{"id":460,"date":"2020-08-31T12:03:37","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T12:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=460"},"modified":"2021-07-08T14:40:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T14:40:36","slug":"i-imagine-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"I Imagine the Country"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The song has its origins in the summer of 1989 just prior to the collapse of communism. At a local festival De\u017eo Ursiny sang John Lennon\u2019s Imagine.&nbsp; This was followed by a Slovak version written by Ivan \u0160trpka. The Slovak version became \u201cPredstavujem Si Krajinu\u201d (I imagine the country).&nbsp; At the time it symbolised living in a country free of Soviet influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PREDSTAVUJEM SI KRAJINU\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lR3qcLSlRyE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption> Predstavujem Si Krajinu &#8211; I Imagine the Country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Slovakia is sometimes forgotten as a tourist\ndestination.&nbsp; For nearly 1000 years it\ndid not have much control over its own destiny.&nbsp;\nEven during the period of the First Slovak Republic 1939 \u2013 1945 it was a\nclient state of Nazi Germany.&nbsp; Around the\nyear 1000 it became part of the Kingdom of Hungary and today over 9% of the\npopulation state their mother tongue is Hungarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, stands on the banks of the Danube and as such borders both Hungary and Vienna.&nbsp; Bratislava markets itself as a 72 hour city as that\u2019s the average length of time tourists spend in the city.&nbsp; In those 72 hours there are plenty to keep you occupied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Bratislava Castle, Slovakia - Peter T\u00f3th \" class=\"wp-image-461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920-1568x1045.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/bratislava-3641286_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Bratislava Castle, Slovakia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to its geographical position and history a good starting\npoint is Bratislava castle. Not only does it house the Museum of History but\naffords tremendous views across the city.&nbsp;\nDown in the town, the Michael\u2019s Gate which is the only preserved gate of\nthe city fortification system dates back to the 14<sup>th<\/sup> century gives\nyou a great view back across the Old Town and the castle.&nbsp; The tower at the gate houses the Museum of\nArms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bratislava houses the largest war memorial in Central\nEurope. It rises over 50 metres and dominates the city skyline.&nbsp; It is the burial ground of 6845 soldiers of\nthe Soviet army who died during the liberation of Bratislava in World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\" St Elizabeth\u2019s Church  (The Blue Church) - Hans Hansen\" class=\"wp-image-462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920-1568x1045.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hungary-2793078_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption> St Elizabeth\u2019s Church  (The Blue Church)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On a religious note, don\u2019t miss out on a visit the 15<sup>th<\/sup> Century St Marin\u2019s Cathedral, the Art Nouveau style St Elizabeth\u2019s Church, also known as the blue church and cubist style synagogue built between 1923 and 1926.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will be spoilt for choice with a wide range of restaurants, cafes and bars and for those of you with a sweet tooth, patisseries something they do so well in Central Europe.  Whilst in the city look out for the amazing sculptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"Sculpture, Bratislava - Sebastian Mies\" class=\"wp-image-463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920-1568x1047.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/sculpture-1007990_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Sculpture, Bratislava<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Call <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelcounsellors.co.uk\/maggie.bush\" target=\"_blank\">Maggie<\/a> today and book your trip to the 72 hour city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pay with your <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/amex.co.uk\/refer\/mALCOJLDPQ?CPID=100338475\" target=\"_blank\">British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card<\/a>  and get 1.5 Avios per pound spent towards flights and discounts off BA flights and holidays.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The song has its origins in the summer of 1989 just prior to the collapse of communism. At a local festival De\u017eo Ursiny sang John Lennon\u2019s Imagine.&nbsp; This was followed by a Slovak version written by Ivan \u0160trpka. The Slovak version became \u201cPredstavujem Si Krajinu\u201d (I imagine the country).&nbsp; At the time it symbolised living &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=460\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;I Imagine the Country&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[344,91,343],"tags":[346,324,94,136,345],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bratislava","category-city","category-slovakia","tag-bratislava","tag-cathedral","tag-city","tag-europe","tag-slovakia","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellogs.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}