In The Shadow of Prague...

Bratislava, Slovakia

September 13, 2007
N48°08.619
E017°06.521

As the train crossed the border from Austria to Slovakia, we knew we were in a different country. The colorful buildings and lush landscape in Austria gave way to drab gray block buildings, typical of communist countries before the fall in November 1989. As we moved closer to the city center, the penitentiary gray high-rises surrounded us, all seemingly new, and uninspiring.

When Czechoslovakia peacefully became two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, on January 1, 1993, the two countries progressed at their own pace. Development and restoration in the Czech Republic happened more quickly then in Slovakia, and it is apparent today.

The unemployment rate in Slovakia hovers around 9%, even though it is supposed to be lower in Bratislava, we saw a lot of guys hanging out in the parks drinking, possibly homeless, and probably not included in the “official” unemployment numbers.

The city of Bratislava has done an excellent job restoring a 1 KM x 1 KM Centrum area where the majority of the tourist sites can be found, but as soon as you venture outside the tourist area many of the buildings are dilapidated and crumbling. It’s almost as if there isn’t any pride in the city when you see the massive amounts of graffiti, and you see it on every type of building—residential and commercial. The majority of graffiti doesn’t even have any artistic quality; scrawlings of obscenities and scribbles cover nearly everything. The courtyard surrounding the Presidential Palace had broken benches, weeds forcing their way up through the cobblestones and graffiti everywhere. It would be equivalent to broken benches and graffiti leading up to the Washington Memorial in D.C.

Standing at the top of the castle and looking upon the city skyline, we couldn’t help but compare the view to the view from the Prague Castle. Yes, we realize Slovakia is its own country and probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, but we had to do it. The difference is comparable to contrasting skylines of Manhattan and Newark; Manhattan with its hundreds of skyscrapers, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty… versus the Newark skyline of high-rise office and industrial buildings.

We don’t regret coming to Bratislava. We wanted to see the other half of Czechoslovakia and the relatively new country of Slovakia. It still has some growing up to do, but it simply cannot be compared to the splendor of Prague.