This October I visited the capital of Slovak Republic. With roughly 450,000 inhabitants, Bratislava is in size comparable to Edinburgh.

However, the day I was there, fog hung low and on the 75-minute boat ride from Vienna to Bratislava we didn’t see much of the famous Danube. Fortunately the fog lifted somewhat by early afternoon, but it never dissolved completely to grant us a clear view across the entire city from the lookout tower over the Nový Most, or New Bridge, we had climbed in early afternoon.

I nonetheless was able to shoot a few nice pictures of the old town, which is impressive in size, but – unlike Vienna or Prague – entirely focused on tourism. Shops, restaurants and streets were deserted when we first arrived at around 10 a.m. This phenomena reminded me of similar situations I encountered in Maribor and Warsaw, two cities which I had visited outside the popular tourist seasons as well.

The most unique features of Bratislava are several statues placed strategically in locations frequented by tourists. One such figure depicts a city worker peeping out of a manhole; another features a paparazzi stalking imaginary celebrities; and a third shows Napoleon leaning on a bench in the Hlavné námestie or Main Square.

I admired the rather picturesque, red vendor stalls lining both sides of the Main Square. I purchased honey and bee wax candles at one of the stands and a few postcards from another vendor. Available merchandise ranged from toys, T-shirts, candles, and jewelry to the typical tourist knick-knags like fridge magnets (of which I snatched a couple as well) and miniature figurines featuring Bratislava.

Awkwardly enough a main highway separates the Bratislava Castle from the rest of the old town. What’s more, the Presidential Palace sits next to a rather unattractive, busy intersection. But since I have previously visited former Soviet bloc states, I was not really surprised to find these rather unappealing aspects of city planning.

It must be said though that most big Eastern European cities, Bratislava included, have done a tremendous job in revitalizing their  historic centers since the early 1990s, making them attractive to visitors from around the globe.

Must-see locations in Bratislava include: the Bratislava Castle, the Old Town with its historic buildings and churches, the Primate’s Palace, St. Martin’s Cathedral, and the Slovak National Theatre, which is located on the Hviezdoslavovo námestie.