When I started this European trip, I wasn’t sure where I’d be going. To give me maximum flexibility and contain costs, I bought an Interrail pass that gave me unlimited travel. I’ve therefore been able to visit as many places as I like by train without any extra train costs (apart from the occasional seat reservation cost).
From Vienna by train, it takes an hour to get to Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. Like Budapest, I’d never been there. As usual, I bookmarked a few places to see.
The first stop was the UFO tower. It was a short bus ride from the arrival station, Petrzalka. As usual, I had to find out how to pay for public transport. Every country has a different method. Bratislava lets you pay using contactless on the bus, which was convenient. Different tickets are available. The default was about €1 for 30 minutes of travel.
The UFO Bridge, one end of an asymmetrical cable bridge, was quick to get to. There were no queues when I got there. Tickets before 11.30 were cheaper than the peak-time prices. A lift fired me to the top. Getting to the outside observation deck required a few flights of stairs.
Several people on the deck were taking photos of the panoramic views of Bratislava. You could see the Danube divided the city. North of the river were clusters of residential apartments. South of the Danube was the old town.
I descended the steps, had a quick look at the UFO saucer bit (which housed a restaurant and cafe) then took the lift back down. To get to the old town, I walked across the bridge, whose official name is Most SNP.
The old town is pretty. My plan was not to do anything strenuous: just ramble around taking in the scenery and get a feel for the place, perhaps for a future, longer, visit.
The old town is walkable. I passed the Town Hall, Michael’s Gate, and The Blue Church.
After enough walking, I ended up in Lab Cafe, which had promising reviews online. I ordered my drink, sat down and looked around. Behind me were two 3D printers! One was printing some tube-like thing. There were also headphones and stationary you could borrow, in case you’d forgotten yours!
After my coffee, I headed back to the station and was soon back in Vienna.
Having been to the Vienna State Opera, I wanted to also go to the premier Vienna music venue, Musikverein. The main hall is supposed to have incredible acoustics. This morning, I’d bought some cheap standing tickets. Unlike the State Opera, where bars separated numbered standing positions, the Musikverein had a more typical area that allowed unrestricted standing.
Before the concert started, there were the usual warnings about mobile phones. Just as I found at the State Opera, people don’t follow the rules. In this case, several Chinese people, even after the music started, were whispering to each other and using their phones. They came just for the experience, not to listen to the music. An usher told them a couple of times to be quiet and to put their phones away.
After the interval, they (and others) didn’t return to the standing area. This gave the rest of us more room!
Before the interval, the music was fairly gentle, benign and listenable. After the interval, three singers came on. This I found boring. After 30 minutes, the usher opened the door for someone to leave. I made a beeline to the door, as did several other people.
As it happened, I had to get back to do a wash in preparation for leaving Vienna tomorrow.