Four street events in Bratislava, Slovakia

Four street events in Bratislava, Slovakia

Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about four street events that take place in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where I am currently living. In general, Bratislava is a city which is quite grey in the winter. There are hardly any people in the streets, it gets dark very early and it is really cold. It is a bit like a ghost city, where the only event which gives it a little bit of light is the Christmas Market. On the other hand, when March nears, people start going out in the streets more and this number keeps rising as summer comes. In fact, during the summer period it is quite hard to find a free table in a lot of restaurants in the centre since they are packed. There starts to be a big atmosphere and the streets in the centre are jam packed with people and tourists. Therefore, they make the most of this time of year to organise events, many of which take place outside. So, later I am going to tell you about four events which take place in the street and which I think you should bear in mind if you want to ditch your routine and do something different. Let's start!

Italian Market

As you can deduce, I am going to talk to you about an Italian market which takes place in the historical district of Bratislava, specifically in Hviezdoslavovo namestie, which is one of the biggest and most central squares in Bratislava, where you can find the old theatre. The square has a square shape, quite large, so all over this area there are different stalls with Italian products.

As you know, Spanish and Italian food have many similarities in terms of ingredients, so we always make the most of this time of year to buy quality products.

The good thing about this market is that you can try different Italian products. In the stalls, the sellers have lots of trays on the counter where they have lots of little bits of their products so that the shoppers can try them first. If you go over, they will offer you some and encourage you to try them. In my opinion, the best thing that they sell here are the black olives. They have an incredible flavour and they are enormous, the biggest ones that I have ever seen. They sell them 2 euros for 100 grams!

For those who don't like olives, there isn't a problem, since there is an infinite variety of different food products: cheese, sweets, ham, seafood, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. Everything! It is also a good opportunity to discover new dishes or desserts. Here you will be able to try the Sicilian cannoli, one of my favourite desserts, typical of Sicily.

Also, there are some stands which work as some kind of restaurant, since they have tables and chairs so you can eat dishes such as seafood pasta, for example. There is also a big range of spices since they are very famous in Italy too. Here I discovered pinsas, which are similar to pizzas but with a different base, harder and more crunchy.

And last, but not least, there is even a stall with artwork with Italian landscapes and cities. You can perfectly recognise the Venice canals. However, you will have to part with a big amount of money if you want to acquire one of these.

During the market you can enjoy a really lovely atmosphere. The sellers are really kind and a lot of them spoke to us in Spanish when realising where we were from. There are also lots of tourists who walk through this square and take a look around.

This year, the Italian market took place from the 17th of June till the 26th, so we had spare time to go through here several days.

Majáles

It is pronounced "maiales" and it is a free music festival. As its name indicates, it is celebrated in May. In the centre of Bratislava you can enjoy an outdoor concert since at this time of year it is already warm and it is quite good weather. Most of the concerts have Slovakia music and singers there. The good thing is that between all of the groups that play there is lots of diversity, which is one of their values. Rock, pop, reggae, ska... There is something for everyone. As for the atmosphere, there are young people who go to have a good time and have a drink, but you can also see lots of families who go there with their children. To finish the festivals, they have fireworks which light up the whole city.

The concerts take place on the bank of the Danube river where the historic district is on the other side, so right from the performance area you can admire the Bratislava castle and the whole old district.

Street food in Stara tržnica

This event took place in the old market in Bratislava, which in Slovakian is “Stara tržnica”. For more than 50 years, since 1910, this old market had been used for its original purpose to sell all kinds of products. After, this building was converted into a studio for Slovakian TV, but finally it returned to be a market for 8 hours after its rebuild in 2000. It closed its doors to the public in 2008, only opening for special occasions. However, in 2013 they finally opened it as a multifunctional space, offering the space for cultural events, parties and festivals. Here, I will leave you a photo of the outside part of the building.

One of the most well-known events is the Farmer; s Market which takes place every Saturday at 10am where they usually send local products. However, today I want to talk to you about street food which they don't just make on the inside of the building, but on the outside too.

The event is really successful so it has taken place many times, it is something common. It is basically where different restaurants put up little food stands there in the market so that people can buy food. Normally the food that they offer is ready to eat, so you can find burgers, crepes (sweet or savoury) or also less common foods such as gyozo, from the restaurant Foodstock.

The atmosphere is really cool because everyone gets something to eat and then sits at the tables and chairs that are in the middle of the market. Those who don't get a seat have no choice but to stand up. We could say that the atmosphere is similar to "botellon" in Spain, but quite a bit more relaxed. The people are there from 6pm until really late, and they are already well into the party atmosphere which lasts until the night. Also, in the summer it is a really nice place because the temperature is ideal for going out here. It is full of people buying beers in the surrounding bars, chatting and after joining with the locals in the centre in a kind of disco. I don't drink beer, but my beer-drinking friends tell me that they sell really good quality beer at these events. There are always really long queues to be able to buy a drink!

One detail that I really like about this event is that all of the packaging that they put the food in are usually biodegradable, there is no plastic cutlery or plates. Also, for the beer cups, you have to put down a deposit of one or two euros to bring it back after. So, they make sure that you don't take the cup home or throw it on the floor.

Often there are also live concerts, I am not sure if they are programmed or not, but several musicians go there with their guitar and microphone and sing some songs. Young people are usually there until 2 or 3am. After, some go home and others go to other clubs in Bratislava.

As I told you, these events take place during the summer, when the weather is warm. Look at the next photo.

In this you can see the same market but covered in snow (you can compare it with the one that I left further up). As you can imagine, nobody fancies being in the streets in temperatures which often reach -10 degrees, so if you want to enjoy this atmosphere, you have to make the most of the warm months.

In conclusion, this atmosphere is ideal if you are new in the city and you want to get to know people or expand your circle of friends. After going to Stara trznica a couple of times, you will realise that Bratislava is a big but small city, because everyone knows each other there, especially foreigners. I recommend it 100 percent.

Christmas market

Finally, the Christmas Market. It is something that is really successful in European cities, even the smallest ones have one. Bratislava is no different. Even though it competes with big markets such as the ones in Vienna and Budapest, this one also has its charm. It is located in Hviezdoslavovo namestie and in Hlavne Namestie, the main square where the Town Hall is located. During the month of Christmas, it is one of the few times that you see so many people in the street. It is an event for socialising, drinking and trying Slovakian gastronomy. There are also lots of tourists buying souvenirs since they are on sale in the different stalls.

In the stands, they sell Slovakian sweets and pastries such as babovka for example, apple strudel, or poppy seed cake, which is really popular here. As for drinks, ponche is very popular. Personally, I don't like it as it is a bit of a weird mix of warm wine with rum and other alcohols. It isn't very strong, it is super sweet. They also have lots of different kinds of meat, laguis, goulash, etc. In short, as you can see in the photos, there is a multitude of stalls that you can stop at. In the end, you don't know what to order with so much choice.

In addition to their culinary offering, they also have a big cultural offering, since as a kind of opening, they often have events such as concerts, dance performances or theatres for the little ones. You have to keep checking the Christmas Market Calender and the Bratislava Facebook pages because this is where they announce all of the shows.

And that is the post for today. I hope that you have enjoyed this blog entry and these different events that take place in Slovakian streets. In my case, I always love discovering events, celebrations or different things to do to escape the routine a bit. Don't forget to leave your opinions in the comments. Thank you for reading and I will see you soon with more content. Bye.

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