An introduction to the Jenni way of travel

Me and Ash like to say that we're yin and yang. We're different in a lot of ways but those differences complement each other perfectly. Except for when it comes to travel. Ash is historically an all-inclusive-resort-holidays-only kind of person, while I'm more of a lets-go-for-city-breaks-to-weird-and-wonderful-places-only kind of person. Luckily for me, he was keen to travel more before he even met me, and so naturally I was keen to introduce him to the Jenni way of travel. Cue our very first European city break together and we were off to Bratislava for the weekend!

The flights were literally £50 return from Luton, and because we were flying Wizz Air, we just took his and hers physics-defying backpacks rather than a suitcase. Wizz Air are the biggest extortionists when it comes to luggage and they wanted £100 return for the luxury of a small suitcase, meaning it would've been more expensive than our actual seat on the plane! After a few beers at the airport and a quick flight, we arrived in Bratislava. Our apartment was lovely and it was super centrally located, making it the perfect base for a few days exploring.

It was actually raining when we first got to the city, but it was due to stop in the evening so rather than rushing out to do battle in the rain, we had a chilled couple of hours at the apartment and then got ready for the night out. I always like to try the local foods when I go away and as a first time city breaker, Ash was very much on the same wavelength as me about immersing ourselves in the Slovakian culture. So we went for dinner a the Slovak pub, and they offered some small taster portions of all their most popular local dishes. Which was perfect for a variety lover like me! We got the pierogi, the beef goulash, and the locally-loved potato dumplings in sheeps cheese sauce. We also got the chicken skewer from the Slovakian section of the menu but I couldn't tell you what was Slovakian about it, although it was very nice. While I loved the goulash and the pierogi, I was glad we were only sharing a tiny portion of the sheep's cheese dish; it was nice but very strong and rich!

Not only did we want to try the local food but we obviously wanted to try the local beer! They were all about €2 each everywhere so we were loving life, and they were all served in steins (which is my personal favourite kind of beer glass).

Not only was our apartment really well located, but we also had beautiful city views from the 5th floor (even better the next day when it was sunshine and blue skies). Although the very best thing about our apartment was the fact that it was directly above a bakery. So the whole place smelt amazing at all times, and it meant that breakfast each morning was a couple of delicious pastries (shared half and half so we could try as many different ones as we had time for)!

Then it was time to explore the Old Town! The way we walked in took us past the St Elisabeth church, the primacial palace, and the old town hall, before ending up in the main square. Bratislava is super small so during our time there, we ended up walking past the same places a lot of the time. That main square was home to my favourite building in the city, and every time we came up to it from a different angle, I'd comment on how pretty it was before realising we were in the same square again and it was my favourite building again.

Michael's gate is the entrance to the old town and it's also a tower and a museum, where you can go up to the top. It was about €5 and it was actually a really cool exhibit showing the history of the gate and how it's changed over the years. We were super impressed by the bell at the top and were trying to guess just how ancient it was since the gate has been around since the 1300s. Then we read on the wall that it was a replica cast in 2021! *Ah so much rich history*

We walked over to St Martin's cathedral (because you know how much I love risking bursting into flames), but it was closed for mass at the time so we popped into a nearby cafe for a drink while we waited. Bratislava has loads of these underground, cellar-style places that are really cool and this one was actually a cafe slash vintage shop so it kind of felt like we were in someone's living room. Naturally I went for a hot wine because it was half 12 and therefore more than time for my first alcoholic beverage of the day.

When we did get inside the cathedral, it was really beautiful and impressive! We didn't spend too long in there as for some reason it was the coldest building I've ever been in (it was colder in there than it was outside). Flame-bursting evaded until next time!

Ash had thrown himself into the local cuisine even more than I had and he'd come up with a shortlist of local dishes he definitely wanted to try while we were there. First up was a creamy garlic soup in a bread bowl, which was the perfect winter lunch. The soup was absolutely amazing, although there was no way we could finish the entire bread bowl - even just the lid was filling!

After lunch we headed down to the river as we were hoping to do a little boat trip the next day and wanted to see what times they ran. Unfortunately, we were the early bird who didn't catch the worm. The boats don't run in winter so they weren't starting up again until the day after we left! It was still a lovely little walk though and we got to see the UFO tower. I absolutely love when the sun glitters on the water like this so the beautiful views made up for the lack of boats.

We wandered back into the old town and ticked off another couple of the main sights, including the national theatre, and Cumil, a bronzed 'man at work' statue peeping out of a manhole cover. Then we stopped off for a little drink. Something I love about European cities like Bratislava is that outdoor culture remains all year round, and so there were a lot of cute little bars and cafes with blankets and heaters outside so you could enjoy the sunny-but-cold day.

You know what's what by now. You know that you can place me anywhere in the world and I'm GOING to find my way to a rooftop bar. Maybe because the cream always rises to the top? Sky bar was a particularly gorgeous one, set over two levels and we headed up to the very top one. It had an outdoor terrace decorated in fairy lights with amazing views of the sunset and the castle up on the top of the hill. I think even if it hadn't been a rooftop, I would've loved this bar because it had a really cool menu concept with weird and wonderful ingredients (Jerusalem artichoke, thyme, and goats cheese to name a few). It was very on-brand of me to find the most (and seemingly only) expensive place in Bratislava as it was €16 a cocktail. But we were on holiday, treat yo-self. Plus the views paid for themselves.

That evening we headed out quite late and found ourselves with a bit of a race against the clock to find somewhere for dinner. If you're travelling to Bratislava outside of the peak season, just be aware that a lot of restaurants might not be open, or might close before the time shown on Google maps. After a bit of wandering around though, we got saved by The House of Beer (which we'd actually popped into for a drink earlier in the day and eyed up the menu). We decided to sample another local delicacy but it ended up nearly murdering us. When Ash went to order the pork knuckle, the waiter told us that was for 2 people, so we decided to share just that (rather than split two dishes like we'd been planning to). Well, that waiters definition of 2 people was clearly very different than mine. It would've easily fed 4 people with enough for leftovers! It was basically a giant joint of gammon which was the most delicious thing ever but we were pretty much KO'd after about a third of it between us. At risk of death by pork knuckle, we had to call it there!

The next morning, having slept off the meat sweats, we were off to explore again. This time though instead of heading west into the old town, we headed east into a slightly more residential-feeling area which was home to the blue church. As advertised, it was a beautiful blue art nouveau building that was well worth a visit. We also went to a street called Grosslingova that we'd seen recommended online as it had cool foliage-covered buildings. We found said buildings but it obviously wasn't evergreen foliage, as it was looking a little bare at the moment! Not worth a special trip during winter but it's right near the blue church so definitely worth a two-birds-one-stone peek.

We were off to get the steps in as we headed on a big walk along the river and towards Hencecks garden. It took us through a much more residential area and I always like to see the contrast when you're in a major city between the busy tourist areas and the parts where locals actually live. The gardens, again, were not really in bloom but it was still a nice pretty spot to have a look at.

Walking to the gardens had taken us right down to the river park complex, which is a centre of hotels, shops and restaurants. It felt like we hadn't had many vegetables since arriving in Bratislava (we were truly in meat and potato nation), and so the menu at Olive You bistro had drawn me right in. Well, that and the fact that I love a good play on words. So we had the absolute luxury of a sunny lunch outside - in February!

During our research, we'd read about a place called Devin castle but upon learning it was outside of the city, we kind of mentally dismissed it. But since by this point of the day we were already a fair walk out of the city anyway, Ash suggested seeing if we were far away from it. When we saw it was only 15 minutes in an Uber, we decided it was definitely worth a visit. And wow was it definitely worth a visit! It was castle ruins rather than an intact one that you could go round, but there were loads of cool things to see. We didn't manage to learn much about the history because all the signs were in Slovakian, so if you're more of a history buff then maybe get an audio guide for it.

The views once we'd climbed to the top were absolutely amazing and we'd picked such a beautiful day for it. The really cool thing about Devin castle is that it's right on the very edge of Slovakia, so the land you're looking at on the other side of the river is actually Austria - the border is halfway across the water!

Ash was full of good ideas that day as not only did he suggest Devin castle, but he also found this amazing cafe! Konditorei Kormuth is like a historic museum and a patisserie in one. It's all decorated in renaissance paintings and covered in antiques, and they did the most incredible cakes ever. I got a raspberry and walnut one while Ash went for a chocolate and caramel one and they were amazing. I very nearly got a fancy tea or coffee to go with it but they were about €8-9, and so I went for a rose prosecco at €10 instead. A purely economical decision! I was absolutely obsessed with how it was served in this tiny crystal ice bucket.

Then we were on to castle number 2 for the day and this one was Bratislava castle, up on the hill about 10 minutes walk from the old town. We'd read that it was a great place to watch the sunset and we were not disappointed. I actually think some of the most beautiful sunsets happen when there's a couple of clouds because it makes the sky more interesting, and that was definitely the case here. We had a little wander around the castle and its grounds before sitting up on the outer wall to watch the sun go down. A beautiful end to a beautiful day!

And what could possibly make such a beautiful day even more perfect, I hear you ask? MEXICAN FOOD. My all time favourite cuisine in the whole world and even though I like to eat local when I go away, that rule goes out the window if there's a decent looking Mexican restaurant. Mezcalli looked like an authentic and gorgeous little place so I was very excited to try it. All of their tacos, quesadillas and tostadas were available to order 1 by 1, so it was really easy to have a mixed variety of things without ending up with too much food (we were slightly scarred from the pork knuckle coma incident from the night before). I had a spicy margarita because needs must, and all of the food was incredible. The mixed seafood tostada was my personal favourite!

We went on a bit of a pub crawl after dinner. We started at an Irish pub (because you'll always find an Irish pub no matter where you are in the world), and then ended up at this underground karaoke bar where we were singing along with a Scottish stag do. Although we didn't stay in there for long - smoking indoors is still allowed in Slovakia so it was super smoky and stuffy down there! Instead we found our way to a nice little pub to finish the night, where I was served the most hilarious frothy beer I've ever seen. It was literally the reverse ratio than what you'd normally expect!

The next morning, we still had a healthy portion of the day to enjoy in the city before our flight home. So after checking out of our apartment, we accidentally went on a little tour of impressive, stark white buildings. We started at freedom square, went past the government office building, and then admired the presidential palace.

We actually skipped the bakery visit on our final morning in favour of going out for a brunch instead. We'd read good things about Brixton house so decided to go there and it was really cool. The decor was all very aesthetic and they had a musician/singer doing Amy Winehouse covers, who was really good. The food was amazing, if a little random. Ash's full English breakfast came with salad and pink pickled onions on it, while I had a Korean fried chicken benedict on brioche toast (not a combo I can say I would have ever thought of on my own).

(My aforementioned favourite pretty building in all of Bratislava)

Since it was once again glorious sunshine, we decided to make the most of it before we had to head home. European cafe culture came through once again and we found a perfect sunny spot in the old town to sit and have a couple of beers. Ending the trip how we spent most of it basically! If Bratislava isn't on your radar yet then honestly I'd highly recommend it. There's a perfect amount to do there for a long weekend, and being in central Europe I think they generally get good weather (even in winter when it's not super hot, it was still really lovely). We had the best time and I'm pleased to report that Ash not only survived his first Jenni-travel-style trip, but he thrived on it. So much so that we already booked another one the day after we got back! Anyone as 'say yes' as me when it comes to travel is a man after my own heart. Well, a man who already has it in this case, but you know what I mean.