Day 22 - Bratislava's Old Town Hall and Castle

We visited the Old Town Hall this morning. The building now houses a museum with an unusual collection of exhibits: A room with artwork by local school children is next to items from early tribes in the area. Some collections and rooms were better displayed than others, some pieces were no doubt significant but didn't have English descriptions.

Undoubtably the eeriest part of the museum was the old jail/dungeons. The pictures and descriptions were too good: We would have been happy not to know what most of the torture instruments were intended for! It was also unpleasantly cold and damp. It was an awful place.

From the town hall's tower there is a good view of the old town.

The tower of the Old Town Hall.

Next we visited Bratislavský hrad (Bratislava Castle) up on the hill. The castle has a long and complicated history, so we were disappointed when we arrived to find that seemingly nothing on the inside had been preserved - it felt like an office space from the 50s. Perhaps we shouldn't have been so surprised.

Bratislava Castle.

The castle also now houses a museum. There was a temporary exhibition about Leonardo da Vinci which seemed to be popular with the locals. Every second display in this exhibition seemed to be advertising for one of the sponsors. Other parts of the museum were quieter, but also less well financed. Again, some interesting pieces including some local Art Nouveau furniture. In the Crown Tower is a replica of St Stephen's Crown of Hungary (Bratislava was at one stage the capital of Hungary) and again good views of the city, especially the river.

A view of the old town from the Castle. On the left is St. Martin's Cathedral, where many Hungarian kings were crowned. At the very top of the spire there is a gilt sculpture of St Stephen's crown.

The Danube and Nový Most from the Crown Tower.

After looking unsucessfully for a laundromat (they seem to be very rare in this part of Europe) we headed back to the hotel to rest.

The food at most places looked unappetising; It looks like most places aim to please the British backpackers that are everywhere here. We bit the bullet and had dinner at an interesting, but expensive restaurant, Tempus Fugit. The food was good with an a mix of international flavours.