Top 5 activities in Bratislava!

Ever since my city break in Bratislava (a few weekends ago), I've been meaning to "promote" the city on my blog.
Why? Because - as the locals mentioned it - Bratislava is still a "transit" city, just a pit-stop between the well-known (what I mean is crowded with tourists :D) European capitals, like Vienna, Prague, Budapest.
However, as one of the four Capitals along the Danube river, it's a splendid view in the visitor's eye. It has a quite high touristic potential, I just want to point out what I enjoyed most, in my weekend trip.

So, below are listed my top 5 "must-see" / "must-try" activities. Here's what I would recommend to a friend traveler :)

#1 Free old-town walking tour
Among all the guided tours and mini-buses for city-visit, I settled for a Free Walking Tour, in the Bratislava Old-town center provided by befreetours. The tour has no fee, but the idea is to tip the guide at the end of the tour. The guides are usually students and I can say - at least from my experience - I enjoyed the tour very much. In a very relaxed and fun atmosphere, we discovered various information of history, funny facts, myth, local traditions...
You may also be interested on other tours they provide :-) also a pub crawling is available :-)

While you are visiting the old town, don't miss out a hike to the Castle. The view from up there is worth a trip during the day, but also one during the evening :D

#2 An 'ascent' to the UFO
unlike the Castle, this is reached by elevator :-) For about 6euro / person, the elevator will take you about 90m up in the sky, to the observation deck on top of the restaurant. I believe the restaurant itself is usually full, or booked for events, but there is also a very nice bar, where you can enjoy a drink and a some delicious desert... for a "sneak peak", take a look on the owner-group's page.
If you look for it in google maps, there's a nice description that pretty much sums up the experience :-) "UFO watch. taste. groove"

...view of the old-town, from the Ufo observation deck

#3 The challenge and intrigue of a Room escape (ore more :P)
Well.. it wouldn't be me, if I would not recommend a room-escape game :-) and in Bratislava, I must confess, that I was impressed and intrigued by two fascinating room escape games. This was valuable experience for me, because after you play a lot of room-escape games, some may seem a little "too easy" like..."That was all?" But it was not the case with these 2 games that we've played, both kept us up-and-running until the last minute!
I recommend them both :-)
The Da Vinci Room (by Paniq)
The room

#4 The Devin Castle
This is a "must see" next to Bratislava, in a near-by village (Devin). You get to see the fortress's ruins, hosting also a permanent museum. Sometimes, the castle walls are animated by Knights, shows, activities (for both adults and children). There are several festivals/events going on, all year round, especially during the warm season.

#5 Danubiana
Also situated out-side the city area, Danubiana is a modern-art museum situated on the Danube, close to the southern end of Bratislava.
The indoor wings are a nice walk along the Danube, because the river is visible through the huge glass windows... Also outside, there is a very nice Park animated with modern sculptures, a mixture of colors and shapes... See... I don't actually understand art (after years and years of technical studies :P) but even I enjoyed the museum very very much... so I can only imagine how inspiring those works would be seen by artistic soul...

All in all, Bratislava is clearly a little something to remember... and someday to come back to ;;)

Introduction to Real Room Escape Games

The so called Room Escape or Exit Games, were - for me - the biggest "woow" of the year! Until this spring, I didn't even know these things existed :P ...though they were around (at least in Europe) for some years now.

I wish someone had told me about Room Escape games sooner! 

Now, I'm telling you ;)

So... we were on a small trip in Europe. We reached Prague - with absolutely no idea or plan on what to visit there, besides the classic city tour. Prague is great, by the way! :-)

I asked for something interesting to do, Tripadvisor came up with this suggestion: "MindMaze exit game!"

When I heard "mind maze", I was already intrigued...
Before booking a game, we read the basics about "Exit Games":
The team (2 to 4/5 players) are locked up inside a room and they have 60minutes to get out, meaning they must find the "key", from the inside!
In order to unlock the door (or to solve the mission), the team must work together to find clues, keys to the locks and solve all sorts riddles, puzzles to break the codes of the code-locks, to find more clues..and so on, 'till the mission is solved (or 'till time's up). 

I'm not sure about you, but for me, that was enough information, to look forward to this challenge! I've always loved logical puzzles and anything that involved connecting the dots :-)

Besides, this was actually a real game! not a PC* game, not a board game! 

We, the members of the team, were actually the meeples and the room was our playing board :)

*)actually there are also online exit games, good for practice, before going on a real mission ;;)

I loved that game more than I would have expected... There's logic, collaboration, communication, team-work... all in real-time! 
I was really impressed by the set-up, puzzles ideas and by the outcome! I cannot giveaway any setup or game details - even though I'd love to, cause they are smartly made and interesting - but it would spoil the game for future players.

You can only play one game once! After you have revealed the secret codes, found the keys and unlocked the door (or at least completed part of the mission), there's no fun and challenge in doing that again.
But, the good part is that each game location is different and the game-providers rethink the games from time to time. Usually one game provider offers several game-rooms (with different themes).

Since Prague, we've Escaped (or Not! :P) from several Games around Europe... and everywhere I go, I search for such games... usually you can book them online, which makes it easy!

From all these experiences, here's an overview, without revealing too much ;;)

Each game is different in the story line, layout, location, goal, but the main ideas are the same:
- the game's location consists of a room or several rooms
- it can be played in teams of 2 up to 4 or even 6 people (depending on the size of the location)
- the group is locked* inside and has 60 minutes - on the clock - to escape**
 *of course not literally locked, you can quit and exit at any time if you don't like the game
 **depending on the "game provider" the goal of the game may be to actually unlock the door, or it can vary (e.g. open a vault and find a treasure, or other story-lines)
- when the team manages to complete the mission in time (less then 60 minutes), they win (or successfully completed the mission); otherwise, they fail the mission and the game ends.

- the Game Moderator may help you during the game (either by walkie talkie, or other communication means)

During the game, the goal is to find clues inside the room(s), that will help you unlock e.g. drawers / boxes / parts of furniture or doors to other rooms in the game!
You and your friends must pay attention to each detail in the game and team members must constantly exchange information, for a successful mission!

Don't miss a chance to try the real experience!
Just google "room escape" or "exit game", whenever you're looking for something fun to do in your town or in vacation!

Below are some of my favorites, that I found the most challenging! Enjoy! ;;)

Room Escape Vienna
Exit Games Timisoara