A weekend in Bratislava, Europe’s fascinating, forgotten crossroads
Lounging in the Mirror Bar of the Carlton Hotel, knocking back a shot of Borovicka, the potent local liqueur, I’m hit by a sudden surge of déjà vu – which is odd, because this is my first time in Bratislava.
Then I down another shot, and I realise why this strange setting feels so familiar. This opulent, old-fashioned cocktail bar, with its courteous, eccentric bartenders, is like a scene from one of my favourite films, Wes Anderson’s homage to Mitteleuropa, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Anderson’s dream-like movie wasn’t set in Bratislava, but nowhere else I’ve been sums up its surreal ambience better than this decadent drinking den, cocooned within this grand hotel. Like Bratislava itself, the Carlton Hotel has experienced an extraordinary fall and rise, from the 19th century to the 21st century, from capitalism to communism and then back again.
In a prime position on the river Danube, Bratislava has always been coveted by the competing empires of Central Europe. Before railways and motorways, the Danube was the Continent’s main thoroughfare, and whoever controlled Bratislava controlled the traffic between Vienna and Budapest.
Consequently, it has been a prize for every European despot, occupied in turn by Hungarians, Austrians, Germans and Russians. Until the end of the First World War, it was part of the Habsburg Empire. Between the wars it was part of an independent Czechoslovakia.
During the Second World War it was the capital of Nazi-controlled Slovakia. After the war it was part of Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia. When Czechoslovakia threw off the Soviet yoke in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, it became part of an independent Czechoslovakia again. And then in the Velvet Divorce of 1993, it finally became the capital of an independent Slovakia.
If you’d lived here through all these changes, it must have been no fun at all – but if you’re a visitor, Bratislava’s turbulent past is fascinating. From baroque palaces to bourgeoise villas, from communist apartment blocks to shiny new skyscrapers, every epoch has left its mark upon the city.
The best place to begin a tour of Bratislava is at its robust hilltop castle. The main building is medieval, but the foundations date back to Roman times. There’s an excellent museum inside, covering the castle’s long and complicated history, but the best thing about this rugged fortress is the view. From these windswept battlements you look down on the quaint Old Town below, the Belle Époque suburbs, the brutalist outskirts and the wooded hills beyond. Snaking through it all is the mighty river Danube, which runs all the way from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.
A more modern vantage point is the UFO Tower, which looms over the busy road bridge on the other side of the river. Built in 1972, its futuristic design now seems absurdly dated. It wasn’t supposed to look like a flying saucer, but somehow the irreverent nickname stuck.
Today it’s a tourist attraction, a nostalgic souvenir of a bygone age. The restaurant within is rather formal, but if you don’t fancy a sit-down meal you can simply buy a ticket for the outdoor observation deck above.
Bratislava is a sprawling city with half a million inhabitants, but the pedestrianised centre is compact and easy to explore on foot. It’s pleasant rather than spectacular, an attractive mishmash of architectural styles, from rococo to art nouveau.
There are a few drab relics of the communist era, but most of the Old Town has been beautifully restored. There’s a smattering of sightseers, but none of the big tour groups you get in Prague.
Bratislava City Museum gives you a good overview of the city’s medieval heritage, but if you’re more interested in modern history you don’t need to visit a museum. Anyone over 40 has their own tale to tell. My guide, Eva, lived through two revolutions here.
As a child, she witnessed the failed uprising of 1968, when attempts to liberalise the Soviet system were brutally repressed by Russian troops. As a young mum, in 1989, she joined a new generation of brave protesters. Incredibly, this time they were successful.
The Soviet Union collapsed, and Bratislava regained its freedom after half a century of foreign domination. Eva is far too modest to say so, but it was unassuming folk like her who changed the course of history.
Yet there’s more to Bratislava than history lessons. A lively modern city with invigorating nightlife and a wide range of stylish cocktail bars, by night it’s seductive and slightly spooky, an ideal setting for a film noir.
Stanislav and Peter from the Mirror Bar took me on a nocturnal tour, to the rooftop Sky Bar to drink in the stunning views across the city, then on to the Antique American Bar, a debonair hideaway straight out of a short story by Graham Greene or Ernest Hemingway.
We ended up at Michalska, a cosy speakeasy behind an unmarked door, a Narnia for boozy insomniacs. I sank a bloody Mary and shuffled off to bed, to dream about sultry waitresses and suave bartenders in white dinner jackets and bow ties.
On my final evening in the city we drove out to Eck, a chic modern restaurant with its own winery, surrounded by vineyards, on a hill above the Danube. On the other side is Austria.
You sense you’re in the heart of Europe here, on the border between the Slavic and Teutonic worlds. There are only six tables, and only one setting for dinner. Waiters glide between the open kitchen and the tables, bearing exquisite little dishes. The tasting menu isn’t cheap, but I can’t recall the last time I ate such fine food.
Next morning I walked out to Sky Park, a cluster of sleek tower blocks designed by the late Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. A new downtown has sprouted up around these iconic buildings. The Old Town is where visitors go to party, but this is where locals come to work.
I dropped in on Tomáš Šajgal, a Slovak sommelier with his own wine shop and bistro, Mad Wines. Eating brunch together in his smart little shop, it was hard to believe this enterprising capital was ever communist.
I spent my last few hours in Bratislava wandering around the art galleries. I started at Nedbalka, a private gallery on a quiet side street on the edge of the Old Town. Its superb collection of Slovak art stretches from the late 1800s to the late 1900s, reflecting the huge upheavals of that turbulent century, and the heroic artists who fought against the status quo.
I ended up at the Slovak National Gallery, a big modern building on the waterfront. There was more Slovakian art inside, but what attracted my attention was the visiting schoolchildren. They seemed so happy and excited, and their happiness and excitement was infectious.
I thought what a nice place Bratislava would be to grow up in nowadays – so different from the time when my guide Eva was at school here, behind the Iron Curtain, when you had to be careful what you said lest it got you into trouble.
Today, the Cold War seems like nothing more than a bad dream in Bratislava. Slovakia is in the EU, the Eurozone and Nato. Slovakia’s quirky capital has had more than its fair share of bad luck.
It deserves its current good times, a destination for foreign tourists rather than foreign troops. But as the Slovaks know best of all, here at the crossroads of Central Europe, peace and prosperity is never guaranteed.
How to do it
Fly to Bratislava with Ryanair (ryanair.com) from Edinburgh, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester or Stansted, or with Wizz Air (wizzair.com) from Luton. You can also fly to Vienna, only 30 miles from Bratislava, from London Heathrow with British Airways (ba.com) or Austrian Airlines (austrian.com), from London Gatwick with Wizz Air, or from Manchester or Stansted with Ryanair.
Several coach companies run services between Vienna Airport and Bratislava. Book with FlixBus (flixbus.com) from £5.99 each way. The journey takes about an hour. A taxi costs around €50 (£43) and takes about 40 minutes.
The author travelled to Bratislava as a guest of the Mirror Bar at the Carlton Hotel (mirrorbarcarlton.com). Doubles at the Carlton Hotel cost from £100, not including breakfast (radissonhotels.com).
A Bratislava Card buys you unlimited public transport, free admission to local museums and galleries, discounts on other attractions, and a guided tour of the city centre: 48 hours for €24 or 72 hours for €26. For more information go to visitbratislava.com.