Bratislava, Slovakia

I wasn't even in Slovakia for 24 hours but wow - it was the gem that I never expected to find. My intention in planning was to stop over between Budapest and Vienna for 1 night just to see what Slovakia's capital was like, but while I was there I seriously debated canceling the rest of my reservations and staying in Bratislava for the remainder of the week. Though I really wanted to be spontaneous and stay, there were a lot of things I was looking forward to in Austria that convinced me to keep to my schedule. However, if you find yourself with an opportunity to go visit the country, go! You won't regret it.

So, since I really only had an afternoon in Bratislava (I took a 3 hour bus ride from Budapest), I basically just walked around the center of the city. The architecture is lovely and the buildings are unique and colorful. I enjoyed some traditional Slovakian schnitzel,

Divine

saw beautiful street art,

explored the area outside the city's castle,

Large castle - hard to get a good picture of the whole thing

Views from the castle

Views from the castle

and just spent time admiring the small but unique city.

My hostel was just through this arch

I loved the colors in this city, if you couldn't tell

I was most surprised by the young and downright cool vibe that the city had. There is a university somewhere around where I was staying, which would explain the multitude of coffee shops, bars, clubs, and cafes that populated the city center. Also, in every shop people would start speaking to me in Slovak which is an incredibly cool language I know nothing about, but when I would respond with a "hello" everyone also had magically perfect English.

I wanted to stay longer to explore the city more and get a better feel for the people there. I also wanted to get outside of Bratislava and explore the mountains and countryside of Slovakia which other people staying in my hostel told me was unreal. So, should I have been spontaneous and stayed? Maybe. But I was also ready to set out for Vienna and Salzburg as well. Slovakia - I'll be back.