Should I visit Bratislava instead of Prague?

[snorkelman]

NO WAY!  Prague is one of the best places that a backpacker can go on his/her first trip to Europe.

As for Slovakia – well, I am partly of Slovak heritage so I wanted to visit Slovakia, and I stopped in Bratislava.  Slovakia is the poor, agricultural part of the former Czechoslovakia.  If this is your first time in Europe, I suggest visiting Prague and steering clear of Slovakia.  Anyway, when I was in Bratislava, after exchanging about $20, I walked around the town and was quite depressed.  I should mention that there were some really neat war-related sculptures around town.  Also, I saw 3 generations of women standing at what appeared to be an ice cream vender.  However, upon closer examination, I realized that they were all doing shots of Vodka.  After realizing why my ancestors left this country, I decided to do likewise and take the next train out of town, which was about 3 hours away.  So, I decided to spend the $20 worth of local currency.  In order to do so, I purchased a few CDs and a 5 course meal. The "National Museum" in Bratislava (Slovakia) is a shame.  It resembles a flea market with its hodge podge collection.

     I have heard better things about the castle of Devin (10 km from Bratislava), and the towns of Kosice; Trencin (nice town with castle about 1 ½ hours away from Bratislava; Cachtice.
     If you are determined to stay in Bratislava, I have heard good things about the hostel Bernolak (8 Euro for a single with shower and toilet) (for July or August) as being a lively hostel and the clubs are open till 6 or 7 am.

[nitsansh]

Slovakia has some good natural areas, probably the best is the Tatra mountains, near the Polish border. Alpine scenery at much lower price than the original.
However, I can name at least 20 countries which you better see before going to Slovakia...

[[e-mail]]

I must be weird in that I kind of liked Bratislava. True, there wasn't much to see in terms of tourist attractions. I spent a pleasant two days there, though, wandering the city streets, going on an English language tour, following the river, visiting the carnival across the river, and just enjoying a little downtime. It was the weekend and there were concerts in the street. There was another group of Americans I came across (English speakers being few and far between) who were traveling with a church choir, and I went to see them sing the next morning, which was neat. There just seemed to be a lot of 'odd' little things to see, like the statue of the man climbing out of a manhole cover and peeking up the women's skirts, or the wall near the church painted to look like an inhabited building.

Of course, when I went to Bratislava I was purposefully looking for something slow-paced to relax. If you're going for the thriving nightlife, Bratislava isn't the place you want to hit up. Though there were things going on, just not nearly as many as Prague, not by far.

Personally, I was a little disappointed with Prague. Don't get me wrong, I still thought it was great, but I remember it from 10 years ago when it was slightly touristy, but not super touristy. I swear there were more Americans than Czechs living there! It seemed like such a big city compared to everywhere else I went in Eastern Europe (well, except Warsaw, that seemed like a big city too). I found Cesky Krumlov to be a nicer area, and there are a lot of little sights to see within an hour or two of there. It's about 2 or 3 hours south (I think) of Prague, via either bus or train, both of which are cheap and frequent.

Just don't make the mistake of staying in Ceske Budejovice. It's an industrial town and there's basically nothing there to do, except for the tour of the brewery. (Budejovice is also known as Budweis, and the original inspiration of Budweiser beer.) The brewery in Ceske Budejovice is a modern affair, with steel tanks and modern trappings. I spent an entire rainy afternoon there hanging out with some New Zealanders, drinking in the attached brewery pub. According to some Brits I talked to, the other major brewery in the area in Plenz (I think -- it's the Pilsner brewery) is more traditional, to include wooden barrels for fermentation purposes.

['Guest']

D'oh! Now I wish I'd registered so I could modify my post.

Cesky Krumlov is two or three hours from Prague, not two or three miles.

[Kim]

Or you could just ask the board administrator sweetly to change it for you. Consider it modified!  ;D

Kim

[ludko]

i am originally from slovakia, and i would not visit bratislava, nothing to do there, but i you want go farther east, to Tatra Mountains, most beautiful mountain spot next to alps, and the exchange rate is such a big advantage. hope that helps