Bratislava: First Impressions

If you're wondering, "Where the hell is Bratislava?", it's in Slovakia. And Slovakia is a land-locked bubble nestled between Austria and the Ukraine. Quick history: After World War I, Slovakia merged with the Czech lands in the north to form Czechoslovakia.  The next world war turned it into a Soviet satellite state, under which it languished for the next forty years. After slipping out of the Soviet Union in 1989, strife cropped up between the Czech and Slovak governments. They decided to quietly part ways just a few years later. This "Velvet Divorce" of 1993 posed a major problem, however: most of Czechoslovakia's money had come from Prague, and when that city suddenly found itself in the Czech Republic, Slovakia was basically left to fend for itself with few resources.

And it suffered. According the Rick Steve's guide, as few as ten years ago the center of Bratislava was a place where "only thieves and fools dared to tread." But soon enough, money started flowing in from foreign investors, creating what is today one of Eastern Europe's boom economies and a very different picture of Bratislava.

I knew nothing about Bratislava a few weeks ago, not even where it was. Before arriving here, I expected to find something along the lines of stereotypical Soviet-- grim faces, grey coats, and the like. Flagging down a taxi driver in front of the airport, I thought: "And there it is."

I immediately forgot the Slovak word for "hello." We stared at each other for an awkward moment. Then I just nodded, for lack of ideas. He said nothing.

We drove in silence for a while, past ugly industrial zones under a grey sky.

He must have seen me staring at one Gargantuan, all-glass shoebox stretching a length of highway. "Aupark Shopping Center," he said with a note of pride. Shopping center. Looming like a giant middle finger flipped to communism right outside downtown.

The ice was broken. From there he began to point out sights left and right: the ultra-modern presidential palace, onion-domed Saint Michael's Gate, cobblestoned Old Town packed with students day and night. A chocolate shop. "I'll be visiting that," I said, and he laughed. Actually, he giggled. For the first time I saw a big grin spread across his face, saw his eyes light up in the rearview mirror as he bounced a little in his seat. This taxi driver is a good representation of my first impressions of Bratislava: staid and dour in appearance, but underneath, it's positively giggling.