Friday 21st November, 2025

Trinity Square : Synagogue Café : Basilica of St. Nicholas : André Rieu Concert 

Today is Dave’s birthday and we have decided to visit a small Slovakian town which is close by to Bratislava. Trnava is often referred to as ‘Little Rome’ due to its ecclesiastical history.

The small town was indeed the Church Capital of the Kingdom of Hungary for centuries.  Today it is the seat of the ‘Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trnava’.

The train was a modern double decker and the journey took just half an hour.  It was raining slightly when we arrived in Trnava.  With the help of Google maps we made our way to the centre of the old town.

A small local vegetable market was taking place. Just a few tables had been pushed together, with parasols over them protecting the sellers and the customers from the rain.  I hoped the wind wouldn’t get up as the parasols were not  substantial enough for the inclement weather.

Locals were out loading their trolleys and bags with a weeks worth of  fresh vegetables. There were one or two vegetables that we had never seen before.

I was surprised to see one stall selling a variety of mushrooms including the much sought after lion’s mane mushroom and its powder.

 

The seller chatted away, I guessed he was telling us about the medicinal properties of the mushroom powders  but unfortunately we couldn’t understand him.

Trinity Square is the centre of the historic old town.  While I cannot imagine the town having many visitors, it does have a helpful tourism office in the square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trinity Square is a cobbled square with both the Holy Trinity Church and the Holy Trinity Sculpture.  The sculpture was erected in the 17th century and is a memorial for the people who lost their lives during the plague.

We passed by a synagogue that now serves as an exhibition and cultural centre. However, we  were on our way to another synagogue – The Synagogue Café!

 

From a 19th century orthodox synagogue to a secular building used as a warehouse, this space has now  been beautifully restored keeping many of it’s original  religious architectural features and is now a lovely café. The interior is a lovely welcoming place to sit and stare.

The excellent coffee and snacks are a bonus.

The weather had improved by the time we left the Synagogue Café, so we wandered the pretty streets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The young man in the tourist office had mentioned that the town’s oldest church was no longer accessible. However, he recommended that we pop into the Basilica of St. Nicholas which is the town’s main church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inner doors of St. John the Baptist’s Cathedral were locked.  However, as the outer doors were open we peered into the church. From what we could see, it has an impressive interior.  The prominent baroque cathedral is the seat of the  Trnava Archdiocese.

The town’s historical square was being decorated for Christmas. Huge red baubles were hanging in a tree and a couple of folk were putting lights etc on a large Christmas Tree.

Deciding to head back to Bratislava for a late lunch, we took the train to the capital’s centre. As usual we chose a traditional Slovakian eatery.  Dave ordered duck leg served with red braised cabbage and potato pancakes.  My choice was a chicken snitzel which came with a potato salad.

Early evening we set off by bus to the Tipos Stadium where we had tickets for the Andre Rieu Concert. So pleased he scheduled to play here on Dave’s birthday!

The concert was spectacular. At one point, Andre told the story of a boy who sadly was born with short arms and no hands.  He had two brothers who were both musical and their father wondered how he could help his son.  One day he came home with a pan flute.  The boy took it upstairs and after a few hours came back down declaring that he could play the instrument.

The boy, now a man, is today the Professor of Pan Flute Music at Geneva University.  Andre introduced him onto the stage and he played fantastically.

The finale was an extravaganza with an unexpected performance of Tutti Frutti and Macarena. The whole audience was on their feet; it was absolutely fantastic!

 

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