Exploring
Bratislava's Old Town and historical center is pretty small; most of it was destroyed under the communist government in the 60s and 70s. One of the things that was built where the rest of Old Town used to be was a highway with this bridge:
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| They call it the UFO bridge. Because, well... what else would you call it? |
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| The back of St. Martin's Cathedral |
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| The altar! |
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| A view of the cathedral from up near the castle. The top of the spire is a gold crown because the Habsburgs were coronated at St. Martin's. |
On Saturday I took a free walking tour. We started in a park/square near the Danube. At one end of the park is the Historical Building of the Slovak National Theatre.
Here are some of the pictures I took during the tour:
After the tour, I went up to the castle! It's not the prettiest castle, but there's a good view of the city and surrounding area!
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Food
I tried some traditional Slovak food. On Friday night, I went to Funki Punki, a pancake/crepe place. I ordered one sweet and one savory pancake, but whereas I knew what the dessert pancake I was ordering was (banana and nutella), I just chose the first savory pancake on the menu, and it ended up being potato with a blue cheese sauce. It was pretty good, though the cheese was strong enough that I don't think I could have eaten a larger portion.
The next night, I tried bryndzove halusky, potato dumplings with sheep's cheese and bacon. This was more mild and a little one note, but I liked it.
For breakfast on Saturday I went to Čokoláda, where I got a croissant (with powdered sugar!) and the richest, thickest hot chocolate I've ever had. Yumm.
Ballet
The reason I went to Bratislava this particular weekend was to go to the ballet. The Slovak National Ballet was performing Massimo Moricone's Romeo and Juliet. This is one of my two favorite ballets, and various choreographies of it are really commonly performed in eastern and central Europe. (I'm probably going to see another version in about a month!)
It was a wonderful performance. Michela Paolacci as Juliet did particularly well. Her acting was excellent; she really did seem thirteen. Her feet and her lines were beautiful. Orazio di Bella was Romeo, and his turns were very impressive. He, Mercutio (Adrian Ducin) and Benvolio (Andrej Cagan) did trios several times, with some really fun weight sharing and partnering and flying entrechat sixes. Ducin also turned really well, and he was the best actor of the men, which is good for Mercutio!
The choreography was a little nontraditional. Parts of the music were cut (for length), and some sections were rearranged in the Capulet ball scene to contrast Mercutio taunting Tybalt vs. Romeo and Juliet being off in their own world. Throughout the ballet, it was very clear that Romeo and Juliet were experiencing lust and potentially not love, which changes the dynamics of a lot of the pas de deux.
The set was really cool. Usually there's just a balcony for Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene, but this staging used a balcony throughout the ballet. It worked really well, particularly in the scene in which Romeo kills Tybalt; it allows Juliet to watch from the balcony, and Paolacci's reactions were amazing.
I was very glad that I went to the performance! It was definitely worth the trip to Bratislava.
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| Up at the top there are busts of composers. None of them is actually Slovak, though, because the theatre was built when Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. |
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| Here's a view of the park from the other end. |
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| The Trinitarian Church! It was originally across the street form this location. This is also where the decision was made for Slovakia to declare independence in the late 1930s. |
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| All Town Hall, which is now a museum |
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| Another church in the historical center |
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| The Blue Church! It's done in the Art Nouveau style, as is the high school across the street. |
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| View from up at the castle |
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| Bratislava hrad (castle)! |
I tried some traditional Slovak food. On Friday night, I went to Funki Punki, a pancake/crepe place. I ordered one sweet and one savory pancake, but whereas I knew what the dessert pancake I was ordering was (banana and nutella), I just chose the first savory pancake on the menu, and it ended up being potato with a blue cheese sauce. It was pretty good, though the cheese was strong enough that I don't think I could have eaten a larger portion.
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| A little pancake restaurant in the historical center! |
For breakfast on Saturday I went to Čokoláda, where I got a croissant (with powdered sugar!) and the richest, thickest hot chocolate I've ever had. Yumm.
Ballet
The reason I went to Bratislava this particular weekend was to go to the ballet. The Slovak National Ballet was performing Massimo Moricone's Romeo and Juliet. This is one of my two favorite ballets, and various choreographies of it are really commonly performed in eastern and central Europe. (I'm probably going to see another version in about a month!)
It was a wonderful performance. Michela Paolacci as Juliet did particularly well. Her acting was excellent; she really did seem thirteen. Her feet and her lines were beautiful. Orazio di Bella was Romeo, and his turns were very impressive. He, Mercutio (Adrian Ducin) and Benvolio (Andrej Cagan) did trios several times, with some really fun weight sharing and partnering and flying entrechat sixes. Ducin also turned really well, and he was the best actor of the men, which is good for Mercutio!
The choreography was a little nontraditional. Parts of the music were cut (for length), and some sections were rearranged in the Capulet ball scene to contrast Mercutio taunting Tybalt vs. Romeo and Juliet being off in their own world. Throughout the ballet, it was very clear that Romeo and Juliet were experiencing lust and potentially not love, which changes the dynamics of a lot of the pas de deux.
The set was really cool. Usually there's just a balcony for Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene, but this staging used a balcony throughout the ballet. It worked really well, particularly in the scene in which Romeo kills Tybalt; it allows Juliet to watch from the balcony, and Paolacci's reactions were amazing.
I was very glad that I went to the performance! It was definitely worth the trip to Bratislava.
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