Originally Posted by
Romelle
I took the boat there, thinking of sort of drifting lazily down the Danube. It was a rushing thing with water splashing up in all directions. We were inside and couldn't see out of the windows because of the splashing water. You will get more scenery with a train.
Hydrofoils were not designed to be poncy barges, you know
I really liked the boat ride from Vienna. You do speed down the river quite fast, but it's charming to be on the open top in the sunshine and the wind rushing, and you can duck down below whenever you get cold, and go up when you get warm. On a train, you're stuck with being too hot. Plus the boat has good views of the riverbanks; you go past people fishing / picnic-ing / having a nude sunbath and lots and lots of trees with no humans around.
The downtown is small, but pleasant. You'll be charged extra for the privilege of a lager at an outside table, but it's still cheap. I ate the food and had no trouble. Outside the downtown, however, it's... less scenic
PS Never saw "Hostel", but Bratislava is comically featured in "Eurotrip", though I don't think it was actually filmed there. It's a pleasant detour from Vienna-- get you away from all the coffeehouses and fancy cathedrals!