After another leisurely morning, we set out in the afternoon for the Panoramic Bratislava tour. We began by bus driving up to a restored castle with great views of the city. Our tour guide, a native Bratislavian in her fifties who spoke excellent English, brought highlights of her personal history to her account of the history of her country which she clearly loves. She was in her early 20’s when the communists were kicked out and told us how shocked she and her friends were when they went to cross the boarder with Austria and were allowed to across with no problem. She said they crossed back and forth just for the pure enjoyment of the freedom.
Bratislava’s main industry is automobile manufacturing. They manufacture cars for VW, Porsche, Volvo, and Kia among others. They also manufacture the steel used in the cars. We were next bused to the old town with a large pedestrian only shopping area with great coffee shops and busy public square. She shared many interesting details of life in Bratislava, including the economic hardships that inflation and the war in Ukraine have brought.
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