Vibrant Bratislava - capital of Slovakia

Today’s excursions started at 3.30pm, which gave us time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and then up to the sun deck to enjoy the scenery as we cruised by. And then enjoy a leisurely lunch! We then returned to our suites to get ready to visit Bratislava, the world's only capital city bordering with two other countries - Austria (west) and Hungary (southeast).

We boarded the Crystal coaches for our various tours. The choice included an outing to the Bratislava Chatam Sofer Memorial; a city tour “Panoramic Bratislava & Slovak Beer Pub Experience” and an optional “Flavours of Bratislava: A Walking tour”. As always, you were free to stay on the Crystal Mozart and enjoy the facilities. Bratislava's passenger port is located directly in the city centre, making everything very accessible if you just wanted to walk in, and explore on your own.

I do enjoy guided orientation city tours, while learning about the history from a local guide. Our tour covered all the key places, starting with Bratislava Castle, from which we had amazing views of the city. Bratislava Old Town highlights include St Michael’s Gate, Main Square (surrounded by buildings of different architectures, including Gothic and Art Nouveau) and the Old Town Hall. Most of the Old Town is pedestrianised, so it is easy to get around on foot.

I loved the mix of modern artwork and sculptures amongst the architecture. See the photo of the giant bubble in the main square of the Old Town. Some of the most photographed attractions of Bratislava are its sculptures in human size located all over its Old Town. One example is Schöner Náci, who strolled around Bratislava during the communist days in a top hat and suit, and now greets visitors outside his favourite café, Kaffee Mayer, an institution here since 1873. The bronze figure "CUMIL – Man at work" is undoubtedly the most photographed statue in the city – so I took a photo of it.

After the tour, we went for our “Slovak Beer Pub Experience” in the Old Town. This was good fun, giving us the chance to get to know other cruise guests as well as sample the beers. As Crystal Mozart was moored so close by, we opted to walk back to the ship on the cobbled lanes through the Old Town. There’s a lot to enjoy in vibrant Bratislava with its history, stunning architecture of palaces, burghers’ houses and church buildings, tradition, culture, art and lively cafes. It is also a great place to enjoy the unique atmosphere of the Christmas markets.

If you’re interested in a river cruise which visits Bratislava, or if you’d like a city break in Bratislava (or a twin-centre break), please contact me on 020 3432 2510 or brian.telfer@travelcounsellors.com for a chat about your trip.