An Afternoon in Bratislava

For years, Bo and his friends have laughed about the movie EuroTrip. It’s a completely ridiculous, National Lampoon’s style movie from 2004 that is a play on the many stereotypes that come along with an American teenager trip to Europe. At one point in the movie, the characters accidently end up in Bratislava with only $5 in their pocket.

Today, while on the road from Prague to Vienna, when we saw a sign for Bratislava we knew we had to cross the border for an afternoon adventure. Not only did it serve as a perfect lunch stop but it also allowed us to visit Slovakia, a country none of us had ever visited.

When we arrived in Bratislava we went straight to Church of St. Elisabeth, more commonly known as the Blue Church. Located in Old Town, it’s light blue color and mosaics gave it the nickname, the Blue Church. Built in 1907, it is the newest of the churches we’ve seen thus far on our adventures. Unfortunately we could only peer through the gate as the church wasn’t open for visitors, but the inside looked gorgeous and decorated with similar blue hues as the outside. After lunch we headed to Cafe Verne which was highly recommended by Yelp, Four Square and Trip Advisor for the inexpensive yet delicious hearty local cuisine. The cafe features seating both indoor and outdoor on a small terrace overlooking the square. Unfortunately it was a bit chilly to sit outside so we opted for a seat inside the cafe surrounded by locals enjoying lunch and talking across tables.

We ordered the items most often recommended on Yelp which included the goulash, gnocchi and fresh lemonade. The lemonade, was refreshing and a perfect afternoon drink, made with very little sweetener and sparkling water which gave it an extra kick. The goulash was hearty and made with pork pieces instead of the traditional beef we’ve had in the past. The gnocchi while delicious was far too rich for my taste due to the heavy cream sauce and the bacon topping. 45 minutes later we found ourselves leaving Bratislava full of delicious food and ready to continue our adventure towards Vienna. If you find yourself driving between Prague, Vienna, Budapest or any of the other nearby cities I highly recommend a stop in Bratislava as it is a perfect afternoon spot rich in history and featuring multiple restaurants and cafe in the Old Town. In fact, if we’d had more time we would have explored Devin Castle and Michael’s Gate.

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