The Brats of Bratislava

Day: 205

Towns / Cities Visited: 133

Countries Visited: 24

Steps Taken Today: 18,025

Steps Taken Around the World: 3,368,961

Treating ourselves to a sleep in, we arose slowly and had a bite to eat for breakfast before we began our rather leisurely day or exploring Slovakia’s capital city. We had hoped to visit a couple of the surrounding castles, but just as many shops are shut on Sundays in this part of the world, many tourist attractions take their down time on a Monday. As a result, we would be forced to try and fit the castles in the following day before we moved on into Hungary. Not to put a damper on our adventure though, we were soon heading out to enjoy the sunshine as we meandered through yet another beautiful, old European city.

After a quick drop into the train station to organise our train tickets for the following day, we turned back towards the old town, taking a short stop to view Grassalkovich Palace. This grand white building sits on Hodžovo námestie, one of the major squares in the city, and is accented by the modern fountain which sits proudly as the centrepiece of this relaxed public space. The palace was built in 1760 while Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was used as a summer palace for the Habsburgs. However, now that the country is no longer under the yoke of foreign rule and communist control it is the home of the country’s president. For obvious reasons, the building exudes the baroque charm seen…