RonnieAdventures

Friday, September 4, 2026

RonnieAdventure #0738 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Picture by Kolohe

After visiting Vienna, Austria, we decided to take the "fast boat" to Bratislava, Slovakia, on the Danube River. However, when we arrived at the river, the boat wasn't at the dock, and an employee told us the "fast boat" wasn't in service that day. We quickly consulted our tourist information guide and discovered we could catch a "fast train" from Vienna's main train station to Bratislava in less time than the boat trip. Using the U-Bahn mass transit system, we reached the main train station with only one rail transfer.

The train journey was uneventful until we were about five miles from the Bratislava station, when the train stopped. We were told they were working on the rails and that we would be transferred to buses for the rest of the journey. While on the bus, we found out what happens if you board the transportation system without a ticket. The man standing next to us did not have a valid ticket. It cost him 75 euros!

When our bus arrived at the train station, we learned it was 2 km (1.2 miles) to Old Town, and public transportation was limited. Since it was a nice day, we decided to walk and see more of the city.

Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918 following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. Then, in 1993, Czechoslovakia was split into two independent countries: Slovakia, with Bratislava as its capital, and the Czech Republic (now called Czechia), with Prague as its capital. The peaceful separation is known as the "Velvet Divorce."

As we were walking to Old Town, we passed through Námestie slobody (Freedom Square) and found the Fontana Druzby (Druzba Fountain, also known as the Fountain of Union). The stainless-steel fountain is 9 meters (30 feet) across, and the entire fountain is 45 meters (148 feet) in diameter, making it Bratislava's largest fountain. It was constructed in 1980 and represents an opening linden (lime) blossom, a traditional symbol of the Slavic people. However, the fountain fell into disrepair in 2007 and sat empty for 16 years. Then, in 2023, the fountain and square underwent a major restoration, and water once again flowed. The fountain symbolizes friendship and peace among nations.

Picture by Kolohe

Before reaching Old Town, we passed by Hurbanovo namestie (Hurban Square) and the Trinitarian Church, formerly known as the Church of St. John of Matha. The Trinitarian Order built the church between 1717 and 1727 on the site of an earlier church that was demolished in the 17th century for defensive reasons. We tried to go inside the church, but they were having services, and we were not allowed to enter or take pictures.

Bratislava's Old Town (Stare Mesto) is located along the Danube River and reflects more than a thousand years of Central European history. In 1291, it was developed into a fortified trading town with walls, gates, and defensive towers. Michael's Gate was built in the 14th century and is the only city gate preserved from the medieval fortification.

Two statues stand on Michael's Bridge leading to Michael's Gate: St. Michael the Archangel and St. John of Nepomuk. Michael's Tower is visible in the background.

The statue of St. Michael the Archangel is portrayed as a warrior and defender against evil and carries a shield bearing the Coat of arms of Bratislava. On the other side of the bridge is a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, a Bohemian priest who was killed in the 14th-century after refusing to reveal the queen's confession. He was thrown from a bridge into the Vltava River in Prague and consequently became the Patron Saint of Bridges.

Picture by Kolohe

Just inside Michael's Gate, we encountered a group of musicians entertaining tourists as they entered Old Town. The narrow street then turns and leads to Michael's Tower.

Red Crayfish Pharmacy Museum is located on the left side of the street just a few doors from the corner. The pharmacy was founded in the16th century, and by the 18th century it occupied five rooms. The pharmacy's original shelves and cabinets display an assortment of ceramic, wooden, porcelain, and glass containers that held medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients. The wooden containers held dried plants, animal materials, and even gemstones, while tin vessels held oils, fragrances, resins, medicinal honey, and substances with exotic names such as "dragon's blood." Glass and ceramic containers held liquids, powders, ointments, and syrups. The main room itself is amazing because the ceilings are decorated with Baroque-Classicist paintings and frescoes devoted to healing.

Picture by Kolohe

The Pharmacy also serves as a visitor center for Old Town and sells tickets to climb Michael's Tower. In the visitor center lobby is a three-dimensional model showing what the fortified city looked like in the 15th century.

Picture by Kolohe

After purchasing tickets to climb Michael's Tower, we had to cross under the tower because the entrance door was on the other side.

On the front of the tower is a heraldic relief with three coats of arms dating from the 15th century. The top shield is the Jagiellonian coat of arms, the lower left is the historical Hungarian arms, and the lower right is Bratislava's coat of arms. Bratislava has used this coat of arms since 1436.

Picture by Kolohe

Located directly under the tower is a large metal disk set into the street known as "Zero Kilometre Maker." The disk is the starting point for measuring the directions and distances from Bratislava to 29 major world cities.

It is unknown when Michael's Tower was first constructed, but records indicate it existed in 1291 as part of a fortification system. Originally, the tower was three stories tall, but over the years it has undergone numerous structural changes. By the end of the 16th century, the Tower's height had been extended to seven stories, which is its current height.

To reach the top of the Tower requires climbing many narrow steps. Fortunately, windows line the way, and benches provide rest stops on some floors.

On the second floor, niches carved into the medieval masonry during the Renaissance period remain, but their purpose is unknown.

Picture by Kolohe

Michael's Tower had two bells dating from 1589 and 1697, but the historic Tower clock mechanism did not strike them. A watchman listened for the Town Hall clock, and then used a hammer to manually sound the bells to announce the time. The bells also warned residents when fire or other danger threatened the city.

Picture by Kolohe

Located on Michalska Street, which runs under the Tower, the Korzo Stone is a modern abstract sculpture just a short distance from Michael's Tower, commemorating the renewal of Bratislava's historic pedestrian promenade. The word Korzo is from the European tradition of an evening promenade where residents gathered to stroll, socialize, and be seen.

Picture by Kolohe

Friday, August 28, 2026

RonnieAdventure #0737 - Part II: Car Tour, Vienna, Austria

Picture by Kolohe

(This is a continuation of our car tour of Vienna, Austria, from the previous blog.)

Minoritenkirche is officially known as the Italian National Church of Maria Schnee (Our Lady of the Snows). It is one of Vienna's oldest and finest Gothic churches and is a stark contrast to the more ornate Baroque churches such as St. Peter's. Even though most historic churches in Vienna were extensively renovated during the Baroque period, Minoritenkirche retained its French Gothic character.

The church's most famous treasure is a huge mosaic reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. After Napoleon conquered northern Italy, he planned to move Leonardo's original fresco from Milan to Paris, but that proved to be impossible. So he commissioned an exact mosaic copy. The copy weighs 20 tons and was installed in Minoritenkirche in 1847.

Picture by Kolohe

Palais Ferstel is a collection of buildings that were built in 1860 for the Austrian National Bank and Stock Exchange. The buildings follow an Italian Renaissance design from Florence, with a glass-roofed passage that leads to the famous Café Central. The building that houses Café Central is currently undergoing a major renovation, and the café is operating from a temporary location. This is one of the few buildings in Vienna named for the architect rather than the owner.

Picture by Kolohe

Palais Collalto is a Baroque palace assembled from several older buildings and is famous because six-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister performed there in October 1762. This was one of Mozart's earliest public appearances in Vienna.

Picture by Kolohe

The Palais Niederosterreich (Palace of Lower Austria) was never a "palace," but it is historically significant because this government building is where the Austrian Revolution of 1848 started when citizens gathered outside demanding constitutional reforms. On 30 October 1918, the Provisional National Assembly proclaimed the new state of German-Austria, ending the Habsburg Empire and marking the birth of modern Austria.

Josefsplatz is within the Hofburg Palace complex and contains the Equestrian Statue of Emperor Joseph II and a public entrance to Augustinerkirche. Unlike most churches in Vienna, Augustinerkirche lacks an elaborate facade; instead, the entrance is integrated into the Hofburg Palace complex. Maria Theresa married Francis Stephen of Lorraine here in 1736; Napoleon's marriage to Archduchess Marie Louise was celebrated by proxy in 1810; and Emperor Franz Joseph I married Empress Elisabeth ("Sisi") in 1854.

A sculpture fountain at the end of the building depicts the sea deity Neptune, and at the other end is the Hercules fountain, with Hercules standing with a sword and raised arm, symbolizing courage and strength.

Picture by Kolohe

The allegorical sculptures along the Imperial Library's roofline symbolize knowledge, science, and the Habsburg Empire. In the first picture, Minerva (Athena), the Roman goddess of wisdom, learning, and the arts, rides a quadriga, an ancient symbol of Triumph. The composition proclaims that wisdom and learning triumph over ignorance.

In the second picture, the large golden sphere represents the Earth (terrestrial globe). Surrounding it are the allegorical figures Gaia (Tellus), the personification of the Earth; Geography, representing the study and mapping of the world; and Geometry, representing mathematics and measurement. Together they symbolize humanity's understanding of the physical world.

The entire facade was designed as a visual statement that the Imperial Library contained the accumulated knowledge of both heaven and earth.

Picture by Kolohe

In the center of the square stands the Equestrian Statue of Emperor Joseph II, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and one of the most influential rulers of the Habsburg Empire from 1765 to 1790.

Picture by Kolohe

The public entrance to Augustinerkirche is just an ordinary-looking door along one wall of the Imperial Library building.

Picture by Kolohe

At Michaelerplatz near Hofburg Palace is the location of a 1990s archaeological excavation site revealing several periods of Vienna's history: Roman Vienna (Vindobona), remains of houses, streets, from a civilian settlements and a Roman military camp dating from the 2nd to 4th centuries; Medieval Vienna, buildings, wells, streets from the Middle Ages; and Early Modern Period structures before the modern square was created. This excavation revealed that modern Vienna was built directly on top of the Roman city of Vindobona, where soldiers once guarded the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The ruins were discovered when Michaelerplatz was being redesigned, so the city chose to leave them visible, allowing visitors to look down through 2,000 years of Vienna's history.

Picture by Kolohe

Located in the famous Hotel Sacher, one of Vienna's most iconic landmarks, Café Sacher serves the hotel's world-famous Original Sacher-Torte. Prince Metternich created the Sacher-Torte in 1832 by combining chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam, covering it with dark chocolate glaze, and serving it with unsweetened whipped cream. I discovered that one has to develop a taste for unsweetened whipped cream.

Also in front of the Hotel Sacher are two giant pink sculptures by internationally renowned Austrian artist Erwin Wurm. Dancer, the pink briefcase-like figure, is dancing across the hotel entrance, and Step Big, an oversized pink handbag, is walking on extremely long legs to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hotel Sacher, which opened in 1876.

Picture by Kolohe

The Palais Erzherzog Ludwig Viktor (Archduke Ludwig Viktor Palace) was built between 1869 and 1870 for Franz Joseph I's younger brother. The Burgtheater now uses the building for plays and experimental productions.

In front of the building stands the Schwarzenberg Monument, an equestrian statue of Karl Philip, Prince of Schwarzenberg, a field marshal during the Napoleonic Wars. He commanded the Army of Bohemia, the largest coalition army assembled against Napoleon. In 1813, he led the armies to victory at the Battle of Leipzig (also known as the Battle of the Nations), the decisive defeat that forced Napoleon's retreat from Germany.

Picture by Kolohe

Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church), one of Vienna's most famous churches, is easily recognized by its large green copper dome. With its unique blend of Roman, Greek, and Baroque architectural styles, it is considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces of High Baroque architecture in Europe.

Picture by Kolohe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was one of the greatest figures in German literature. Although Goethe lived primarily in Germany, his literary works profoundly influenced Austrian culture, theater, music, and intellectual life.

Picture by Kolohe

Mozartdenkmal (Mozart Monument) is located in Burggarten, just behind the Vienna State Opera House. Mozart is depicted holding a musical score while preparing to conduct a concert. The relief on the front of the pedestal shows a scene from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, and the putti (cherubs) around the base represent music and artistic inspiration. The lyre and other musical decorations symbolize Mozart's extraordinary contribution to classical music. In front of the pedestal is a flower bed planted each year in the shape of a treble clef.

Picture by Kolohe

The Vienna Secession Building is one of Vienna's best examples of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau). It was constructed between 1897 and 1898 as an exhibition hall for the Vienna Secession, a group of artists who broke away from Vienna's conservative art establishment.

The golden openwork dome is made from thousands of gilded laurel leaves and berries, which symbolize victory, rebirth, and artistic achievement. Above the entrance door is their motto, translated to read "To every age its art. To art its freedom."

Picture by Kolohe

For dinner we decided to eat at Naschmarkt, Vienna's most famous open-air market. The market dates back to the 16th century, and today it stretches for about 1.5 km (1 mile) with restaurants, cafes, produce vendors, and specialty shops. We were surprised that diners took all the outdoor tables in the evening, so we decided to walk back to our hotel and eat at a nearby restaurant. I'm not sure what I ate, but it was filling.