Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.  

First of all, I’d like to introduce myself – my name is XY and I have been asked by management of our travel agency to brief you on the Capital of Slovakia – the place where you will spend next 8 days.            

I’ll begin by presenting the agenda of my presentation. It gives me a great pleasure to brief you firstly on history of Bratislava with focus on historical milestones.
Second part of my presentation is devoted to current days´ Bratislava.  I’m going to inform you on shopping opportunities and culture and, last but not least, on practical matters of everyday life in the city to provide you with several valuable advice, which will make your stay more comfortable and enjoy your time. 
Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to guided tours and guide books, which might help you to gain deeper knowledge about our Capital.  
Well, let me start with some dates of the major influence.   
the first note about Bratislava goes back to 400 years B.C. when Celtic settlement called Opidium was established on the current territory of Bratislava in the first century Bratislava becomes a part of fortification of Roman empire called Limes Romanum 

• in 9th – 10th century it is a part of Great Moravia Empire 
• from 1000 Bratislava is a part of Hungary 
• in 13th century Bratislava was given town privileges 
• in 1405 – Bratislava becomes a free royal town
• in 1465 – Academia Istropolitana, the first university in central Europe was established by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. It still can be found in Venturska Street and its facilities are used as a University of dramatic art
• mid 16th – mid 18th Bratislava is the Capital of Austro – Hungarian Monarchy
• in 1918 – Bratislava becomes a part of Czechoslovakia  

These were the most significant points of Bratislava history.  
Now I would like to turn to more or less recent history, which I hope would bring back nostalgic memories.
Here you can see Bratislava of the beginning of the previous century:

• the flight of Zeppelin above Bratislava       

Next slide shows

• the building of  Slovak national  theatre in the time of Nazi occupation

The view of City center in 1954 The famous milk bar Peace and quiet of the right bank of the Danube, which has extremely changed Untraditional building of the Slovak broadcast, which was projected as a reversed pyramid TESCO K-mart PRIOR Main railway station Stadium Pasienky – now very popular with HZDS UFO dominating site – restaurant above the bridge of Slovak national uprising And slopes of the Little Carpathians And something more: Typical of everyday life - queuing for everything Public security vehicle Voucher for exclusive shopping Neverending celebrations of Labor Day And neverending ceremonies with pioneers involved No comment Warning – be on guard! And where we could have been by now... And the best is yet to come..... Let me proceed to the next stage of my presentation. I ´d like to inform you about shopping opportunities, culture events and festivals and give you some  useful tips on where to spend time in the evening and several advice on  how not to get in trouble.  
First – shopping. Bratislava has several large shopping malls, all located near the centre and accessible by car or public transport – AUPARK across the river from the Old Town and POLUS on Vajnorska Street, or AVION shopping park near the airport.  They all have a variety of shops of all kinds, restaurants and multiplex cinemas.  For Slovak wines, try the wine shop TRUNK on Zupne square (near Michael’s Gate}, and many more in the city centre. Souvenir stalls are located in the Main Square of the Old Town and on Hviezdoslav‘Square in front of the Carlton Hotel. For traditional folk products, also visit ULUV in Obchodna Street.  In Laurinska Street, in pedestrian zone you will find a high quality glass and crystal shop, selling mostly famous Slovak glass from Lednicke Rovne. It offers an excellent value for money. Second – culture. Bratislava, recently called ‚ the perfect place for a night at the opera‘ by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, has rich cultural traditions related to classical music. The opera in B. is popular with international visitors for its quality and reasonable prices. To enjoy concerts of classical music you can go for an event in one of several music halls – like Slovak National Philharmonic Orchestra in REDUTA, or Bratislava castle Music Hall, or Klarisky in the city centre. Bratislava Music Festival with international participation is organized on a regular basis in September. In summer, do not miss the opportunity to see some of the events of famous Bratislava culture festival ‚Culture summer‘– often typical of open air performances. Annually, there is a CORONATION CEREMONY held in September in St. Martin’s Cathedral to revive the times when Hungarian Kings [and Queen Maria Therese] were coronated in Pressburg, which was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It is followed by the whole day celebrations in the city centre.   Third – night life. As for night life, there is a wide variety of places to go and events to see. One can visit the clubs of all types, for jazz the top spot is Metro Club near the Forum Hotel.

A hugely popular spot is the CIRKUS BAROK, a dance club and a bar with several floors in a ship anchored on the Danube bank. For those enjoying electronic styles there is a newly opened chill-out bar RADOST, or the ones with a curiosity value are U-Club – a former nuclear fall-out shelter or BUDDHA BAR. The DUBLINER’s IRISH PUB is popular with English speaking folks and serves Irish as well as Slovak drinks and food. If you are interested in the more exotic restaurant offerings {Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Middle Eastern} Bratislava with its net of ethnic restaurants is the right place for you.   Lastly – tourist safety tips. Bratislava is a very safe city, but like always, a few warnings are in order. There is a very little violent crime in B. , the worst that can happen is running into a rowdy or a drunk , but guns are very rare. Most of the town is covered with police cameras. Like in every tourist area there is petty theft and confidence games, there are some pocket thieves downtown, a common trick involves creating diversion aimed at distracting your attention. Downtown, there are sometimes organized gangs, who surround you, and before you realize, your wallet may be gone.  There are a few beggars out in the streets. However, don’t you feel bound to give them something. Some racially motivated attacks against Gypsies, Africans and Arabs have equally occurred in recent years, exercise extreme care if walking alone at night. . Public transport is very safe. Car theft is as common in B. as elsewhere in the region. If you drive your car or rent one, use guarded parking garages or hotel parking. Once you DO get in trouble, call 112 for integrated emergency service or 159 for city police. The calls are free of charge.    Finally, I’d like to focus on sightseeing and inform you on Bratislava guided tours with qualified guides in foreign languages. We invite you to visit Bratislava Old Town, Bratislava Castle and the ancient Devin Castle. We offer shorter Half Day Tours of Bratislava, which is 2.400 Sk per 3hrs. Sightseeing includes the Old Bridge and the New Bridge over Danube, Government Palace, Presidential Palace, National Bank - the tallest building in Bratislava, Slavin Memorial Monument and B. castle. Walking tour includes St.Martin’s Cathedral, Michael’s Gate Tower with exposition on medieval arms, Academia Istropolitana, Primatial Palace and the Slovak National Theatre.

Bratislava City Full Day Tour, which costs 4.000 Sk per 6hrs covers everything stated previously, but also includes a visit to the Devin Castle followed by a ship trip to the Old Town.

If interested in nature, you definitely should decide for the whole day Small Carpathian Tour, which is 5.000 Sk. A bus will take you through the wine-growing region at the foot of the Small Carpathian Mountains to the astonishing Driny Cave. You will also visit the beautiful Cerveny Kamen Castle and you will taste some of the best wine of this region in a picturesque wine-making village Svaty Jur.  

To find out more detailed information about Bratislava, we have selected several good guidebooks and background reading for you:   Rough Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republics Insight Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republic Lonely Planet Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republic Blue Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republic Bratislava and Slovakia   Well, I hope I have provided you with sufficient information on historical background, and gave you an idea of the opportunities that Bratislava can offer in the sphere of shopping, culture, entertainment, and I equally believe that some practical advice on everyday life that you have just heard may also come useful. All in all – I’m convinced that you will be satisfied with your stay and you will have the time of your life in Bratislava. If you have any questions, please, feel free to ask me now.