This series will go country by country through my two-year trip. I plan on sharing some experiences, thoughts, and photos of each country that I visited.

Country by Country 06: Slovakia

I left Krakow and arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia by train. I had very few expectations of this country because I hadn't been aware that Slovakia was even a country until recently. My plan was to only spend 2 nights in Bratislava, but the bed in my hotel was so nice I extended my stay for a few more days.

Bratislava is a city with a unique vibe. Years later, I still struggle to put it into words. I realize that by this point in my trip I had been to several communist places. Both Poland and parts of Berlin had been communist at one point in history. Bratislava was the first place where I really felt the communist history. Walking around the city, it felt like I was in a kind of ghost town. There were vehicles on the roads, but outside of the tourist area, it seemed like I was the only pedestrian on the street. In most places in Europe, going outside and walking is almost a national pastime. In Bratislava, I often felt like the only guest in an amusement park.

Here are some of the reasons for why you should consider visiting Bratislava.

1. It's cheap compared to most European countries. Great meals can be had for less than $5, and rooms are pretty affordable.
2. It's weird. Bratislava is a weird place with weird art and architecture. It's also got a weird vibe that's worth experiencing.
3. It's not very crowded.
4. It's pretty close to other cool places.

I don't have any good reasons not to go. Maybe if you're all about luxury, you would probably prefer other places.

Bratislava was the only city in Slovakia that I visited so all of this post's photos will be from there. I'm going to try to organize my photos into the categories of buildings, details, and art (subject to interpretation).

Here are some of the buildings that caught my eye.

A weird building that looked abandoned, though there were lights on at night.

Here are some of the building details that called out to me.

Something about workers?

A weird devil door.

A daycare?

Something for medicine?

The front of a nut kiosk, I think.

Here is some of the art and graffiti that I saw in Bratislava. If you couldn't tell from the previous photos, there is a lot of graffiti in this city. Much of it is shitty tagging that makes everything look post-apocalyptic, but some of it is very appealing.

A creepy sculpture.

Finally, I've got some photos of a park that kind of ties all of the categories together. I went to this park every day when I was in Bratislava. I don't recall ever seeing another person there. It's crazy how much money and effort went into something that isn't being used.

I bet the park looked cool when it was in use. Now it looks like something from the Walking Dead.

So there ya have it. Bratislava, Slovakia. If you like weird things half as much as I do, you'll love this place.

Stay tuned for my next post when I head to Austria.