Lesser know, poorer and slower to decentralize then its former partner Czech Republic, Slovakia has only existed since 1993. I have mixed feelings about the country: if included while touring the rest of Mitteleuropa, it tends to disappoint. Seen outside this milleu and it can please. The communist architecture of Bratislava is ridiculous enough to warrant a stop, and as it is incredibly cheap, I would say that it's worth a visit should you find yourself in the area, but I can't imagine it worth a detour.

Essential Facts

The national language is Slovak, a Slavic language, not surprisingly, very similar to Czech. A good amount of young people speak English, but I would hesitate to call it widely-spoken. Outside of major cities especially, it would seem wise to get some Slovak under your belt. German would be the next-most useful foreign language, for while many people would have learned Russian in school, it's not exactly "popular". There is a sizable Hungarian minority in Slovakia, which has found itself on not exactly equal grounds.

The monetary unit is the Koruna (sharing a name with its Czech counterpart, but worth less: about 45 to the USD). ATMs can be found in Bratislava, but I doubt they are extremly prevelent in the countryside. As I elluded to beforehand, the country is incredibly cheap - in the range of $15-20 a day, which makes it a pleasent change from Western Europe.

Getting there and away

The most frequent gateway into Slovakia is Austria, only 4 km from central Bratislava.

Trains from Vienna to Bratislava are frequent and take about an hour.There are also short-haul trains to Budapest, and Prague, and a long (44 hr) train to Moscow. Most other destinations in Europe can be reached by transferring at these three gateways. There are a few Slovak airlines, but I honestly can't imagine anyone flying in with major International gateway airports a short train-ride away. Eurrail passes are not valid in Slovakia, but fares are cheap.

Bratislava

Capital, largest city, and main tourist attraction of Slovakia, Bratislava has a small pleasent old town core surronded with suburb after suburb of ugly Communist cement-blocks. There's not a whole lot to see: every musuem I visited was captioned in Slovak only, and the old town looks like any other Mitteleuropa destination - sort of a poor-man's Prague without the tourists. A couple days and the possibilites have been exhausted. Recently, an In Your Pocket guide has come out for Bratislava, which I strongly recommend picking up before (or when) you arrive. The ex-pat population puts out a paper titled the Slovak Spectator, which has news in English but is a pretty quick read.

Attractions

The major attraction is just the old town itself, largely a ped-zone, and overflowing with cafes and people in the summer. Bratislava Castle (below), on a hill overlooking the city offers good views, but the interior museum is very lame.

The Slovak National Museum is another poor museum - if anything were in any language but Slovak it might be a little more interesting. There is an Internet Cafe in the basement (the only one I could find in the city)

The most unique sites of Bratislava are those built by the communists. The Slovak Radio building (right) is one of the oddest looking buildings I've ever seen.

The juxtaposition of the old and the new is best viewed from the ramparts of the castle - south rises the Novy most and row upon endless row of Communist block housing (below); east is the Hapsburg-era old town.

Food and Lodging

Bratislava has a fair number of hostels and other cheap accomadation, at least during summer - I stayed at the Bernolak. Located about a 10-15 minute walk from both the Train Station and old town, it's a dorm that rents out empty rooms during the summer. Cheap, but dumpy rooms with their own bath and a bar and pool on premises. Not bad - but nothing great. Food wise, I recommend Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant in the old town which was a nice change from the heavy fare of Central Europe. A full meal ran me around $3.