Bratislava, Slovakia – Texas Skunk

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 500,000, the country’s largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava.

For those of you not keeping track, this is the fourth country and the 16th city we have visited so far. Yeah, the cathedral are starting to all look alike. Unfortunately we were only able to spend 3 hours here. We started with a bus tour than a walking tour of the city center and back on board to depart for Budapest.

The US Embassy in Bratislava. It is referred to locally as the White House. Easy to see why.

Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danuberiver in the middle of Bratislava. Because of its size and location, it has been a dominant feature of the city for centuries. It is also referred to as the Fortress.

Parliament Building

One of the beautiful Gothic Style buildings found

The old Slovak National Theatre building

There are a series of four humorous bronze statues located in the city square. The most famous is the Workman along with The Frenchman, The Paparazzi and The Loverboy. Due to time constraints I was only able to find two.

The most unique of the four, the workman, aka Cumil-the-Peeper, aka Rubberneck, is subterranean, hanging out from a manhole cover underneath a “Man at Work” sign. He has a grin from ear to ear, and looks like he is enjoying the view, perhaps up ladies’ skirts as they walk by. It is good luck to rub his head, which is the shiniest part of him. The Man at Work sign was added in recent years because at least two cars drove over him, and he nearly lost his head.

The fourth seems strangely out of place with the others. He is brighter silver, and apparently was a real person – Schoener Naci, or Beautiful Ignaz. He used to tip his hat to the pretty ladies as they walked by. The stories of him range from being a romantic, to mentally ill, to near homeless. He roamed the city for 40 years, always well dressed, often in top hat and tails. Some tales say that he was in love with a woman, but the love was not reciprocated, which caused him to go a little crazy.

Guess this is number 5 but he goes home at night. Not sure if I would want to earn my loving wearing grease paint and foil! Hope he got a Euro in his box.

Here are file photos of the remaining two, just to complete the set.

The French Napoleon Soldier leans over a bench, prominently in the main square, outside of the French Embassy. Napoleon’s army attacked Bratislava twice and Napoleon visited the city in the early 1800s. An urban legend, tells that one of the soldiers, Hubert, fell in love with a local woman, and stayed behind to produce wine. It is the most famous sparkling wine in Slovakia, called what else, Hubert. His location behind the bench seems to draw ire from many tourists who get frustrated when someone has the gall to sit down and relax on the bench, disrupting their photos.

The paparazzi is one of the newer statues. He seems to be named after the restaurant on which he leans. It is unclear whether the restaurant added him to their building to gain foot traffic, or if the statue came first and the restaurant later. He also may not be made of bronze, but of wood, painted to resemble bronze.

Feet, wondering if they should step on the make-shift sidewalk repair. Europeans are not as nearly as “Anal Retentive” as the US about safety hazards. Walk at your own risk. If you trip & fall down too bad. Sue? Forget a’bout it! European Courts do not take the same view as those in the US. You would be laughed out of the Courtroom.

Old Town Hall . It is the oldest city hall in the country and it is one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in Bratislava, with the tower being built approximately in 1370. The town hall was created in the 15th century by connecting three townhouses, and then went through several reconstructions in the course of the centuries.

Yes, more archways. Arches have been with is since 2000 BC and have never lost their appeal. Photographically, they make great “frames” for objects behind them. Their flowing form makes for a great photo subject as well. The Skunk likes arches, so expect to see lots of them in his photos.

Michael’s Gate is the only city gate that has been preserved of the medieval fortifications and ranks among the oldest town buildings

The Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising, commonly known as Most Slovenského národného povstania or Most SNP in short, is a road bridge over the Danube river in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. The bridge was built in late 1960s and early ’70s at the height of Communist excess, in honor of the 1944 resistance movement against the Nazi forces. The very retro-futuristic SNP Bridge was inspired by the optimistic futurism of the 1960s, evident from the flying saucer-shaped structure at the top of the bridge’s only pylon. The UFO structure actually houses a restaurant reached using an elevator and offers a beautiful panoramic view of Bratislava

On the way back to the boat we passed a local celebration which included music and a car show.

Click here for music.

Tatra? What is a Tatra? It is a vehicle manufacturer in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1850 as Schustala & Company, later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft when it became a wagon and carriage manufacturer. In 1897, Tatra produced the first motor car in central Europe, and one of the first cars in world, the Präsident automobile. In 1918, it changed its name to Kopřivnická vozovka a.s., and in 1919 started to use the Tatra badge named after the nearby Tatra mountains in Slovakia.

Tatra is the third oldest car maker in the world after Daimler and Peugeot. During World War II Tatra was instrumental in the production of trucks, and tank engines for the German war effort. Production of passenger cars ceased in 1999, but the company still produces a range of primarily all-wheel-drive 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, 10×10, and 12×12 trucks. The brand is mainly known as a result of the legendary Czech truck racer Karel Loprais: in 1988–2001 he won the world’s hardest off-road race Dakar Rally as many as six times with the Tatra 815. At the time of his sixth victory, he was the most successful driver in the history of the Dakar.

This beautiful Auburn was on display. This auto was built in the US in the 1930’s. It is worth in the vicinity of half a million dollars

The Skunk started to small something fishy though. The V8 hubcaps did not track. The Auburn had a supercharged straight 8 cylinder, not a V8. Then a look in side confirmed that this was a replica, not a real Auburn. Automatic transmission and a steering column shift as well as a s steering column key lock. Definitely a reproduction but still worth in the $100,00 range.

A nicely restored 1947 Willies Jeep.

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