We were expecting rain when we got up but to our surprise it was quite nice out. Ton did a quick check and the rain had gotten delayed overnight and was not not expected to hit until around 5 pm.
We had to sort out the logistics of getting into town as today was the National Devin Run which is a big deal in Slovakia. The race starts at a castle about 12 kilometers outside of town and ends in the center of Bratislava. We could tell that the tram route was shortened to accommodate the run but couldn’t tell by how much. The young lady at the front desk determined that the tram ran to the center of the city so we were good to go.
We needed a purpose for the day so walking to the tram we decided to seek out a street sculpture called the sewer worker. It is a cute sculpture showing a guy climbing out of a sewer hole. Ton also had discovered a restaurant that she was interested in trying the food and seeing the building. So with a purpose in mind we struck out into Bratislava.
The main square was packed with post race activities and we stopped and watched a traditional Slovak dance group perform a few songs. Right after the main square we found our first target the sewer hole cover dude. It was a well executed and quirky piece of art that seemed to fit the vibe we felt for Bratislava.
Ton and I have discovered we have a type of city we really enjoy and Bratislava is one of those cities. We admire sophisticated big cities with lots of culture and many things going on like Vienna. But we enjoy cities like Bratislava, and that is different than big and sophisticated.
It is a medium sized city with plenty to do, with people out and about doing things and enjoying themselves. It is more practical than pretentious and people seem to have time to interact with each other. Bratislava has been a great introduction to Slovakia for us and will join a short list of cities that have surprised us.
We had been quick to find the Sewer Worker so we decided we need something else to do before heading to lunch. I suggested we walk across the Danube to the base of the UFO bridge.
It was a nice walk, but the base of the UFO restaurant didn’t offer much, so Ton mentioned the Blue Church. We doubled back across the river to a new part of town and found a beautiful church which is very appropriately called the Blue Church.
There were a few people there, and though it was Sunday you could not enter, but only look thru a locked gate. There was one large tour group who were getting an extended briefing on the church in Spanish.
We had now walked enough to have lunch. The restaurant Ton had picked was located in an old theater that had been converted to a restaurant and brewery. The exterior of the building was nearly swallowed up by a construction zone, but the interior was spectacular. The building has a complicated history. For several hundred years it was a hospital run by an order of priests supported by nuns. Like many church run hospitals they had a side business making beer to help pay for the upkeep of the building. Shortly after the communists took over Bratislava in 1950 the priests and nuns were imprisoned or exiled. The hospital was maintained as a medical clinic but the chapel of the hospital was converted into a theater.
After the communists fell the building was returned to the order of priests. They didn’t know what to do with the theater so they leased it out, and it became the restaurant that exists today. The restaurant also got the right to brew beer using the old formula of the priests. A priest still consecrates the beer periodically. We really enjoyed the meal, the beer, and the atmosphere.
After lunch we hustled back to François just in time to beat the rain. We settled in for a relaxing evening and listened to rain beat on the roof of François.