Once checked in, I decided to walk into the city before it got too dark.. Today was the first hot day on my journey.. 33 degrees. No doubt it will get hotter...
A very different city to Krakow.. different histories. I have a copy of 'A Time of Gifts' written by Patrick Leigh Fermor, his journey made on foot, from The Hook of Holland (where I started) to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1932/33 when he was 18. He reached Bratislava.. then known either as Pressburg (German) or Pozony (Hungarian).. This city is the second link to the book but most of the descriptions of the city have changed; but good to be here.. The different names encapsulates the changes in control and ownership over the last couple of centuries..
I walked from the hotel into the centre finding a underpass to cross the motorway sized road that splits the historic town with the part of the city where I'm staying..
The old town is mix of refurbished buildings and those waiting for the funds to be re-furbished. I like the fact that there is this mix; seeing buildings in disrepair would be the same as all periods through the centuries. No city was ever perfect in the past, but we tend to expect this now, when as tourists we visit these cities.
What I did like was sitting in a cafe in the square as the sun set, surrounded by locals; not just tourists...
Evening photos.....
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| Waiting to be refurbished |
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| A dilapidated building just off the centre square... |
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I love trams in cities... |
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| The refurbished and the one waiting..... |
I always seem to miss the important cultural events....
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