The Weekend Continent

by Neil Matthews

I spent a weekend in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, in August 2004. My only other, brief, acquaintance with that city had been in 1992, as an internal flight stop on a holiday in Czechoslovakia, months before it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bratislava is one of a number of European cities which have been increasingly promoted in recent years as weekend destinations. Developments such as the fall of the Soviet Union, the accession of both republics to the EU in 2004, and the rise of the low-cost airlines have all played their part.

We had been told beforehand that the city would serve well for a weekend visit, but not a longer break. That is a conclusion I would endorse. Unless you are a fan of Soviet brutalist tower block architecture, most of the sights of Bratislava lie within its compact Old Town. It’s an easy and attractive walk, along streets which have obviously been repaved quite recently. In similar vein, much paint has been devoted to restoring the Austro-Hungarian facades of many of the buildings. The authorities are clearly aware of the benefits of a continuing influx of tourists. That week’s edition of the English language Slovak Spectator reported on the creation of a special police unit “to discipline homeless people, drunkards, and other groups that make a mess or pester pedestrians in the city’s most exposed areas.”

The bronze statues dotted around the Old Town give a clue to the passion and quirky humour of the Slovaks. In namestie [square] SNP, we found three statues - a cloaked man and two women, in dramatic poses. Only from the front did we find that the man was brandishing a machine gun. This is the “Angry Family”, a monument to the anti-Fascist uprising which gives the square its name. The Lonely Planet guide [ignorance of football notwithstanding – see foot of article] tells us that huge crowds assembled here in late 1989 for the collapse of Communism, and Slovak nationalists also gathered here in 1992 before the “Velvet Divorce” of the Czech and Slovak Republics. On a lighter note, a Frenchman with a disturbing resemblance to Napoleon leans nonchalantly on a park bench in Hlavne namestie, the main tourist square. Elsewhere in the Old Town are The Photographer, a paparazzo forever frozen in the act of waiting for that perfect picture – he is cunningly hidden behind a pot plant – and The Peeper, a helmeted man peering out from under a manhole on Panska.

The compact nature of the Old Town enabled us to get round a number of the key sights during our weekend. Bratislava Castle, which is sometimes described as resembling an upturned bed, hosts the Slovak National Museum (which includes displays of typical Slovak furniture) and the Treasury of Slovakia – an archaeological exhibition. The Town Hall’s tower gives a high spot from which to view Hlavne namestie, as well as displaying bizarrely eclectic contents: historical ephemera from old Bratislava (doll’s houses, a penny farthing bicycle, bank account books), excellent Dutch glassware and, in the basement, the Municipal Museum’s guide to different methods of torture. Next to the Town Hall is the Primate’s Palace, a pink and gold confection of a building which houses a hall of mirrors in which Napoleon and Franz I of Austria signed the Treaty of Pressburg – Bratislava’s name for 700 years until the 20th century. Once the attendants had removed the stubs from our entrance tickets, we were left with fully functional postcards, complete with suitable printing on the reverse of a picture of the Palace: a neat idea. Elsewhere in town, the Museum of Clocks and the Museum of Decorative Arts are only accessible by narrow staircases, but worth the climb if you can manage it. Meanwhile, the Museum of Jewish Culture gives insight into the life of Jews in the city over the centuries including, inevitably and movingly, hints of the suffering endured in the World Wars and the Holocaust. Entrance to the various museums and exhibitions was cheap – an average 50-100 korunas per head (about £1-£2), or not many Euros if that is your preferred payment method.

Plenty of bars and restaurants will sate your hunger, also for very reasonable prices…but, if you are vegetarian, you may have to look long and hard at the menu to find more than one or two options. The portions are large and the flavourings often strong and spicy. However, a warmed-up and miserably inadequate apfelstrudel endured one evening proved that even central European signature dishes can sound a duff note sometimes. (The French group at the next table, who enjoyed the rest of their meal, were as unimpressed as I was with the strudel!) You may be disconcerted by the speed with which the waiters clear away your plate – even if others at the table are still eating – although this comes across as eager rather than rude. The goulash, fish and pancakes are recommended.

As for accommodation, we struck it lucky by staying at the Carlton SAS Radisson Hotel on Hviedzdoslavovo namestie, right next to the Old Town. So plush was our room that, according to the corporate literature, it was only fluffy robes and an ironing board away from “business class”. Having stayed – by choice - in our share of economy hotels over the years, we appreciated a touch of luxury, and the beauty of the tree-lined square, complete with cafes, bandstand, fountain…and, oh yes, a roped-off American embassy!

So, is Bratislava a good example of Europe turning into a “weekend continent” – somewhere for UK tourists to visit for short stays? I believe it is. We didn’t do absolutely everything we could have done while there. St Martin Cathedral, a modest-looking 14th century Gothic structure, escaped our attention, as did some other museums. Given Bratislava’s proximity to Vienna, a day trip to the Austrian capital by train may also be feasible.

Bratislava is friendly, safe, cheap and modern: so much so that it’s hard to believe that, until recently, it had fallen under the dead hand of Soviet Communism. And there, maybe, is a rub. If a city can submerge so much of its past so quickly and efficiently, does it lose its uniqueness? Is there any way to reap the benefits of mass tourism without the side-effects? Does Bratislava really need a McDonald’s and an Irish pub? Or are we on an irreversible road to a bland Eurozone where every city is the same?

First published in VISA issue 59 (February 2005)

Around the Habsburg Domains

By David Gourley



Cathy and I took a 14-day rail trip to Central Europe, first class all the way, which took us, in all, to seven countries i.e. France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republics. This trip was especially interesting from two points of view.

Firstly, whilst I am not a train buff as such, I love rail travel and I had long hankered after doing a long rail journey in Europe. Secondly, since I took early retirement a couple of years ago, I have largely devoted my time - when not travelling - to studying for a Masters degree in History. One of my specialist subjects was the Habsburg Empire, from 1848 until its demise in 1918.

Another was the post-Communist transition in the various states in this region, the historical interest of this trip was twofold. (Czechs and Hungarians do not, by the way, like being regarded as East Europeans, a term which is considered by them a throwback to the Communist era, to be applied, nowadays, to Ukrainians, Moldovans and so on. As a result of the fall of the Iron Curtain, they have reclaimed their Central European heritage. Geographically, Vienna is actually further east than Prague!)

We started with a journey by Eurostar to Brussels for a brief city tour, before we boarded the sleeper train which was to take us to Vienna via Aachen, a long stop in Cologne, the border town of Passau and into Austria, following fairly closely the Danube through Linz to Vienna, where we had a three night stay.

Schonbrunn Palace

After a tour of the Schonbrunn Palace (which we had visited before), we had an included city tour. A curious aspect of Vienna is that, the melodies of Strauss notwithstanding, it seems to shy away from its own river. The Danube lies to the northeast of the city centre and one can roam around the latter, as we had done on our previous visit, and never set eyes on the river. The city is in this respect very different from Prague, Budapest, Paris or London.

On the following day, we saw some of the countryside around Vienna. We had an all-day tour which took us out through the scenic Vienna Woods. We had stops at the monastery at Heiligenkreuz and the huge Abbey at Melk, which here dominates the Danube.

Not as impressive as either of these, but historically very important, was another stop we made, at Mayerling, which was once used by the Habsburgs as a hunting lodge. It was here, in 1889, that Rudolf, the heir to the Habsburg throne, was found dead, along with his 17 year old lover. It is generally assumed that they committed suicide though there is no definitive proof. His personal life was in a mess, but he also had strong political differences with his father, the Emperor Franz Josef. With some prescience, he opposed the Empire's alliance with Germany and argued strongly that it should never fight Russia. It was as a result of this alliance that the Empire was dragged into the First World War, with Russia on the opposing side. As a result of the War, the House of Habsburg itself fell.

One is not supposed, as a historian, to indulge in "what if?" speculation. But let us do so anyway: if Rudolf had not died, he would still have been the heir, so Franz Ferdinand, who replaced him as heir, would have remained in relative obscurity. The assassination in Sarajevo of Franz Ferdinand would hardly, in those circumstances, have happened. There would therefore have been no First World War, so there would have been no Bolshevik revolution in Russia; nor the Hitlerite seizure of power in Germany. So the Second World War would not have happened either. All things told, the twentieth century might have been a rather more agreeable period in human history. That single events, such as the tragedy at Mayerling, can change the course of history, are indeed food for thought.

We took a different route back to Vienna, this time through the Danube Valley, pausing for a time in the picturesque town of Durnstein. The next day was our free day, and enjoyed rediscovering the city. We returned to the Hofburg, the Habsburgs' winter where we spent quite a bit of time. It so happened that there was an exhibition here about the life of Rudolf. We also went on the Ferris Wheel in the Prater, which was immortalised in the film The Third Man. The Prater is a huge fairground, not really our scene, but one can get to the Wheel without having to go anywhere else in the park. Fine sunny weather gave us a magnificent view over the entire city.

Lunch was taken in the Centrale, one of Vienna's historic coffee houses, whilst dinner was eaten al fresco in a Heurige in the hilly outskirts of the city. These atmospheric restaurants, in which vineyards are licensed to sell their own wines, are very much part of the Viennese scene.

The following day, we set off for Budapest on the Orient Express. Not, I fear, the luxury train which terminates at Venice. This was an ordinary train running on the original Orient Express which starts in Paris and once went all the way to Istanbul.

Budapest - and Hungary - were uncharted waters for us. To start with, we were not impressed. Nor did our city tour at first improve our view for initially it took us through a rather dreary area, where a burnt out sports stadium was pointed out to us. Architecturally magnificent Hero's Square was at first off-putting for, as our guide tried to talk to us, skate-boarders competed for our attention. I am at a loss to understand why their activities should be allowed to mar this historic area. Later during our stay, we returned to Hero's Square, travelling via Continental Europe's first ever underground line; there were no skateboarders this time and we enjoyed the visit rather more.

By the end of our tour, we were converted to the view that Budapest is one of the finest cities we have visited. There is a marked difference between the two halves of the city, Buda and Pest, which are located on opposite sides of the Danube. Pest, on the eastern side, is flat - one is already on the Hungarian Plains! Here is the main downtown area, as well as the Cathedral, which we visited, the Parliament building, and some elegant residential streets.

Buda, on the western side, is by contrast very hilly. For my money, this is the best part of the city. It contains the historic and picturesque Castle District and the Gellert Hill, which gives fine views over the city. We got a taxi here after dinner the following evening, so we could enjoy the view by night. Linking the two sides are a number of bridges, including the Chain Bridge. The bridge over the Thames at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, is a smaller replica.

Our stay in Budapest was for five nights, allowing time for two excursions into the countryside. The first of these was via steam train to Esztergom, the main religious centre, akin in some respects to Canterbury. "The Communists didn't much like this city," remarked our guide. Its basilica is the fifth largest church in the world. In the crypt is a moving memorial to Cardinal Mindszenty, the one-time Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Esztergom, who is buried here. After the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, he sought refuge in the American Embassy in Budapest. He stayed there until 1971, when he was exiled from the country. He died in Austria four years later and his remains were brought back to Esztergom.

The basilica is strikingly situated on the Danube and from here one can see into Slovakia. The town on the other side looks dreary, full of communist-built workers' flats. But maybe the people on the Slovak side have the better deal - their view is of Esztergom! The bridge linking the two sides has been in ruins since being bombed in World War II, but work is due to start soon on rebuilding it, with the aid of EU funds.

On the next day, we travelled on the Children's Railway, which runs through the scenic Buda Hills. It is reached via an interesting variety of public transport: tram, metro and cog railway. Children do not actually drive the trains but otherwise they run this railway as a reward for hard work at school. I had feared it would be somewhat twee, but not so: this was a fascinating experience. The Communists can be thanked for this, if for little else, for it was built, soon after their takeover, under the auspices of their youth wing, the Pioneers. But it seems to have an assured future in post-Communist Hungary.

The next day was a highlight of this holiday, a full-day excursion to the Hungarian Plain. We drove to the city of Kecskemet, where we boarded a wonderfully archaic steam train, which looked like something straight out of Thomas the Tank Engine: the engine, one felt, really should have had a face and the carriages really should have been called Annie and Clarabel. This took us for miles out onto the Plain, which here has been designated a national park. I helped to "drive" the train for part of the way - in reality one just stands and watches the fireman and driver at work - and was rewarded with a certificate, which I don't understand as it is in Hungarian, one of Europe's most incomprehensible languages (akin to Finnish, which is not any easier!) At the end station, horses and buggies greeted us and took us a couple of miles or so to a horse show.

I was struck, here in Kecskemet as well as in Budapest, by the apparent air of prosperity. Perhaps, as a privileged tourist, I was seeing just a veneer - I am well aware that the transition from Communism has entailed pain for many ordinary people. Hopefully, this is short-term pain leading to long-term gain. But there really wasn't the "Eastern European" feel that might have been expected. We saw no more beggars than back home in London. We felt that Hungary, like the Czech Republic, really is rejoining the west. Whilst there are unfortunate aspects of this - Macdonald's, Benetton and so on (and, in the particular case of Kecskemet, a huge out-of town Tesco hypermarket, which, our guide said, was damaging local traders) - I for one feel great pleasure that these are now free countries.

On our final day in Budapest, we were up early for a visit to the famous baths in the Gellert Hotel, located by the Danube in Buda. Then we had an English-speaking tour of the splendid Houses of Parliament, the design of which was inspired by our own parliament building. The afternoon was set aside for a cruise on the Danube, including a visit to Margaret Island, a green lung in the heart of the city. There was just time before dinner to visit the covered market, a fascinating place, and, close to the Gellert Hotel, a remarkable church which is located in a cave. We tiptoed in as a service was in progress. This church had re-opened in 1989, having been shut down during the Communist era.

We transferred the next day by train to Prague, passing en route through Slovakia and its capital, Bratislava. Whereas the Hungarian and Czech customs officials who boarded our trains were reasonably affable, those from Slovakia seemed rather less friendly. One hapless couple from the Far East were thrown off as they did not have the requisite visa, even though they were in transit. This couple had made sure that their papers were in order for Hungary and the Czech Republic but had overlooked the country in between! Perhaps the officials feared that they would be so captivated by its beauty that they would be unable to resist getting off the train in their country! I fear that, from the train at any rate, Slovakia looked rather dreary. But I am sure it's unfair to judge a country on the basis of a couple of hours spent looking at it through a train window.

Once inside the Czech Republic, the journey, which took us through the country's second city, Brno, was far more scenic. Prague greeted us like an old friend. This, too, was once part of the Habsburg Domains. The Czech Lands - Bohemia and Moravia - were, until, 1918, in the Austrian half of the Empire. In that year, they united with Slovakia, formerly part of Hungary, to form the new state of Czechoslovakia. In the interwar period, this was a peaceful, prosperous and democratic state but it then fell victim, first to the Nazis and then to the Communists. Freedom was restored as a result of the Velvet Revolution in 1989 - one can do a "Velvet Revolution Walk", as we did during a previous visit.

But, in 1993, the Czech and Slovak Republics went their separate ways. This was thanks to the politicians: opinion polls at the time showed that, had there been a referendum, the people in both parts of Czechoslovakia would have voted, by a sizeable margin, against splitting their country.

We had a full day walking tour the next day and just about everything was familiar. The pleasure here was in seeing once more the numerous sights. Prague's beauty derives from the fact that is unspoilt, a medieval city frozen in time. It was not bombed during WW2 and the Communists, though they neglected it, did not ruin it. It is unlikely, in the post-Communist era, to change for the worse, for there is a lot of money to be made from tourism and tourists come to see the city as it is. Much of the historic centre has now been spruced up.

Our local guide spoke movingly of the Velvet Revolution, she herself having been among the crowds in Wenceslas Square who demonstrated against the regime. It is not always realized that Czechoslovakia was betrayed not just once, but twice, by the west. I guess all of us know about Munich. But, after the war, American troops entered the country, and liberated the city of Plzen, only sixty miles or so from Prague. There was no physical impediment to their moving on to the capital, which they could have reached well before the Russians. Churchill urged the Americans to do just that. But Roosevelt was not in listening mode; he still regarded Stalin as his trusted wartime ally and Prague had been promised to Uncle Joe. The history of post-war Czechoslovakia might have been very different if General Patton had been allowed to take Prague.

On one of our earlier visits, we had travelled out to the spa town of Karlovy Vary. There is now a memorial commemorating its liberation by American soldiers at the end of World War II. This, of course, was erected only after the Velvet Revolution. One of the lies which the Communists wished the people to believe was that the whole of Czechoslovakia had been liberated by the Red Army.

We had a full day in which to explore Prague on our own. Then, the day after, we began our journey back. We entered for the first time the territory of the former East Germany. The area just to the north of the Czech border is strikingly beautiful, this being the so-called "Saxon Switzerland". In Berlin, we changed to a high-speed ICE train (InterCity Express -I don't know why they use English terminology!). We'd have loved to have spent time in Berlin, a city we had not visited, but we got a glimpse of the new Reichstag building. We sped across the former East Germany, and back in 'the west'. One is not really meant to say this, as the Germans like to think that theirs is truly a united country. One suspects, though, that psychologically it will be a divided country for some years to come. At least what was once called the "Ugly Frontier", the German section of the Iron Curtain, with its watchtowers, barbed wire and minefields, has vanished.

We carried on, through Hanover, Bielefeld and Wuppertal to Cologne. We returned the next day the same way as we came, through Aachen and Liege to Brussels, and then by Eurostar to Waterloo.


A longer version of this article was published in VISA issue 38 (autumn 2000)