Hoilday to Prague, Bratislava and Budapest
21/5/04
Today was our first full day in Bratislava.
The first order of business after the thunder storm at breakfast had finished was to change our Slovenian money in to Slovakian money. We tried the Volks bank, Tarta bank and another bank, but they could not change the money. So, Mum got the money out on her credit card.
We then went to Tourist information office, we got a free map and the hydrofoil timetable. The hydrofoil is expensive. We dropped the money off at the hotel safe.
Then walk up the road to the Archaeological museum. It’s small, but there are lots of cleaned up coins from many different ages and jewelry in one room. The is a large amount of clay pots and metal work on the rest of the ground floor. There are cast for axe heads, very intricately decorated knives and jewelry. There are some models with iron age
clothes on and models of fortifications. Up stairs is a bit weird, mostly offices and photo’s. in the courtyard is some Roman building pieces. Everything is in Slovakian and it’s a good museum.
Next door to the Archaeological Museum is the Museum of the Carpathian-Germans. This Museum is in Slovakian and German. The ground floor has lots of photo’s of German from the 1800’s and early 1900’s around Bratislava. Upstairs is a description of how each group of German’s come to Slovakia. Then there where tables of regions with in Slovakia, showing the German and Slovakian populations before 1945 and after 1945. The traditional costumes of different German groups is shown in one room upstairs and lots of stuff from peoples houses as well. It's kind of sad, as these people where wanted in Slovakian before the Second World war and afterwards they where all kicked out. Some areas where almost depopulated.
We then went in to the town square and had Coffee and ice cream.
Then we went to the Wine Museum as we went in the wrong door. It is a nice little museum with models of how the different vine grow on their stands and jars of different types of grapes. There where displays of the Traditional dress of the different vineyard villages. Plus vine care tools and wooden furniture. Most of the display had sign in English so you new what was what. These first three museum where all small and empty, we where the only people in each of them. The curators watch us all the time, like we where going to steel something or we had the audacity to be in their museum in the first place looking at everything.
Then we found the way in to the museum we where trying to get into when we went to the Wine Museum, The Bratislava City Museum. Firstly there is a model of Bratislava in 1945, made of brass on the ground floor by the ticket desk. Then you go up the stairs to the first floor. From here you climb the clock tower. Which has great views of Bratislava from just below the clock face. Then you climb back down the clock tower and go around the courtyard gallery to the first room.
The first room used to be the Anti -room for the chapel. It is the oldest part of the old town hall. Then the chapel with old fresco’s still in place on the walls. Then there was the meeting room with painted ceilings and walls. Then there was the Guildhall with artifacts from all the guilds and painted ceilings again.
Then a room with more coins, this time ones made in Bratislava, instead of ones found here. Also the room had stuff to do with trade from the markets and the shops. Including a chest with four interlining locks, very cool. The next room had rococo style ceiling and walls, with gray tone paintings on the walls above the doors. The next few room all had these door paintings. This room had stuff from when the Hungarian royal where crowned in Bratislava, from Ferdinand II (1530ish) to Maria Theresa (1700ish). There is some very fancy stuff to do with the coronations. The next room had belongings of the people from the Hungarian era. Then there was a room about the industrialization of Bratislava, which made it he second biggest town in all of Hungary. Many of the companies are German names, big companies even now.
Then there was a room about Slovakian Independence, where Hungary had a revolution, in which Bratislava side with the Hungary old regime. As the revolution was happening the rest of Slovakia tried for independence. They did not get it. There was a room with toys after that.
Down stairs is the displays of the Feudal justice system. There where calls and under the floor was pits where ice was kept to keep the meat cool for the 1400’s meat market. There where torture devices on display and different punishments.
You where given a very informative guide book to go around the museum with. This time we where not the only people in the museum, there was one Italian family and a couple as walking about as well.
Today was our first full day in Bratislava.
The first order of business after the thunder storm at breakfast had finished was to change our Slovenian money in to Slovakian money. We tried the Volks bank, Tarta bank and another bank, but they could not change the money. So, Mum got the money out on her credit card.
We then went to Tourist information office, we got a free map and the hydrofoil timetable. The hydrofoil is expensive. We dropped the money off at the hotel safe.
Then walk up the road to the Archaeological museum. It’s small, but there are lots of cleaned up coins from many different ages and jewelry in one room. The is a large amount of clay pots and metal work on the rest of the ground floor. There are cast for axe heads, very intricately decorated knives and jewelry. There are some models with iron age
clothes on and models of fortifications. Up stairs is a bit weird, mostly offices and photo’s. in the courtyard is some Roman building pieces. Everything is in Slovakian and it’s a good museum.
Next door to the Archaeological Museum is the Museum of the Carpathian-Germans. This Museum is in Slovakian and German. The ground floor has lots of photo’s of German from the 1800’s and early 1900’s around Bratislava. Upstairs is a description of how each group of German’s come to Slovakia. Then there where tables of regions with in Slovakia, showing the German and Slovakian populations before 1945 and after 1945. The traditional costumes of different German groups is shown in one room upstairs and lots of stuff from peoples houses as well. It's kind of sad, as these people where wanted in Slovakian before the Second World war and afterwards they where all kicked out. Some areas where almost depopulated.
We then went in to the town square and had Coffee and ice cream.
Then we went to the Wine Museum as we went in the wrong door. It is a nice little museum with models of how the different vine grow on their stands and jars of different types of grapes. There where displays of the Traditional dress of the different vineyard villages. Plus vine care tools and wooden furniture. Most of the display had sign in English so you new what was what. These first three museum where all small and empty, we where the only people in each of them. The curators watch us all the time, like we where going to steel something or we had the audacity to be in their museum in the first place looking at everything.
Then we found the way in to the museum we where trying to get into when we went to the Wine Museum, The Bratislava City Museum. Firstly there is a model of Bratislava in 1945, made of brass on the ground floor by the ticket desk. Then you go up the stairs to the first floor. From here you climb the clock tower. Which has great views of Bratislava from just below the clock face. Then you climb back down the clock tower and go around the courtyard gallery to the first room.
The first room used to be the Anti -room for the chapel. It is the oldest part of the old town hall. Then the chapel with old fresco’s still in place on the walls. Then there was the meeting room with painted ceilings and walls. Then there was the Guildhall with artifacts from all the guilds and painted ceilings again.
Then a room with more coins, this time ones made in Bratislava, instead of ones found here. Also the room had stuff to do with trade from the markets and the shops. Including a chest with four interlining locks, very cool. The next room had rococo style ceiling and walls, with gray tone paintings on the walls above the doors. The next few room all had these door paintings. This room had stuff from when the Hungarian royal where crowned in Bratislava, from Ferdinand II (1530ish) to Maria Theresa (1700ish). There is some very fancy stuff to do with the coronations. The next room had belongings of the people from the Hungarian era. Then there was a room about the industrialization of Bratislava, which made it he second biggest town in all of Hungary. Many of the companies are German names, big companies even now.
Then there was a room about Slovakian Independence, where Hungary had a revolution, in which Bratislava side with the Hungary old regime. As the revolution was happening the rest of Slovakia tried for independence. They did not get it. There was a room with toys after that.
Down stairs is the displays of the Feudal justice system. There where calls and under the floor was pits where ice was kept to keep the meat cool for the 1400’s meat market. There where torture devices on display and different punishments.
You where given a very informative guide book to go around the museum with. This time we where not the only people in the museum, there was one Italian family and a couple as walking about as well.