10 September Bratislava

I decide to take a rest day and take the bus to Bratislava. This capital of the Slovak Republic is the city that is situated only 45 km from Vienna.  No former central European capital is so close to a Western capital. Although Bratislava tries to extract tourists it’s no match for Vienna. In more than one way I believe this makes the city suffer. As a capital there are many high paid jobs for foreigners that work in the embassies. It also attracts younger people from the Slovakian countryside to go and try to find a job here. The prices of housing have risen quite sharp. For Miriam who is well educated and has a stable job in the CSOB, a bank owned by the Belgium KBC Group, the choice was quickly made. She has thoughtfully bought her apartment in Hainburg (Austria) for reasons of cost – quality and beauty and tranquility. She also would like to improve her German language skills and this is better done in Austria then Bratislava.

Although many of her friends and social life takes place in Bratislava, she tries to enlarge her Austrian friendships. This is difficult. Around 20% of the population of Hainburg is Slovakian. In the shops and streets I sense an atmosphere of animosity, sometimes silent hostility.

International tourists visit Bratislava for a day and then return to their hotels in Vienna. Some come by bus others by boat over the Danube. This is very unfortunate for the city.

However there seems a lot to improve in the way they present their museums, statues, churches, castle and other sights. I can only characterize it as boring and cold. Without a hired tour guide not many sights explain themselves. Of course the alcohol is cheap compared to Austria, but that attracts the wrong kind of tourism. If there would be cheap airline flights this could be another stag party paradise.

A little disappointed I take the bus back to Hainburg. I cook a meal in Miriam’s apartment and we eat together. Tomorrow back to the bicycle and into Hungary.