A UFO over Bratislava

What does the name SNP Bridge Bratislava mean? It means “Most Slovenského národného povstania”, the bridge of the Slovakian national uprising. And why does a UFO fly over Bratislava?

It is not actually flying, it rests on top of the bridge as a viewpoint. The SNP Bridge is the most famous bridge in Bratislava. It has an overall length of 430.80 meters and connects the largest Slovakian settlement Petržalka with the Old Town. More than 7530 tonnes are attached to the ropes of the asymmetric cable-stayed bridge. 4 lanes with a total width of 21 meters lead the traffic over the river Danube. Below the road, there is a pedestrian path on both sides of the bridge.

And this pedestrian walk you have to use to cross over from the Old Town to the other side of the river to get to the lookout platform. It is quite a strange sensation when just meters over your head the cars are rushing by and you feel the slight vibration of the bridge. In addition to the interesting architecture that made the bridge “Construction of the Century” in 2001, the special attraction is the restaurant UFO, which is located 80 meters above the pillars. There is also a viewing platform above the restaurant.

And this is exactly where we wanted to go. Fortunately, an elevator was installed in the left pillar, otherwise it would have been 430 stairs to climb in the right pillar. Admittedly, 6.50 € is not exactly cheap to use the elevator to get to the top of the UFO on the SNP Bridge Bratislava. But I think it’s worth it.

The elevator takes you into the middle of the UFO, from here it’s only a few more stairs up to the lookout platform. These few last steps already gave me a funny feeling. Sure, the stairs are straight but the pillar is tilted and consequently, the walls are also leaning over. And this is very unusual for the brain.

The view from the platform is just great. You can see all the important sights of the Old Town and beyond; from the castle to the radio tower. In the other direction, one can see as far as Austria.