Bratislava Christmas Markets: Eat Drink and Be Merry

The Slovak National Theatre is the backdrop for the Christmas market at Hulezdoslav Square

Bratislava is home to two Christmas markets, one in the Main Square, the other in Hulezdoslav Square, which was my favorite one with its ice skating rink. Travel tip:  It only costs €1 to skate and skates can be rented there as well.

Market at the Main Square

Ice skating with the Slovak National Theatre in the background.

Although I have visited numerous Christmas markets in Europe -  I’m a bit of an aficionado or fanatic as my husband would say, it was my first time visiting one in Eastern Europe. What stood out to me immediately was how different the food being served was than at German  Christmas markets. Bratislava is famous for its regional and national culinary specialities and this was definitely my favorite part of my visit to the markets.  We took our sweet time wandering aimlessly surveying the various food vendors.  I especially liked the ones that had pictures – it made it much easier to order since all you had to do was point:

The vendors who had photos made it easier to order.

Just one of the culinary delights found at the Christmas markets

After each choosing different meat dishes, me something on a stick, J.P. something in a bun with lots of onions, J.P. decided to indulge his sweet tooth, I silently cursed my celiac disease which meant that I was unable to sample any of the sweets.  Everything looks soooo mouth-watering good.  J.P. debated.  What to choose? A roll? Strudel? Wafer? After much debate J.P. decided on a Bratislavské rožky – pastry dough filled with poppy seeds:

Fortunately I was able to indulge in the beverages though.  I started off with a honey wine which unsurprisingly was very sweet, then moved on to my more familiar mulled wine. I wanted to indulge more and just point at something and order it, but was feeling a bit tipsy so concluded my “research” and we headed back to Chopin Hotel Bratislava where we were staying.  (You can read my review here.)

I enjoyed visiting the Christmas Markets in Bratislava.  They run from Nov 22 – Dec 23, 2013.  More info and a program of events can be found on the Bratislava Tourism site.  Next it was off to Vienna to see how many markets we could explore in a half day before heading back to Munich.  As promised, I did break my record….but I came pretty darn close!

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