MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #13

#7 AND LAST - BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

We have already seen many aspects of the city, ranging from its monuments and architecture to sculpture and markets. Well, today, the emphasis is placed on the people and street scenes, which as many of you know, I enjoy shooting. I think that above all, people, either they are residents or not, they shape the cities, don't they? 

For a fairly small city, it packs in a lot of awesomeness for someone who loves photography. 

The city, like others in central and eastern Europe, has been going through a rapid and complex transformation that's very obvious wherever you wander through it. Diversity is one of the new and most evident features in Bratislava: diversity of people, diversity of lifestyles, diversity of public and private activities, diversity of commodities, advertisements, shops, goods, restaurants, food, ways of living and housing: none of which existed under the conditions of the state socialism.

An old joke emphasises the multicultural character of the city: In the morning when people went to the market, the city was called Presporok, because it was the Slovak language which was dominant at the markets. At lunch it was called Pozsony; that is when Hungarian-speaking civil servants went for lunch. And in the evening when the German-speaking theatre and opera lovers filled the city centre, it was Pressburg.

Socrates, the Greek philosopher, once said the people in the city teach me many things

Whenever I visit a city, I learn a lot... 

I hope the images below are a very modest contribution to help you learn something new...

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

~~ Have a wonderful weekend ~~

MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #12

#6 BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

Fairs, market places and markets
 are one of the complements of the mood and atmosphere of cities, towns and villages, aren't they?

Bratislava has not many but a few markets. Let me share with you my visit to three of them. I started by wandering through Mileticka, the city's main and largest open air market, where locals who want to buy vegetables, early every morning set off for it, and simultaneously a place where they can not only do their perishables shopping but also eat and drink...
I noticed that, in general, Bratislava people, particularly at the markets, didn't look at ease with foreigners, a fact that didn't enable me to get as many shots as it would have been desirable. The photo below was the exception that confirmed the rule. Surprisingly, the three young men promptly accepted my request.

Anyone can come to the market and sell almost anything. Look at the photo below and you see an old woman, perhaps living on her own and selling goods as a way to complement her pension.  This unregulated market allows her that opportunity... 

A large section of the Mileticka or Mileticova market as it's often called, has stalls that sell goods/services regularly. Those stands are often owned by Vietnamese vendors. During the Cold War, Vietnam, as a communist country, was considered an ally of the then Czechoslovakia. As a result, Vietnam sent thousands of its students and workers to then-Czechoslovakia decades ago so that the they could improve their skills in another Communist country. Many of them stayed. According to an estimate, there were as many as 20,000 Vietnamese in Slovakia in the late 1990s. The market stalls are their most obvious legacy. 

I saw them in everything from underwear, luggage, electronics, cosmetics, etc. In each stand the same... 

I noticed, however, that some of them are more entrepreneurial than others. In one booth, I saw a Vietnamese woman using a sewing machine to shorten a client's slacks. Quite an interesting service. I asked permission to take a photo but she, like all other Vietnamese, never allowed. They must have their own reasons...

When I needed to quench my thirst in that hot-weathered Bratislava, I looked for something very Slovakian - a glass of fresh, crispy beer CORGON. Though, I very very seldom have beer or any alcoholic drink, I wanted to try it. It was excellent!

 I gave a quick look at Jedlikova open-air market, off the city's main shopping street. On sale there were mainly clothes and accessories. Again, many of the sellers were Asian people.  I didn't enjoy having a wander around it. Not my type of market... no smells, no sounds... Not interesting at all, excluding some restaurants, pubs and caffés, nearby.
The photo below shows a restaurant/bar located inside the market area. You don't see buyers and/or sellers. The market was already closed at the time I took this shot.

The next and last stop is at a covered market, built in 1978, opened in 1981 and since then it looks as if time has stopped.  I found a good variety of fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, but also many China made clothing and others.

The slideshow below shows you further aspects of the markets and a few scenes of the shopping street off which Jedlikova market is located. 
Enjoy!

~~ Thank you! ~~

~~ Have a wonderful weekend ~~

MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #11

#5 BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

More street art from Bratislava....

Bratislava, The Little Big City, as it's commonly called, 

is a great place to wander around and find something that you might call art or unintentional art...

Today, let's focus on other forms of art that make Bratislava a more colourful and great place to be. 

That's the case of the bus station, two pedestrian underpasses and some derelict buildings that have been brightened up by nice street art.

At the bus station

"I write because nobody listen", that is the phrase repeated by the French street artist CART1 in most of his works, which are noted for strange characters representing mostly painting graffiti or pasting propaganda posters. I really liked the great 3D effect he brought to his creations, making them look like out of the wall and they were really there, painting with roller. This  was something that brought a special magic to his murals that I saw in Bratislava.

My favourite was the amazing 3D chalk art painting, you see above. He spent two days working on this cool mural featuring his signature characters putting up propaganda posters around the city. In my modest opinion he did an awesome job. 

From the bus station, we will continue our walk and we will go down into Zochova pedestrian underpass decorated with stylized paintings representing the city's most touristic spots.

Then we will give a quick look at another pedestrian underpass built in 1975. This is at Trnavské mýto, an important transport junction and intersection in the Nové Mesto district. Other than an interesting graffiti of a man (homeless?) we will see innumerable photos of a wide variety of people's faces.

 Our tour will end at a miniature outdoor 'Van Gogh' exhibit at the Jewish quarter. The paintings resulted from a student art competition. The winning entries on the theme of Van Gogh are displayed in the windows of this building adjacent to St. Martin’s Dome. This building has yet to be restored, and the paintings provide a welcome temporary brightening of the crumbling structure. 

No need to make haste... let's walk slowly and enjoy the forms of art that I'm pleased to introduce to you...

Enjoy!

~~ Have a nice weekend ~~

MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #10

#4 BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

In the photo above, you see me sitting on the edge of the Ganymede fountain that was designed in 1888 as the first decorative fountain in Bratislava and the first one to be fed with filtered water from the Danube. It was inspired by the mythlogical Ganymede combined with figures of children hugging species common in the local section of the Danube: frogs, turtles and various fish.

Probably you wonder why I've posted the above photo. The reason is very simple. Today, I'm going to take you to see some of the most interesting public art, including strange sculptures that were created to give a little flair to the city and add a tourist attraction to visitors. As I looked at some of them, I thought there was a certain 'Disney-eque' quality , yet I found them funny.

Let's start with the most famous bronze sculpture named 'Cumil': a man peeping out from under a manhole cover. It seems unclear if this man is intended to be a spy or just someone out to watch the lady passersby... Two days after taking the photo on the left, as I was walking the street I noticed he was not there!!! I was told that he is often stolen or vandalized, so replacement or repairs take time...the municipality has spare ones in the case someone 'falls in love' with him....

Not far from Cumil, there is Schoene Náci, the local dandy Lamar who died in 1967. He 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. I was told he was considered a bit crazy but very nice. 

I had the opportunity to find at various spots across the city, sculptures from several foreign artists who were exhibiting their large format works in outdoor areas, within the scope of the 18th edition of the Sculpture and Object event.

NESTS

Now, let me change from large-sized artworks to the smallest one, the Taunter, perhaps a unique and weird carving of a naked man set into the façade of a house.  There are many interpretations for his manner. One of them says it was intended to make fun of the nosy owner of the next building who used to peep out of the window passers-by, while another says that the naked man is rushing from the toilet to the window to watch the coronation feast...

I saw other quirky statues scattered throughout the streets, suggesting a sly sense of humour to the people who otherwise appeared a bit dour. I saw poignant statues and memorial plates that made me stop for long minutes... I saw fountains, not very impressive to me... well, if you care to give a look at the slideshow below, you can assess how beautiful or not all those are at your eyes...

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

~~ Have a great weekend ~~

MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #9

#3 BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY

Bratislava is a richly decorated city. It's fascinating to walk through the city core, paying careful attention to the intricate and often whimsical sculptural and architectural details of its medieval and early modern buildings. I loved the places where caryatids are used as either decoration or practical structural support.

I really liked the relaxed atmosphere in the historical city center with some restored beauty that survived both WWII and the cold war. 

I saw several Art Nouveau buildings (one of my favourite architecture styles, although nobody has done it better than Gaudi in Barcelona)

It was sad to see a part of the city that is really rundown and presumably a paradise for urban explorers searching for abandoned and decayed buildings.

Novy Most (New Bridge), which crosses beneath the castle, is what I would describe as Soviet modernist in its architectural style. 

Typically like all things modern, something old had to be destroyed to make way for the bridge and its accompanying 4 lane highway, in this case 2/3 of the old town and a Jewish synagogue. 

Is this progress?

 To me of course not as I have endless capacity to explore and enjoy old buildings and towns but very little for road bridges and road bridges, but what do I know about city planning? 

On the southern end of the bridge is a metal column with what looks like a UFO landing on top of it (rather appropriately the bar that now occupies it is called "UFO"). 

Beyond the bridge are rows upon rows of neatly ordered, uniform (and quite clearly Soviet in construction) blocks of high-rise flats.

A style that I've noticed is one that I was told is growing in the city and shows a real increase in the renovation of the façades with very bright colours. Looking at them, I thought 'Ah, these are the United Colours of Bratislava!'

Hope you enjoy the slideshow...

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

~~ Have a nice day! ~~

MY LATEST TRIP: MOMENTS, TASTES, SCENES, ARCHITECTURE, PEOPLE AND MORE... #8

#2. BRATISLAVA NOT IN A HURRY 

Let's start by walking through the steep, narrow streets and give a look at the city's most famous landmark, 

Bratislava Castle.

An area of the city seen from the Castle. In front is the old city, behind are new commercial buildings and...

... the New Bridge across the Danube River and its UFO restaurant. Many historic structures were demolished when the Communists built the Bridge. In the far distance a large group of apartment blocks typical of the Communist era.

Leaving the Castle behind...

... we see St. Martin's Cathedral. The Kings and Queens of Hungary were crowned in this Cathedral for 250 years. The Cathedral is currently under restoration works.

But, Bratislava is much more than the Castle and the Cathedral...

Enjoy the slideshow and you will see the images of many other interesting monuments scattered throughout

 the Old Town.

~~ Have a great weekend ~~