VIENNA/WIEN

Revisiting Vienna/WIEN is always a great pleasure.I love the city, I love the people. Everything, everywhere sings a song, a song that my hearing keeps for a long, long time....

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #4 AND LAST

When I was a child and started travelling together with my parents and siblings, I was taught that travelling means keeping the eyes well open, observe what we had not seen before, what is different from our surroundings, what ... is or not nice at our eyes.

This attitude towards travelling has become part of me but, with the passing of the years and, since I started travelling alone, I have added a pinch of my personal touch: communication with local people, exchange of ideas, learning directly from local sources about customs, idyosincrasies, etc.
I would not like to put an end to the photo report of my visit to Bratislava, without posting the following ones. Hope you enjoy.

         

  

 

         

Upon returning back home

I got shocked when I saw the 'necklace' that is displayed on one of my favorite monuments here, in Lisbon. It is said that it symbolizes the gems that the Portuguese brought from Brazil over the glorious years of the Portuguese history. Hopefully, it will not be on show for a long time.

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #3

Old Town has several statues that tourists love for those Kodak moments. There is a certain Disney-esque quality to them, but they are fun for everybody. Look at this small bronze, literally on the street floor that has become the most popular one in Bratislava. It symbolized the ideal of Communism of "Every man at work" but because so many of them had nothing to do, this sewer worker has his head up out of the manhole and is watching the people go by. I discovered that the Slovaks have a wonderful sense of humor.

See now the bronze of a Napoleonic soldier as another example. There's a neat one of a photographer leaning around a corner to snap a photo, aiming right at the doorway of a bar called Paparazzi.

Lewis Carroll, with characters from Alice in Wonderland, can be found on the main road.

The Gazer, a dapper old man with a hat in his hat. It is based on a real person who died about 40 years ago, but was famous throughout the city. Walking all day along on the streets, he greeted the ladies in the traditional Viennese manner, kissing their hands, wearing white gloves and a hat all the times. He was considered a bit crazy but very nice.   The Pharmacy Museum! Don't ask me why there's a lobster. I didn't go in there.

This is really cool; a compass on the ground with the directions and distances of a bunch of some of the world's largest cities.

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #2

Let yourselves be enchanted by Bratislava's historical pieces that bring you back to the ancient times. Most of them are conveniently located within the Old Town and Castle Hill areas. Here you can see some of the historically most significant sights:

The castle on the hill above the river Danube, which dominates the panorama of the whole Bratislava

The Cathedral of St. Martin, whose construction started at the begining of the XIV century, towers 85m above the Old Town The Old Town Hall building that has several different incongruous design styles resulting in a very unique construction, the tower of which is magnificent The Opera House presents a wonderful view of its beautiful architecture Grassalkovich Palace, home to Slovakia's President The sumptuous Reduta building that houses the concert hall of the Slovakian Philarmonic Orchestra  

LET' VISIT BRATISLAVA #1

Yes.... I had already been to Bratislava much much before, in 1969, to be more precise. On last Friday, when landing on there I got surprised by finding a city that, despite being a remnant of communism, it is obvious that is coming into its own as a capitalistic society.
Bratislava is wonderful! It is stunningly beautiful with really nice people and lots to see.
I was very lucky with the weather: always sunshine and warm temperatures.
The river that flows through Bratislava is the river Danube, the second largest river in Europe.