Bratislava

[paul_oshea]

what did you make of it?

I thought it was a kip, full of ignorant people, i met about 2 people that were nice and friendly, and one was the receptionist at our hotel. Police and Taxi drivers have no morals, and are in cahoots if ye ask me ( someone else said the same thing to me as well! ).

Security at the game was a joke. I Have pictures which ill upload later, basically on the way in there was only one guy doing full body searches with about 1000 people outside trying to get in. Could have been a major incident if it wasn't for people calming the situation ( irish fans that is ). On the way out of the ground they would only half open the gate, and when people went up and asked the security guys to open both gates and let people out they started closing the gates and pushing people back. A country in my opinion still trying to find its way out of communism and embracing capitalism.

And thats only half of my complaints!!! Rant over.:mad:

[wooman]

it was a shambles going into the stadium. the 1st set of gates were just paked with irish fans and could have got messy

cops were a bit ****ty too taking the footballs in the square at the start of the day. In the end up there was too many people and balls for them to have any control

had a great weekend though, pity about the result

[macdermesser]

what did you make of the storm troopers streaming in at the left side our the irish end during half time? I thought it was a complete over reaction to two Irish fans having a go at each over something .... can you imagine what would have happened if someone had shouted at the police .. or a misunderstanding? ffs .. idiotic

our hotel tried to charge us for breaking the already broken door handle .. and taxi driver seemed to take us on a scenic route of bratislava at inflated prices.

[wooman]

seen the storm troopers, ready for a ruk in full riot gear

i was speaking to a slovak fan during the game and asked him why they were there. He said they have had trouble before with the English (surprise surprise) but they were there just as a precaution. He was saying that noone expected any trouble from the Irish

[reder]

Stadium was as a expected. I thought the police in the city centre were very easy-going and turned a blind eye to alot of nonsense.

[Colie]

Thought it was a bit of a hole & the people were well unfriendly. I thought the cops/ securo guys at the match werer probably the nicest of the lot. They tolerated a lot later on in the square on Saturday. Real glad to get out. Train journey was a good laugh to Prague.

[Bomb Landsdowne]

Heard a few lads were arrested for kicking footballs around the square and the hookers were worn out from from riding all the irish. We drank many a pub dry over here , bit stupid for not stocking up on the stuff.

As per usual we were excellently behaved. Well done lads

[paul_oshea]

As per usual we were excellently behaved. Well done lads


We were, but it could have been a lot worse coming out of those gates after the game. Those bloody commies around the ground were ignorant as puck though, no smile or nothing, wouldn't even listen to any of us trying to reason with them. Haven't a clue about organisation at all. Uefa should be notified of that.

[slow2anger]

only thing good about bratislava was the local beer. very drinkable and hangover free.

[jimbo]

lads there were empty gates around the corner from where all of the paddys were queing up like sheep;i walked around to gate 7 and bobs your uncle no shakey shamrocks to be seen and in i went; dont start having a go at the locals although i had the feeliong that they were trying to kill us with the hot dogs in the stadium which could have been used as dangerous weapons if hurled at tyhe right trajectory

[paul_oshea]

jimbo, I thought of that but the problem was if you were 3 layers of people in you couldnt get out. dont you think that they should have sent more people down. And there were about 6 police fellas standing round doing nothing when only one was searching people. SO yes I stick by my point, i.e. we should have a go ad the ex-army commies.

[jimbo]

but if you had a look at the map of the ground on the wall and then consulted with your ticket you would avoided the crush,without being smart like!! wouldnt like to blame them for our own stupidity considering how we are the self acclaimed greatest fans in de world after all;would agree that they were acharmless miserable shower

[pineapple stu]

seen the storm troopers, ready for a ruk in full riot gear
Storm troopers? It was full Darth Vader gear from what I saw!

Town was grand; beer was a third the price outside the city centre (30Kr a pop in some place a short walk from the ground). Locals I met were grand; met some Slovak fans in the pub who were delighted at getting the draw (especially the 90th minute equaliser bit) and also went into that restaurant in the UFO over the bridge, despite having a big rucksack on and wearing a football jersey and runners, but they had no problems with us either. Though yer man did do a double take at the rucksack when the head waitress asked him to take it...

Heard of trouble at the ground, but saw none of it. Got in handily enough; quick frisk and that was all. Stewards weren't enforcing seating positions, so you could move where you wanted and stand up, which helped the atmosphere no end.

[lopez]

It was a dump alright, but I've been to far worse sh*tholes six miles up the M1 from my crib. Luton anyone? :D

Seriously, it was cheap, and maybe not cheerful, but what can you expect with 40 years of communism. People in the food business are lazy as f*ck. They badly need some immigration to sort it out.

No probs getting into the ground. I did throw a bit of a wobbler after seeing some loyalist flag at the end of the ground and went to tell the police to take it down. What followed was comedy which I had a laugh at later. Firstly, when asked for the chief, it was like talking to a bunch of wise monkeys. I then said I'll ring up FIFA (no I haven't got that number on my mobile) and the sergeant (or whatever) quickly moved in. I had a pair of binoculars off someone (don't even remember how I came into their possession) and all these police were looking at the other end through the biocs, while on the radio. Then something big happens, they've found it, and the head honcho says 'It is a hand?'

Brief intro to modern Irish history and he replys 'but it is a hand?' A young plod helpfully shows me a card with a list of banned symbols. Swastikas, Ruhne's, The confederate flag, even the Celtic Cross. 'I am sorry, but we can not see a hand down here.' Classic! :o

[Mayo_Bhoy]

Some of the posts in this thread are an embarrassment. Racist , ignorant posts aboutm a country that we know damn all about. Grow up lads and FAO Paul O'Shea, communism ended here 18 years ago. Some of ye sound like English fans, just because beer wasnt available straight away, well tough ****e lads, they do things here as they always have done so if ye dont like it then tough. Ah **** this, im off to queue for a beer:D

[paul_oshea]

Some of the posts in this thread are an embarrassment. Racist , ignorant posts aboutm a country that we know damn all about. Grow up lads and FAO Paul O'Shea, communism ended here 18 years ago. Some of ye sound like English fans, just because beer wasnt available straight away, well tough ****e lads, they do things here as they always have done so if ye dont like it then tough. Ah **** this, im off to queue for a beer

Mayo_Bhoy, I haven't been in a communist country, but I have read a lot about such countries, and lots of things about bratislava reminded me of what I read.

But anyhow what I saw and found is waht I reported, I was in budapest a capital city in a country not a million miles away but a million miles away in attitude. In fact a guy saw I was trying to take a picture of me and the missus and he came over and asked did he want me to take it, suprised by how friendly he was compared with the others I had met and spoken too I said thank you very much, he then asked me where I was from etc and said he was from hungary - budapest, i then told him i was recently in budapest and he asked which i prefered. I told him with no uncertainity and he then asked why, i explained and he agreed with me. The city was grim. If you went on the "watch tower" you could see the contrast, it looks like its changing in fairness but its still in a bit of a stranglehold. From up there, you could see 4 sides to teh city. It was quite interesting actually.

[pineapple stu]

Should be noted the police in France were just as unhumorous, so communism has nothing to do with it.

[wooman]

the hassel with getting into the ground could have been avoided if some of the cops came out and told us to walk round to the other entrances but they just stayed inside and watched everyone push like ****

Not happy being home, should be in Prague for round 2

[sligoman]

the hassel with getting into the ground could have been avoided if some of the cops came out and told us to walk round to the other entrances but they just stayed inside and watched everyone push like ****Not everybody speaks English. I doubt it's part of their training that they need to speak it. Just like it's not part of the Gardai's training to speak Slovakian.

[Newryrep]

I didnt think it was too bad. It didnt help that it was raining biblical proportions on Thur/Fri which was a bit of downer. Old town wasnt bad, alot of graffiti and the only interface with the slovaks was as a customer which was a bit hit annd miss. Irish customer service is nothing to write home about by the way. Seen one slovak supporter early on Sat morn. Walked over the bridge to check out a restaurent and stumbled on a shopping centre which was packed with people and didnt lack for anything. Got a taxi for 300SK after the match although i know guys who paid 750Sk. However......

Getting into the ground was a shambles and potentially worse and got speaking to a guy in the lift who got jumped on by locals late on Sat and got a few slaps, he was glad to be leaving.

And of course the result !

[reder]

I did throw a bit of a wobbler after seeing some loyalist flag at the end of the ground and went to tell the police to take it down. What followed was comedy which I had a laugh at later.

Was waiting for someone to bring that up. We had a ball pulling the p1ss out of a group of Celtic fans from the north over the flag. Idiots were that hammered that they barely even watched the game. One completely lost it when we started questioning why they didnt support NI.

[paul_oshea]

Walked over the bridge to check out a restaurent and stumbled on a shopping centre which was packed with people and didnt lack for anything

aupark. that was a lovely shopping centre. watched the france v argentina game there in "the scottish bar".


Idiots were that hammered that they barely even watched the game. One completely lost it when we started questioning why they didnt support NI.

haha, thats so funny and original :rolleyes:

[jimbo]

wooman;should we not take some responsibility for our own fans creating a potentially dangerous situation for themselves!! if gobsh**tes kept unnecessarily joining the back of an ever expanding queue for no reason whose fault is that?

[Dotsy]

Have to agree with Jimbo. There was a sign on the wall at the first gate we came to that showed which gates were for section CS. Easy to see and easy to follow. We had no probs getting in or out of the ground. We even had a bit of banter with the police on the gate going in.

I thought the old town was beautiful. As in most ex communist countires once you move outside the immediate city centre it is grim but no more so that Prague, Riga and Vilnius in my experience. Once you find yourself off the beaten track you have to have your wits about you especially after a few beers but again not unlike many other cities.

I think the bars, restaurants etc were just a bit overwhelmed by the numbers.Having only one pump in most of the bars didn't help Once we actually got talking to the locals they were much more friendlier. We got a few taxis and weren't fleeced. Agreed the price before we got in. I can assure you taxi drivers in Prague are much worse, especuially around the Old Town.

Overall, apart from the result, I thought Brat was the business. I would definitely go back there again.

[Stuttgart88]

God, I remember it taking an hour in a QUIET bar/restaurant in Stuttgart to get served 6 beers.

[wooman]

Jimbo, the reason more people joined the back of the Q was the fear of not getting into the ground before the match. Cops should have been outside at least pointing the the other gates as you would expect at any other football ground.

[jimbo]

no such thing as a bad weekend away following the lads;even when we had a proper side we never won away from home so i cannot understand the present level of expectation which is unfounded,saturday was typical of a half decent side who panic whenever they score a goal;tomorrow will be much the same-a draw would be a great result

[jimbo]

wooman;you should start going on those ray tracey trips to away games where they join you all together with a rope to avoid anyone going off the beaten track;no substitute for the auld sheep mentality unfortunately,blame someone else

[wooman]

if i had a rope long enough to hold 20 people together i would have done it

noted for the next away trip

[soccerc]

God, I remember it taking an hour in a QUIET bar/restaurant in Stuttgart to get served 6 beers.
...that's because they were shocked to see you get them in,:D and then they served you Weissbier!

[paul_oshea]

wooman;you should start going on those ray tracey trips to away games where they join you all together with a rope to avoid anyone going off the beaten track;no substitute for the auld sheep mentality unfortunately,blame someone else



jimbo when I and 3 others with me joined the queue thewere were about 15 - 20 people in front of us, we assumed that we would be in in no time, but then all of a sudden they actually stopped searching and waited, then a queue started to form. So yes some people were sheep, but not all of us ;)

[jbyrne]

agree that once you chatted to the locals they were pretty friendly. language barrier a problem on a few occasions though

after using the tram for free most of the weekend got caught and fined 1,400sk for not having a ticket 30 secs from the end of my last tram journey of the weekend! fair cop but the coin only ticket machines made it difficult to get a ticket at times

[wooman]

Made was fined 1500 on the 1st night for ****ing on the street

Didn’t believe him till he showed us his ticket

[pineapple stu]

the coin only ticket machines made it difficult to get a ticket at times
That was a pain in the hole! Largest coin was 10Kr, and in the pubs, they round the bill up to the next ten, so it was hard to even get change. I ended up drinking several more fantas than I needed to in the only open shop out near where I was staying to get change for the tram. Even then, the price kept changing until we just went out and asked someone for change.

Even more bizarre was in the monster Tesco, where things were priced 149.70 Kr, even though the smallest coin is the 0.50 Kr piece (50 halier)!

[Stuttgart88]

...that's because they were shocked to see you get them inI though my reputation for stinginess was safe over there.

[pineapple stu]

Anyone else find Gremium pub, by the way? Sports pub, which was showing England v Israel on one telly and had a teletext link of European football scores on another, including the eL Division One. Kept well up to date with Dundalk's latest hiccup. Also featured a bookies down the back. Truly a dangerous mix...

[Dotsy]

That was a pain in the hole! Largest coin was 10Kr, and in the pubs, they round the bill up to the next ten, so it was hard to even get change. I ended up drinking several more fantas than I needed to in the only open shop out near where I was staying to get change for the tram. Even then, the price kept changing until we just went out and asked someone for change.

Even more bizarre was in the monster Tesco, where things were priced 149.70 Kr, even though the smallest coin is the 0.50 Kr piece (50 halier)!

Pineapple

All the little kiosks (one right outside Tesco) selling cigs sold 30sk tram tickets. Bought a handful on the first day and was sorted for the weekend. Agree the ticket machines were useless.

[wooman]

didnt go near the trams once.

walked or tax'd it which was grand

[pineapple stu]

Pineapple

All the little kiosks (one right outside Tesco) selling cigs sold 30sk tram tickets. Bought a handful on the first day and was sorted for the weekend. Agree the ticket machines were useless.
Yeah, problem is we got to the shop on our campsite at 1pm and they'd just closed for lunch for an hour! No choice...

[Dotsy]

Yeah, problem is we got to the shop on our campsite at 1pm and they'd just closed for lunch for an hour! No choice...

Jaysus it must have been fun in the campsite on Thusday and Friday in that rain:eek:

[pineapple stu]

Only arrived in on the Saturday morning.

That said, was woken up about 5am on the Sunday 'cos it was lashing again. But it's actually kind of cool being safe and dry in a tent when it's lashing!

[Saint Tom]

i couldn't wait to leave bratislava to be honest. I thought the locals were the biggest shower of ignorant gits in history. I asked one barman did he watch the game and he replied "no tip", inferring that since i didnt pay him a tip I was not worthy of his attention. I wouldnt mind but it was the first drink I bought and would have left a tip later.


The attitude of the police was even more disturbing. a constant threat of danger with all contact with them. Coupled with the fact I know several people who were robbed and assaulted by local scum.

The train journey has escaped people's attention thus far also. It was dangerous and i couldnt help but feel that had there been some form of accident, people wouldnt have had a chance. They oversold reserved seats meaning that everyone had a claim on a seat when clearly this was not possible. Five and a half hours standing like sardines was agony.

You also may think that when bars etc ran out of supply on thursday that some bright spark may have ensured that there was enough for the busy weekend nights, but that clearly wasnt the case.

As mentioned above, taxis were dangerous throughout, even when negotiating prices there were massive fluctuations in prices and not one person driving a cab was the type of person I would trust to take me home.

I live with a slovak and was told to expect a nice welcome, I left with a bitter taste for sure

[Claret Murph]

I would say we were lucky on the whole .

Now I would never see myself heading there agian but we had very little inter action with the locals . But we were happy to get out of the place as our apartment was poor to say the least and that would be kind to them .

[Réiteoir]

Even more bizarre was in the monster Tesco, where things were priced 149.70 Kr, even though the smallest coin is the 0.50 Kr piece (50 halier)!

Same in Norway - you get things which cost 3,90Kr rounded up to 4,00Kr

there is no such thing as a 10 øre coin

[citizenerased]

couldnt wait to leave bratislava, there was a very uneasy and unsafe atmosphere about, you could sense the cops were nearly hoping for trouble...the service was ridiculous, you would have sweared that they didnt want to make money at all..not a bit of foresight on them at all...I will never go back again(pending we dont play them again)....

[zinedineontour]

Got to agree with all the comments thought Bratislava was a bit of a kip and the bars and restaurants didnt want the service and i wont even start about the dubliner "irish " bar with the 8 bouncers outside ! The train journey was a nightmare though we got seats in the dining carriage after not leaving for 30mins with the bloke telling us we could not sit there with our bags.. ended up just paying for beer al the way down from them.. Prague was the total opposite genuine friendly locals decent boozers who welcomed the custom ...

[piggy]

I thought Bratislave was the biggest sh*t hole i ever had the misfortune of being in! Apart from the fact that we got attacked by a couple of thugs and the bouncers on friday night i just thought the attitude of the people was terrible. The staff in the pubs were ****ed off because the place was so busy and they didnt give a **** about service.

The police were also a disaster. They didnt care that we had been attacked and refused to give us their names or numbers so we could follow up. Sorted that problem by taking pictures of their badges with my phone.

My buddy is off to A&E this morning to get his broken nose fixed. The third world A&E in bratislava couldnt be bothered!

[Ash]

A mate of mine was there a year or 2 ago and couldnt believe all the bad
press I was giving it. I couldnt wait to get the flock outta there.

Bottom line was they equated us to English thugs/hooligans and were ready
to pounce at a seconds notice. A little bit of research on their part would
have worked wonders. All they achieved over the weekend was turn people
off ever visiting on a holiday in future!

[Green Tribe]

Glad to see you have recovered from the river dancing Saint Tom! :D
Only friendly people we encountered in Slovakia were our hotel staff esp the reception, they didn't even charge us for painkillers :o and were always very pleasant. Our taxi driver from the airport to hotel was sound enough and a good laugh. I can imagine that the rest of Slovakia would be different and people would be friendlier outside the capital, bit like most capitals of any country ;) We got ripped off by speedy gonzalez meters twice in Prague, Bratislava was ok taxi-wise. I really didn't like the troopers and the dogs at the brat game, I saw one dog getting out of control and jumping up on on a female irish fan with the cop trying to pull the dog away. It was a joke that the Slovak police were fining every fan at every opportunity, whereas the Czech police just took the ball of the fans in the square.
After the game in Prague that street where the shamrock was on was well dodgy, however the most abuse we got from anyone was from some aggressive skanger.

[citizenerased]

yeah i seen loadsa trouble outside the shamrock bar...knackers like that can stay at home in future...one of my mates got a box in the face from a dub when he was walking down the street...there is a real scum element creeping in to the away trips