Traveling from Czech Republic to Bulgaria. Bratislava

What it’s like to visit a city under full lockdown, then a Christmas market, and what it’s like to almost NOT break down the hotel door—read about it in this travelogue, part of the travelogue series: “At the Peak of the Delta: A Trip to Iceland via Poland and the Czech Republic”

BACK TO THE PREVIOUS TRAVELOGUE –> Sights in Prague - Part 2

More information about the route, costs and all travelogues of the trip can be found HERE.

Day 10 and 11 - Return to Bulgaria

The next day we were set to travel from morning to night, except for a short break in Bratislava (Slovakia), which is located in the middle of the road between Prague (Czech Republic) and Szeged (Hungary). The distance from Prague to Bratislava is 330 km and is covered in about three and a half hours.

Bratislava

We stopped for a walk in Bratislava. It was at that time that a serious lockdown was introduced throughout Slovakia, which meant that only pharmacies, grocery stores and administrative buildings could work. All other shops and restaurants, cafes, bars were either completely closed, or all the service took place in front of the restaurant, on the street. Most often, the establishments offered the possibility of home delivery or pick-up from a place.

Parking in Bratislava was also difficult. This time, unlike in Prague, we couldn’t find an available accessible parking spot. So we parked in the Lidl parking lot, and the whole time we were worried that we might have a problem with the car afterward.

The capital of Slovakia - Bratislava has a very pleasant central part of the city. It struck me that every building in the old town had a huge, beautifully decorated gate and no two gates were alike.

Unlike the Old Town, which impressed us, the roads and traffic management in Bratislava were beyond criticism—they were terrible.

One of the main attractions is the castle that rises on a hill in the middle of the city. Due to covid restrictions and lockdowns, however, the castle was closed to visitors. We at least wanted to see him outside and take pictures with him because he was very beautiful at first glance, but we never found a parking space near him. In the beginning, the castle was used as a royal residence. Today, however, it houses the Historical Museum and has become a symbol of Bratislava.

–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Bratislava with a discount. See HERE.

SEGED

We stayed in Bratislava for an hour to an hour and a half and then headed for Hungary. The distance between Bratislava and Szeged is 370 km, and we covered it again in about 3 1/2 hours. We arrived in Szeged around 6:00 p.m. We checked into another studio apartment—Stylish Apartman Szeged—which was beautifully furnished in its own unique style. It was located closer to the city center than the previous one where we stayed at the beginning of our trip. Check out other budget hotels HERE.

Note: In Hungary, the doors have a characteristic locking method and care must be taken not to break the door. We almost did it, because first we couldn't lock it, and then we couldn't unlock... Well, don't worry, it's just necessary for some things to turn there, then press them, and only then open/close the door. 🙂

We took another walk to the square in front of the Votive Church to see if the Christmas market was already open. And yes, there was music, open-air fire pits (where you could warm up on the freezing night), sausages, Kürtőskalács (Kürtőskalács), cheeses, yellow cheeses, and souvenirs. We stuck to the sausage-based diet we’ve been on for the past few days. We also bought some very strange-looking sweets with tahini, jellies, and other things that were quite expensive.

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Early the next day we left for Bulgaria. An unpleasant surprise awaited us at the Hungarian-Serbian border - a queue where we stayed for about an hour and a half.

We returned to Bulgaria on 1.12.2021 and from that day there were new rules according to the last order of the Minister of Health. According to her, all vaccinated Bulgarians who return from other countries in a red zone are not obliged to take a test after returning home. Before that (until 30.11) we needed PSR tests, which would have cost us an additional 200 BGN for both of us.

The only land border where there were checks of COVID-related documents was the Serbian-Bulgarian border. There, at a super makeshift checkpoint (meaning, as you’re sitting in line—and there’s no moving forward or backward)—you have to get out of the car, leave it unattended, walk to the checkpoint, which is 20 meters away, show your documents, and then get back in the car and continue on your way. We didn’t stop in Serbia, so we made it back to Bulgaria in one piece. What a hassle!