From Ketsch to Bratislava

It’s 7:03 AM but the promise of spectacular new scenery has long shaken off snooze and stirred us alert. Now, after leaving home, we are on the bus to Mannheim, some 40 minutes away from the next bigger station. I’m dwelling on Mannheim now just as I dwelt on it then - in passing. Stunning at second sight, with a charm not immediately discernible from the greyer shades of industrial architecture, this City of Squares is also famed for the grid-like pattern of its plazas. But, arriving at its train station, the only shapes we’re looking to see are those of the long-awaited Russian and Chinese visa vignettes in our passports. We notice, as we pick our travel papers, that the former is reassuringly there. Good. The latter isn’t. Not so good. Alas, what’s to be done? Determined not to be discouraged by this forbidding absence, we decide to give it a temporary shrug-off and deal with it as we travel on.

To Vienna

We first take an Intercity (IC) train to Stuttgart, where we then change to another IC taking us to Munich. After three hours of semi-purposeful loitering around München Hauptbahnhof, we take a JR to Vienna. Now, while this linkage sounds insipidly linear, I doubt there exists a traveller who hasn’t fiddled with arranging one. To plan this lap of our trip, we used the Deutsche Bahn website – it’s simple, convenient and multilingual. Also, if you omit the fastest train in Germany, the Intercity Express (ICE), it’s quite affordable: just check out the saver fare finder! Philipp managed to find tickets for EUR 35,- per person to Vienna. In sum, it took us about eight hours in total to get to Vienna from Ketsch; if you aren’t on a tight budget and can afford the ICE, it can take you a lot less.

We decide to dine in the city and, naturally, we go for the schnitzel. Common German parlance rather liberally ascribes the name to any breaded steak, be it pork or chicken. The Wiener schnitzel proper, however, is made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet. It’s a traditional dish probably as unparalleled in popularity among savoury lovers as the Apfelstrudel or Sachertorte are to lovers of sweet.  If you want to learn more about schnitzel – and especially where to get the best ones in Vienna – the Herold, and also Vienna Wurstel Stand and Culture Trip, offer some quite informative overviews. You can also try one of the Figlmüllers.

We walk around a little and buy a Sachertorte; Vienna is heavenly, though the weather is rather purgatorial. Read my Vienna post for more details.

To Bratislava

From Vienna to Bratislava it takes us just a little over an hour. It still does, pending the much-rumoured 2020 launch of teleportation’s worldly self, Hyperloop (envisaged to cover the distance in a head-spinning 8-minute trip). Random side note: From here on, except for maybe Tokyo and Moscow, it gets cheaper by the day for the next 300 days. Eastward, ever eastward, cries the wallet.

First impressions

The late evening sees us arriving in Bratislava for our first night on a foreign mattress. Our Airbnb is relatively central and on the 28th floor – which gives us a great pan over the city’s flickering lights. Our stay is temporarily displacing an entire family - a mum, a dad and two kids leaving the apartment for us. This is how they can afford the nice flat, they admit. By moving out up to six times a month. Well… we won’t complain.

We wake up at 11 am and, as we venture out to sate our hunger, the striking difference between Vienna and Bratislava begins to take shape. There is nothing ugly about Bratislava but, compared to Vienna’s majesty, this city looks just a tad grey with just a touch of the outlandish. Prejudices about Eastern Europe confirmed. (For the whys of such impressions, check out Authentic Slovakia, who specialise in post-Soviet era sightseeing tours.)

Au contraire, on our way to find some nice breakfast, we meander through a little local market with hand-made trinkets, organic food, fresh juices and fancy hipster props – and we are dumbfounded by the high prices. Prejudices about Eastern Europe not confirmed at all. 

Mostly impressed: Bratislava’s landmarks

The weather is just as pleasant as to have us walk up to the Bratislava Castle. The massive building towering protectively over the city is definitely a a sight to see. As spectacular is the view it gives over the city and the river. We sit down, savour a beer and start musing about that part of travelling that takes place in our heads. Most often, we realise, we see travel as getting away from our starting point rather than getting to our destination. So we wonder when the shift from the former to the latter will happen and when our heads will really acknowledge that we are elsewhere and not at home anymore. Outlook: It happens. To us, though, it won’t happen for another few thousand kilometers…

As we sit there, sipping at our beers and steeped in our philosophical ponderings, we study the people around us.  We realise that Bratislava’s Old Town seems a magnetic spot for group travel, especially bachelor and wedding parties. Flock after cheery flock, they come and go, probably incentivised by affordable accommodation and alcohol.

The next day we have breakfast at Mondieu which is fine but forgettable. What is unforgettable is the boat tour and the visit of the ruins of Devín Castle, one of the oldest castles in Slovakia. We spend a great afternoon resulting in many camera mementos. Do go there if you have the chance. Do not go to Kolkovna. This restaurant marked our last night in Bratislava but also the first time we had crummy food on our trip.

We go to bed quite early on 23 April to be ready for the train ride to Budapest the next day.