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Is English sufficient to communicate in tourist places in Bratislava (musea, buying tickets, restaurants, receptions in hostels)? Should I expect that English would be generally understood in that places, if not by all personnel, then at least one English-speaking employee would be present there?
As a fallback option I have German and my native Polish (there are many similarities, but mutual understanding usually requires a lot of patience, concentration and good will).
Bratislava is pretty much like most former Eastern Bloc locations in my experience.
Especially in cities, most people who were teenagers at the end of communism have learned English to some degree. Most older people have not.
This means there is no shortage of people up to about age thirty with pretty good English who can fill the jobs in the tourism industry: hotels, museums, etc. When you need to communicate with random people not in tourist-facing jobs, pick younger looking people.
In country areas outside Bratislava it will be a little more difficult.
And obviously if you know any Slavic language (Croatian, Polish, Russian, etc) you will be able to find a way to communicate with anybody who doesn't know English pretty easily. Asking for directions or help with a flat tyre doesn't require the finesse of translating poetry or being a professional interpreter after all. There's just a bunch of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary you might find to quaint, cute, funny, or annoying - and they will think the same of your speech. Keep out the slang and don't talk too fast. Polish and Slovak are relatively close even amongst Slavic languages I believe.
I've been there twice, and for the most part, had no trouble navigating around in English. Most tourist places, shops owners and young people all spoke some English.
Oh, and don't mention the movie "Hostel", some don't appreciate the image that and "Eurotrip" have given their city ;)
As far as I know, English, German and Polish is about as good language combination as it can get going to Bratislava.
In a big city such as Bratislava, most young people will speak English. Maybe not fluently, but good enough to communicate.
Most older people, who speak any foreign language, speak German. Some also speak Russian, but they turn unfriendly when hearing that language (be it for historic reason or more recent "invasion" of the "new Russians").
With Polish you can communicate if there is enough of good will on both sides, just keep in mind that there are great many false friends. For example:
Whilst I have never been to Slovakia, I have quite a few Slovak friends here in the UK, their spoken English is fine. Similarly I have been on holiday to quite a few European resorts where a number of Slovakian people work in the hotels, and bars close by. They all speak English without problem.
In fact I asked one Slovakian girl whilst on holiday recently how she learnt English, her response was simply from watching TV.
For absolute sure you will have no problem with communicating in English in Bratislava with young Slovaks.
On a side note it wouldn't surprise me if many Slovaks can also speak German as a secondary language.
You should be just fine.
