A Naïve Overview to Punting in Bratislava – version 1.0
steve naïve is not an expert on bratislava (ba). this report is based on organizing info from previous postings (thanks gents), mixed with observations from a recent short visit. information is unverified unless i give my experience. feedback and corrections from those who know is most welcome; if you pm me i will update this promptly and credit you.
for an english-speaking man on his own in ba with no local friends, it is a challenging place to visit. locals tend to speak slovak and maybe german (because of demand from nearby vienna). a few (hotels, restaurants, rare girls) speak some english. except for tourist restaurants, the menu is only in slovak, perhaps with a small subset translated and with pictures. despite difficulties, when you see the beautiful slovak women walking around, you will be motivated to try.
i did not see any professional service providers in or near stare musto (“old town”), aside from some guy’s pre-arranged meeting with an obvious escort, but you might get lucky with a non-pro there. consider lodging far northeast of old town (near to vajnorska ulica, area of hotel junior, or tesco hypermart (wherever that is) if your goal is nonstop sex. old town is cozy and a great place to relax between sessions if you’re more of a tourist looking for some spice.
the options, in order of ease for someone who speaks only english, are: escorts, clubs, sw, and privats. i saw no “lobby ladies” in the two hotels where i stayed (danube, forum). you might be able to find semi-pros or seduce a curious non-pro (especially if you are good-looking, exotic, etc), but it is difficult without a common language.
escorts (e100/hr and higher, may require minimum 2+ hours)
there are escort agencies on the web. clubs, privats, and sw often offer out-call services. your hotel may be able to arrange an escort (e.g. ask bellboy) but expect a higher price (i was quoted. e100 for one hour, e150 for two hours).
to find escorts (and privats too):
1. markabc posted a report in the prague wsgforum on april 20, 2003 that lists some slovakian escort agencies. if you use forum search and use keyword www.*********.com you can find it easily.
2. visit escort.sk, click enter (english), use system menu, choose edition -> bratislava. if you don’t do this you will see only czech listings.
3. buy “avizo” at the newsstand and find listings in the back (assume pictures are fake). or visit www.avizo.sk, choose “kontakty”, then choose “peep kontakty” to see online listings. some of these indicate “escort” service.
4. there may also be other ad-oriented papers; if you find others, please report here. i did not find sex ads in any of the regular newspapers, and i looked in about 8 of them.
clubs (reportedly 3500 - 6000 sk)
there are clubs with in-call services, and regular pubs and diskos. the clubs with in-call services often have strippers for entertainment and selection, an entry fee, higher prices for services.. search this forum for more information on cassanova, club new york, celentano (http://www.celentano.sk/ 10% off coupon on web site), big apple, mikoviniho, hotel junior. one report in this forum suggested avoiding moulin rouge because of a ripoff experience. another report says that hotel junior offers services. this place is a few km to the northeast of old town, nearer to new town, take a cab there. i bet the cab driver will understand you better if you say “you-knee-yor”.
big apple is very close to old town, on the north side. they wanted 500 skk to get in, and i was heading to laverna, so i did not bite. it’s at vyoska 22. from their ad i think they offer in-call services.
i visited laverna disko and found it full of many well-dressed beautiful women. none of them seemed interested in me, suggesting that they were not professional service providers. professional service providers always seem especially attracted to a certain bulge in my pants… my wallet. many of the best-looking ladies came with a boyfriend. i saw two beautiful women in tight mini-skirts who seemed uninterested in talking to any of the men… perhaps they were a couple, maybe they were there just to be scene and admired. the only person i could talk to in english was perhaps the most beautiful woman there, and she mostly served as an interpreter for her very large boyfriend, who stayed friendly (and bought me beers) as long as i did not admire her too much. there were also some women who were not stunning, just average, and they may have been looking for company.
to find laverna, go into old town from tesco (east side), look for mcdonalds, laverna is directly across the wide street. laverna gets going after 11:30pm on friday/saturday, get their a bit earlier to get a table. there was a modest admission fee – i think it was like 100 skk. beers were reasonably priced.
old town, just north of main square hlavne nam, has pubs el diablo (also serves mexican food) and dubliner. they might be good places to mingle with locals and travelers; probably a lot of english-speaking tourists are there, especially dubliner, which had karaoke going with “paint it black” (rolling stones). but you’re not here to meet tourists, are you?
privats (reportedly 1500 - 2500 sk)
there are several private flats with in-call services from one or more girls. you call them to get address, services, prices, availability, etc. some privats may offer out-call (escort) services. ask to see the girl before you decide to stay.
the problem i had was that none could speak english; playgirl1, for example chewed me out for not speaking german. here are possible strategies for overcoming the language barrier:
first, get a local sim for your mobile (the price will be made back by the savings from using privats instead of clubs or escorts). then:
1. hire an english-speaking cabbie and let him use your mobile to call for location, price, and availability. have him wait for you while you look at the ladies; leave quickly but politely if you’re not interested. if you go during the day the cab fare will be lower.
2. sms this message to the privat: “ulica? cislo? rijeni? sk/hodina?”. (means street? number? bell? price/h?) except for ulica, this is actually czech, but should be understood by a slovak. (anyone know the other slovak words?). get a good map and find approximate locations. head to areas with a few to choose from. you could also sms “english?” to find out more cheaply and quickly than calling.
to find privats, see the list above in “escorts” (especially aviso.sk and printed version of ad newspaper), or look in postings on wsgforum. www.playgirl.sk lists privats playgirl1 and playgirl2, but they did not want to deal with an english-speaking client.
sw (reportedly 300 - 1500 sk)
previous reports have suggested vajnorska ulica (major road a few km northeast of old town, can get there with trolly 4, 6), between istropolis and polus city center, as a primary sw area. you must watch for police; they may fine you for disturbing the peace. taking a taxi may reduce police problems. quality varies, but most services are available here.
another sw area is said to be tesco hypermarket and carrefour stores. there is a tesco at the east side of old town, but i don’t think this is the place, as i saw no sw there (and no carrefour) on two visits 22.00-00.30 friday/saturday. i think the right one is probably near petrzalka. lukasek says there are sw rating about 6 offering nearly any service, but warns of gypsies there (who may rob you).
whereas in prague most punters recommend against sw, no such advice has been posted on this forum (aside from a gypsy warning at petrzalka), but lukasek suggested it as an avenue of last resort or for budget services, perhaps for quality reasons. it has been suggested that there are sometimes beautiful ladies there, but not always.
personal ads
the printed version of avizo had ads from men looking for women. some men took out an ad in english. if you use english to place anad, perhaps the respondent will also know english. there are ads in the online version: www.avizo.sk, choose kontakty, choose a category under kontakty (not peep kontakty, which is escorts). i don’t know enough slovak to distinguish the kontakty categories.
credits
swed dude posted the great technique of smsing local words to gather privat information (in the prague forum).
lukasek suggested looking in local ads for privats and enlisting a local cabbie for help; also told me about pubs, laverna disko, sw, and offered general encouragement via pm.
many others posted information on places, prices, etc which i have merely summarized and organized. to those who listed addresses, web sites, phone numbers, etc: thanks!