After all the various invasions and occupations that also happened in Budapest over the past millennium, plus a (voluntary) union with what is now the Czech Republic starting at the end of WWI, Slovakia became an independent country in 1993. I've read that Bratislava (and especially its Old Town in the city center) was NOT a nice place twenty years ago. Grey, dismal, and in spots downright dangerous.
Since independence, however, a very concerted governmental effort (via a flat 20% VAT) to revitalize the city has completely transformed Bratislava. At this point nearly all of the buildings have been given such pristine and colorful new facades that at times I felt like I was at Epcot at a "Little Slovakia" village.
We walked up to the hilltop castle overlooking the city, where we found the annual Renaissance Festival going on. For some reason, I found this really funny. How warped is it that I think of Renaissance Festivals as something that a particular group of Americans obsessed with the heyday of Europe do on their weekends? It makes WAY more sense that there are occasional Renaissance Festivals in places that actually experienced the Renaissance. (Which Bratislava definitely did; Beethoven, Mozart, and Liszt all visited here to perform and/or give lessons to aristocratic students.)
Since I've never really been into festivals (or, for that matter, unusually interested in the Renaissance), the part of the castle that was most interesting to me was the views over the city. In this shot, you can see the Danube River (which runs straight through the city and easily connects it to 19 other cities in Europe--a huge advantage that has helped the Slovakian economy improve so rapidly since the days of the USSR that they have already been on the Euro for a decade); the "UFO bridge," one of five bridges that span the Danube in Bratislava; and, far in the distance on the right is actually Austria, on the distant left is Hungary.
I also really appreciate this view of the area north of Danube, where you can see the perfect, orange, restored roofs of Old Town, and then behind that the new modern skyscrapers rapidly being built up around the heart of the city.
There are some really grand reminders of Bratislava's past (here, St. Martin's Church)...
...but they are juxtaposed with really sad reminders of Bratislava's history. I took the picture above and the picture below just by pivoting about 90 degrees. That lovely church now has a highway running DIRECTLY next to it. Like, I think there were about 6 feet separating them.
And to create that highway in the 60's, the occupying Communists razed most of the historically Jewish quarters of the city, including two synagogues. This was adding insult to injury, as nearly all of Slovakia's Jews--at least 70,000 people--had been killed in the Holocaust. Bratislava's Holocaust Memorial is positioned right at this site, where surviving original buildings (such as the one on the left) meet the barrier erected around the freeway that runs over what used to be the Jewish area; in addition to the flowers remembering the Holocaust victims, there is an etching on the barrier of one of the destroyed synagogues echoes this second tragedy.
Though a lot of what makes Bratislava charming feels very purposeful and "new" (as opposed to the kind of effortless, old-world charm of other parts of Europe), I was still completely charmed. I don't know why the city is overrun with Italian restaurants and gelaterias, but I LOVE that. And the people living here seem happy and seem to love being here and to truly enjoy their city, which somehow feels both lively and relaxing. Especially after all this place has been through...I love that, too.
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