Blogs from Slovakia, Europe - page 30

Today has been emotional, to say the least. It started out with a trip to Orava Castle, an absolutely beautiful castle/palace built on a hill in the Orava region, bits dating back as far as the 13th century, and still fairly intact. It was another sort of museum where you followed a guide around from room to room, without being able to wander freely, but I can certainly see why in this case. Not so much to protect from theft or anything as to prevent people from getting lost (the place is huge!) or hurt (there are still open archaeological excavations on site). Not only that, but it was raining, and wood and stone have a tendency to get slippery when wet. Next we ventured on to Podbiel, and stopped at the town hall. The travel ... read more

Wir sind wieder zu Hause. Die letzten Urlaubstage ging es beständig westwärts. Von der Zipser Burg, unserem östlichsten Punkt der Reise, ging es nach der Hohen Tatra und der Region Liptov für eine Woche in die Kleine Fatra. Dort erkundeten wir vor allem das Vratna-Tal sowie die Region Kysuce nördlich von Zilina (z.B. mit der Waldeisenbahn in Vychyloka). Unsere Rückreise führte uns über Bratislava und das Salzburger Land schließlich wieder heim ins "Ländle". Sehr empfehlenswert in der Gegend um Salzburg ist die Eisriesenwelt Werfen. Dabei handelt es sich um eine der größten Eishöhlen weltweit und wir waren sehr beeindruckt. Fotografieren war dort leider nicht erlaubt, stellvertretend dazu noch zwei Bilder aus der Dobsinska-Eishöhle im Slowakischen Paradies. Das Ganze muss man sich nur noch größer und gewaltiger vorstellen...... read more

This morning it was out to a few sites in the various districts of Bratislava. The first stop was a monument to the liberation of Slovakia after the WWII. I am sort of ashamed that I don't know more about the history of this area. And I have to admit that I find it hard to think of switching from Nazi occupation to Russian-led Communism as liberation, but it's an adjustment I'll have to make, mentally. Next stop was the Sandberg, a geological formation that is made entirely of sandstone, and that preserves a lot of the geological history of the area. Pretty nifty! Another running joke is how fast I'm going through sites here, as the average tourist is a) a fair bit older than me and b) not as fit (thank-you, Running Room!). And ... read more

Talk about confusion. Today has been full of it. To start, this is honestly the first time I've gotten horribly confused about European trains. I had to email my Slovakian tour company an ETA into Bratislava a couple of days ago, and used the Internet to figure out that I should be leaving Vienna from the Südbahnhof. Yesterday, though, I checked and my ticket to Bratislava says it's from Wien Westbahnhof to Bratislava via Kledering and Kittsee. Does such a train exist? No. Fortunately it's an open ticket, so no worries about time, which has been quite lucky. I got to the Westbahnhof and stared at the departure board for an extended period of time before realizing there was nothing departing for Bratislava. So I wandered over to the info desk and asked. Wrong station. Apparenty ... read more

Chilling day... read more