It’s true we have seen more than our fair share of old towns over the years, but they are still each captivating in their own way and whether its an old favourite or a new one we are still able to lose hours and hours wandering cobbled laneways, marvelling at the architecture of centuries gone by and sniffing out cool (read non-tourist trap) places to eat and drink with locals.

For an old favourite we got the chance to return to Vienna while taking the long way to Budapest. Our first time here was in December 2006 for a half day en route to Salzburg, and we were keen to see this grand city of palaces in the light of summer. The sun was still around at almost 10pm at night, and the gardens in the grounds of the Belvedere and Schonbrunn palaces were spectacular. Tourists and locals alike were lazing in the sun everywhere, soaking up the precious summer rays.

Entry to the Belvedere Palace

Summer at Schonbrunn

Looking over Vienna from Upper Belvedere

Most of Vienna’s drawcard buildings are accessible by foot if you are prepared to take a long meandering walk across the city, and being the original city of coffee houses there is no shortage of options to take a break with a slice of cake. Its also a super easy city to navigate on bikes and unlike our town of Sydney, the city’s bike lane network is excellent and allowed us to travel the 9km out of the city to the Schonbrunn Palace grounds (funny story: as soon as we entered the grounds we realised we had been there 10 years ago and had forgotten! At least we saw it in 2 different seasons now!).

From the majesty and grandeur of Vienna it was on to what would become a new favourite for us – Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Just 1.5 hours from the centre of Vienna we had received two recent recommendations to hit this city and given its location on the Danube on the way to Budapest it was on our radar also.

It is an easy city to love – it has not yet succumbed to hordes of tourist groups in coaches, although it is included in the very popular river cruise itineraries; the old town is compact and well preserved; and the quality and quantity of eating and drinking venues blew us away.

The interiors of many of the restaurants and bars would be well placed in Sydney, New York or London with modern furniture and lighting, and inventive menus. And it was a whole lot cheaper than its neighbour Vienna. On the edge of the city we wandered along the river and found a place where we could drink cocktails in a bar complete with sand, volleyball courts and a pool – a  Slovakian beach on the Danube!

The blue church of St Elizabeth

The palace gates

Entering the old town of Bratislava

The imposing Bratislava Castle, just before we got rained on

Our best meal by far though was seated on an old river cruiser that is now a brewery/restaurant/hotel and permanently parked opposite the old town with the most amazing view of the city and its castle perched up on the hill. If you find yourself in this city you should make a visit to Dunajsky Pivovar – it is a gem that could be overlooked if you don’t leave the old town area. It was from this vantage point that we drank cheap beer and decided that Slovakia is definitely worth a return visit one day, and that its lovely city needs at least another few days to begin to sample all of its treasures.