By Sarah Kolinovsky

While sitting at a bar in Bratislava, I watched as Anastazia Kuzmina won the gold medal in the 7.5-meter biathlon sprint at the Vancouver Olympics. The bar roared with cheers, whoops, and cries — a gold medal for Slovakia.

A woman from the next table over leaned to me. “Sorry for all this noise!” she said. “It’s just that this is our first gold medal.” She paused, and then amended her statement. “It may also be our last medal.”

And that, well, that’s Bratislava. You will have a good time there, but you can’t go with really high expectations. It’s a fun and an interesting place, but it is not another Prague or Vienna. It’s smaller, and the vestiges of communism are a lot more prevalent. Bratislava makes you appreciate the small things: finding one great bar (not three), eating nothing but pierogies all weekend (but they’re delicious), and celebrating boisterously the winning of a single gold medal (the only gold medal).

How to get there: EuroLines/SlovakLines bus for about €30 round trip.

Where to stay: We stayed in Hostel Possonium, which was wonderful. Clean, located close to the Old Town square and extremely helpful with directions and suggestions, we couldn’t have asked for a better hostel. It cost €15 a night. And the best part of the hostel? It had a bar in the basement themed after the Hostel movies with fake blood and torture devices everywhere. Apparently they know everyone is afraid of going to Bratislava. I also heard from other students we ran into that Hostel Blues was very nice.

How to get around: You can definitely walk from Hostel Possonium to the Old Town (which is is not nearly as big as Prague’s center by the same name.)  The only time we used public transportation was taking the tram from the bus station to the hostel. The tram cost €0.50 for a 15 minute ride.

What to do: See all the sights in the Old Town. We just went on a self-guided walking tour that was in our guidebook. Go see Bratislava Castle. The castle is nowhere near as impressive as Prague’s, but it’s located on a huge hill with great views of the city. Also, eat a lot. We found some great places for food.

What to eat: Pirohy. Often listed on menus in English as “Slovak pastry filled with” whatever, be it meat, cheese, sauerkraut or potato — all the pierogies are delicious. Also be sure to try some Zlatý Bažant (Golden Pheasant) beer. It’s the main brand in Slovakia and it tasted a lot like a typical American beer (Coors Light, to be specific). Check out the restaurant Flagship. It’s located in an old church and has gorgeous architecture, great food, and surprisingly low prices.

Currency: Euro

Tip?: Locals round up to the next 10, but foreigners tend to tip more.

If you’re only there for an hour: Go to the center of Old Town, see St. Michael’s Gate and some of the beautiful cobblestone passageways, then make your way to Flagship for some good food and company.

Sarah Kolinovsky is a NYU junior studying journalism and history.