We enjoyed the rest at the Patio Hostel, although there seemed to be a bit of noise through the night from roudy residents. We also valued a slow breakfast of our muesli and fruit with a cup of tea, having decided to attend a local English speaking church at 9:30am, it being Sunday. We assumed they would all be Catholic Churches (there are at least six just within the old city alone). It was a reasonable walk, finally down a narrow back lane and in through a door in the laneway.
We could hear that the service had just started, and despite the very humble laneway entry, we walked into a very beautiful church building. The two priests were very capable and gifted young women who seemed to be both American. We thought at first it had to be an Anglican church, but Sarah-Jane who arranged it all whispered that we were attending the Lutheran International church.
The service was excellent, and after the service we were all invited for ‘fellowship’ at the quaint little coffee shop next door, which is made available to the church every Sunday for coffee and morning tea. It was a wonderful, refreshing experience. Many of the folk were teachers at the local Lutheran school in Bratislava, and were rather interested in our bike travels.
From there we set out to explore more of the town and the history. Civilization in Bratislava dates back to the Stone Age to 5000BC, settled by Celtics in 1st century AD, and occupied by the Roman military up to the end of the Roman Empire in 5th century AD when Slavic tribes dominated the area. First mention of Bratislava castle was in 9th century. The city was the seat of Kings and the scene of many coronations. Originally the capital of the Hungarian Empire, and seat of the Archbishop, the state of Slovakia became part of the greater Czechoslovakia in 1919 when Czech legions occupied the town. Slovakia was occupied by German forces in WW2, and upon liberation by Soviet forces stayed in Union with greater Czechoslovakia choosing by popular vote a Communist Government which, according to our guide today, quickly became a puppet Government under the Soviet Stalinist regime. The Soviets occupied Slovakia in 1968, putting beyond doubt the Communist rule until the dismantling of the Eastern bloc after 1989, and Independence from Czechoslovakia with Slovakia becoming a Republic again in 1993, and member of the European Union since 2002.
We headed for the ‘Slavin’, the rare War Memorial to Soviet soldiers who died in the liberation of Bratislava in 1945. It was quite a walk, and steep, being built on top of the only other hill apart from the Castle HRAD. On the way we passed the Grassalkovich Palace, built in 1760 and currently the seat for the head of the Slovac Republic. It is a beautiful building, but like a lot of Bratislava, it shows something of the neglect of the years of communist rule. The expansive gardens to the rear also reflected this, with the once beautiful Fountain of Youth by Slovak sculptor Tibor Bartfay now dry of water and seemingly neglected.
We climbed the steep streets up to ‘Slavin’ through what appeared to be the Diplomatic district of Bratislava. The old houses were mansions, with occasional national flags of the Ambassadors out front. We saw the British and China flags in particular. We found the Slavin Memorial really quite sobering. There were even quite a number of graves of mostly young Soviet soldiers, all died in 1945 fighting for the ultimate end of WW2 against the Nazi regime.
From there we walked to the other prominent hill, on top of which for well over 1000 years has stood the beautiful HRAD, the Bratislava castle. It is the most prominent landmark for miles around, and like many other ancient buildings, has been built and rebuilt. The castle withstood two attacks from Napoleon, but was apparently burned down when Italian workers who were staying at the castle while restoring it in the 19th century accidentally set fire to the place during a night of reverie. It withstood armies, but apparently could not withstand a pizza being left in the oven too long one night!
In any case, it took 150 years before it was restored to its former glory, in the 1950’s. It is a beautiful landmark, and stands proudly over a great city which is also proud of its history and its people. The views from the castle are glorious. The Danube stretches out to the east and the west, and continues to roll majestically on.
On our way down we explored more of the intriguing little streets with their narrow cobbled lanes. This photo below is of reputedly Bratislava’s prettiest house, called the House of the Good Shepherd due to its statue of the Good Shepherd at its front. It is a mere 300 years old. Fortunately it survived the Communist years when the massive highway was put through, which destroyed a good segment of the old city and a lot of history along with it. This house is just metres from that highway!
The other cute features of the old town are these quaint copper figures that at first glance are so lifelike. In order, they are the ‘Rubberneck’ (the man at work),
The ‘Schone Naci’ – apparently a model of an actual Bratislava personality known for his dandy tailcoat who walked the streets and entertained people for decades…
The Napoleonic soldier…..
And the Paparazzi, who just peers around the corner with his looking glass…
These all make a walk through the lovely old historic streets of Bratislava a lot of fun as well. Finally, as dusk was approaching, we walked the edge of the Danube (as if we hadn’t walked enough today!). The sun was still trying to blaze its way through the thick haze that hung over Bratislava all day. It was a wonderful day, a great way to spend a Sunday, and a great time to explore history, to reflect on God’s wonderful creation and to engage with people from other parts of the world.
Just reflecting on today, as we walked today we continually commented about our inability to see the things of great beauty clearly due to the thick haze that has been hanging over this part of Europe for many days now. From the Slavin memorial, normally the view to the great HRAD castle would be breathtaking and panoramic. However, today it was like trying to look at your image in a mirror covered with steam. Normally lovely photos of the Danube would be glorious, but the haze just prevented the full radiance from being possible. The beauty however, existed nevertheless behind the haze.
The great apostle St Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, reflected in a similar vein the difficulty we have as human beings in being able to see clearly the things of God, and eternal things. He said “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then, face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known”. He encourages us to abide nevertheless in faith, hope and love, and especially love. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13)
As the sun sets tonight over the great city of Bratislava, after another great day, we rest knowing that beyond the haze and mists of life, there is a God who is nonetheless loving, caring and vitally interested in us.
From the banks of the beautiful Danube we send our love…Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-jane.
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