Vacation '08, Part 2: Bratislava

From Prague, we took the train to Bratislava, Slovakia. Bratislava is the ancestral home of D's family; his great-grandfather emigrated from Bratislava to the US in 1889. Of course, that made this leg of our vacation trip all the more interesting.We were so pleasantly surprised by the charm and beauty of this city. It's not well known, but it's a little gem on the Danube -- and the people were so friendly and welcoming.One of our first stops was St. Martin's Cathedral. Although we don't know for certain, we believe that some of D's ancestors probably worshipped there and might even have been married there, as it is the largest Catholic church in town. Between 1563 and 1830, when Bratislava was part of Hungary, this cathedral was the coronation church for the kings of Hungary. Every fall, the town still holds a Coronation Festival. This plaque in the church lists all of the coronations held there.After visiting the church, we toured the mayor's mansion:The center of Bratislava's Old Town is completely pedestrianized, with shopping, tons of outdoor cafes, and beautiful buildings. We loved strolling the streets......and stopping at the cafes for drinks, meals, or sweets. Here is D, trying traditional kolatche in Slovakia. Just like his Dad's family recipe, it is a bread pastry filled with fruit preserves or poppy seeds or nuts, but unlike his family's recipe this one was topped with vanilla sauce and crushed poppy seeds. Delicious!We also visited Bratislava's Blue Church, covered with ceramic tiles.Bratislava is full of whimsical statues, which reflect the sense of humor of it's residents. Here I am with a statue commemorating a real person who used to stroll the streets of town tipping his hat to all of the ladies......then there is this fellow, who appears to be emerging from a manhole......and this Napoleonic army soldier resting on a town square bench.Another of the town's oddities is the UFO Cafe perched above the New Bridge across the Danube. Both the bridge and the UFO cafe were built in the early 1970's, when Bratislava was under Communist rule.We did a lot of people-watching in Slovakia -- we were fascinated that so many people resembled D's dad's family, with the dark coloring and heavy eyebrow. One notable exception, however -- the people in Bratislava were all remarkably tall! (Must be the Schneider genes that left D and his brothers off of the Olympic basketball team?) One of the popular trends we noted in town was for men to carry man-purses. No amount of convincing would ever get D. on-board with that trend!

For more photos of Bratislava, watch the slideshow below or click on the lower right corner to open the album.