Bratislava, Vienna by night and the poshest H&M in the world.

Welcome to Bratislava!

So communist you could imagine yourself as an extra in a John Le Carre novel... walking through the 'modern' part was eye-opening - even the underpasses were oppressive. Perhaps it was just overactive imaginations but it felt very odd... long low roofs, dark walls and so on.

And the centre of Bratislava (once known as Pressburg when it was under Austro-Hungarian rule) looks so completely different...

Even the maestro himself lived here...

Leaving in the rain... the rain certainly didn't help cheer the lovely concrete communist facade up...

St. Michael's Gate, one of the many opulent entrances to the Imperial Palace.

Odd arty smoke thing near the Kunstforum (Art Forum). Still have no idea what it is.

Another view of the odd smoke thing...

The Viennese keep their decorations up for a long time after Christmas...

Chandeliers on Graben and they really are as beautiful as they look!

Arty shot which didn't turn out quite right - that's St. Stephen's Cathedral in the background.

The poshest H&M ever. Ceiling roses, chandeliers, gas lighting...

Shame about the 50% off sign though!

As an aside, I would NOT recommend flying into Bratislava to get to Vienna... flights might be cheap but you arrive at 5:30am, have to catch the bus for 2 hours and are so bloomin' tired by the time you arrive, all you want to do is sleep. Book in advance, fly to Vienna Schwechat, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get the CATrain as it's an absolute rip off, get the Schnellbahn to Wien Mitte (Vienna City Centre). It's half the price and takes about 10 minutes longer. Isn't as cushy, but at 7 Euros for a single ticket, comfort isn't much of an issue. The other good thing about the Schnellbahn is it drops you off directly next to the Wien Mitte underground station - when you arrive at the CAT terminal you have to heaveho your luggage for 15 minutes to the nearest station or get a taxi.