Nomad's Pub

Life in the Little Big City...

Bratislava. It really is a little big city, as it has taken to calling itself. You can walk just about wherever you want through it, though some parts are safer than others (as with all cities). It is, as a friend of mine once described, a very mediaeval looking, overgrown town.

Where I can remember back when the city stood stark in all grays, now it sprawls out, washed in colour and bathed in summer light. The cobblestones of the city rest easily under the padding of flip flops and flat bottomed shoes, resting from the constant echoing of high heeled or heavy soled winter shoes.

Cafes line the alleys and winding streets throughout the old city, spilling out into the modern sections of the town, with laughing faces shaded by fashionable sunhats or shades sit at tables sipping light wines and refreshing drinks or tasting lososovy (smoked samon) sandwhiches.

Tourists pass by here or there, marked to the general public by their loud voices; wearing of very casual shorts; facial expressions of awe and sometimes bewilderment; and of course, by the ever present guidebook or tour leader.

Students sit or walk on Hviezdoslav Square (also called The Promenade by some), taking a respite from the heat under the shade of the tall trees and by the many fountains lining the walk, or simpling wandering through the photography display strung up between the trees. Here you see arms wrapped around each other in full embrace, or hands held together swinging softly with the gait, or a group with heads bent happily over icecream cones. Walk deeper into the old town, through the main square, and there you find the more studious typing away at their laptops before the Primates Palace or on the cold stone benches at the entry to the Old Town Hall.

Now and then the clang of the tram as it glides past on its track, or the screech of brakes from the trolleys and buses, but you can still hear the song of birds from the many parks throughout the city. This is not a city of steel, but one where the stones of the buildings run smoothly into the stone of the ground and the green of the forests covering the hills. Nature is cherished. Bicyclists, rollerbladers, kayakers, mountain hikers, and mothers out for a stroll with their children smiling up from their baby carriages; the city is filled with them. And the lakes, oh the lakes! In the city alone, there are at least four that I can think of offhand, and these fill up with holiday makers, enjoying the warmth of the sun after cold winters and the companionship of one another.

Here the markets are full and bustling... Trh, the farmers market (complete with large selection of clothing and every possible other fashion or housing accessory imaginable) with the cacophany of sound and smells... the Vietnamese Market on Obchodna Ulica (Shopping Street) with its more subdued booths of fashionable wear... the big indoor market (Trznica--pronounced Trzsh-neat-sa) or the old indoor market downtown... And of course, now the malls which have grown up like weeds since 2001 around the city.

The boats on the Danube (which is only blue in songs...), the lights of the bridges... the castle standing tall and proud, gaurdian of both sides of the city from its watch above...

And the nightlife... the dancing, the cafes, and the stars still visible above. We are a city of light, but not exorbitantly so. Lanterns and candles and electric candles are preferred to flourescent lights, and much of the city does not stay up late, but closes down early along with the public transportation after 11pm.

Come loose yourself in the rich life of our little big city.

posted by Lada @ 2:02 PM