class growth. Trnava is very close to Bratislava and seems to be a place that people are moving to in order to commute to Bratislava. When we arrived at Phoenix we had a brief scare since the place looked very closed, but we finally realized that you had to walk though the back garden and come in the back door to get in (still not tourist season). Once we found our way in we sat down and had a very pleasant meal with some delicious Slovakian wine. After dinner we went back to our hotel to give the cocktail bar a try. Generally they were a complete failure in my opinion, as every drink I ordered came out with something just a bit off about it, but we soon discovered that what they seem to do best is blender drinks, since that was all that the Slovaks seemed to be ordering. But it had been a long day and we decided to call it a night early. Photos
The next morning we packed up and headed to the train station so that we could spend a few hours in Bratislava on the way home (just to say we had). By the time we arrived the weather was turning bad, but we hopped a tram and headed into the historic district for lunch. We stopped at a locals/tourist restaurant called Prasna Brana, and had some Bryndzové halušky, a traditional Slovakian dish made of small dumplings covered with cheese and bacon. After that we wandered pretty aimlessly through old town Bratislava waiting for our train time. We did see some of the main sites including the castle, St. Martin Cathedral, Mirbach Palace, etc. as well as two of the three now famous life size bronze statues, the Peeper and the Frenchman. Finally our train time arrived and we hopped the tram back to the station and headed home. Photos
We had found a hotel online that was near the center and also had reasonable rates. It also included an "American Cocktail Bar" which we thought might be fun to try out. Once we arrived in the afternoon, we had a little trouble getting into the hotel. It seems that tourist season hasn't really begun, and they seemed entirely unprepared for guests (when we got to our room we realized the breakers hadn't even been turned on for our floor). Once they realized we were there however they got us checked in and into our room which was actually quite nice, certainly nicer than our previous hostel stays. So we threw down our stuff and headed into town for lunch.
Though our little guidebook made a couple of mistakes about some of the places listed we managed to find a good little lunch spot, though Megan ordered some pasta that turned out to be too spicy and so we swapped plates during the meal. After lunch we started our walking tour of Trnava which begins at the Western Wall and the Bernolak Gate, which is the only surviving tower gate. Outside the gate is a very nice park that stretches along the river the length of the old town. On the way back in we passed the Church of St. James (1640) and headed into the central square where they have the Renaissance Municipal Tower and the 17th Century Trinity Column which was removed by the communists in 1948, but replace in 1989 by popular demand. On our way to lunch we had passed the Old Town Hall and also the Old Theater without noticing so we took notice of them now. The town square also includes the ubiquitous House of Culture found in most former communist cities, which is generally the ugliest structure around.
From there we wandered past Trinity Church (1729) and the baroque Church of St. Anne on our way to the university district where we saw the university Church of St John the Baptist. The guidebook describes this as severe on the outside though I didn't find it to be severe at all. He also describes the inside as lush baroque and rococo, but unfortunately we were not able to go in.
Leaving the university district we headed for the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (1380) that was rebuilt in the 17th century after the Archbishop arrived. Next to it sits the Archbishops palace, though it's difficult to see as it sits well back from the street and is fronted by lots of thick trees. Walking south from here is possibly the loveliest part of Trnava. Kapitulska Street is lined on either side with Burgher's Houses with renaissance facades and there is a tree lined garden running down the center.
From here we also stopped in to see all that remains of Trnava's Jewish heritage. There are two synagogues sitting very close to one another. One of them has been turned into a museum, while the other sits behind heavy fencing and has been abandoned to the elements and birds.
Our last real stop was the West Slovakian museum, housed in a former Clarist convent (1239). The museum had some interesting collections of local minerals and animals, as well as collections of local ceramics crafts, clothing, and photography. The proprietors were very friendly and even spoke a little English to us. After this we headed back to the hotel, passing on the way the final sight, the Church of St. Helen, which has never been rebuilt and is a great representative of an early Gothic structure.
Back at the hotel we rested and tried to decide where we were going to eat. We settled on a place called Phoenix which we had passed earlier in the day and was also recommended in the guidebook. We walked back through the old town noticing the strange blending of post communist economic depression, and newer middle class growth. Trnava is very close to Bratislava and seems to be a place that people are moving to in order to commute to Bratislava. When we arrived at Phoenix we had a brief scare since the place looked very closed, but we finally realized that you had to walk though the back garden and come in the back door to get in (still not tourist season). Once we found our way in we sat down and had a very pleasant meal with some delicious Slovakian wine. After dinner we went back to our hotel to give the cocktail bar a try. Generally they were a complete failure in my opinion, as every drink I ordered came out with something just a bit off about it, but we soon discovered that what they seem to do best is blender drinks, since that was all that the Slovaks seemed to be ordering. But it had been a long day and we decided to call it a night early. Photos
The next morning we packed up and headed to the train station so that we could spend a few hours in Bratislava on the way home (just to say we had). By the time we arrived the weather was turning bad, but we hopped a tram and headed into the historic district for lunch. We stopped at a locals/tourist restaurant called Prasna Brana, and had some Bryndzové halušky, a traditional Slovakian dish made of small dumplings covered with cheese and bacon. After that we wandered pretty aimlessly through old town Bratislava waiting for our train time. We did see some of the main sites including the castle, St. Martin Cathedral, Mirbach Palace, etc. as well as two of the three now famous life size bronze statues, the Peeper and the Frenchman. Finally our train time arrived and we hopped the tram back to the station and headed home. Photos
