Fish in the Danube

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After leaving Prague we found ourselves in Bratislava, which is a much smaller city with not as many sights as Prague, but with far fewer tourists. In fact I don't think we've ever seen a city as overrun with tourists as Prague!

We spent our time in Bratislava aimlessly wandering the streets, the best way to soak up the atmosphere. From the old cobbled lanes and ancient squares, to the huge castle on the hill near town, which was described in our guide book as looking like a four poster bed, and I have to say they are not wrong.

On Monday morning we boarded our much anticipated boat to take us from Bratislava to Vienna. The trip would be along the mighty Danube. Although the Danube does not appear to be blue, after peering into its murky depths, we are almost certain we saw fish.

After arriving in Vienna and badgering immigration for another stamp in our passports we set out to find our room. 2 hours later (and with incredibly sore shoulders - our packs are not light!) we found it and set off to explore the heart of one of the greatest empires there has ever been. Vienna certainly is an impressive imperial city, with more spectacular buildings than we have ever seen in one place. The sight of these buildings is made even more dramatic by the grand parks dotted around the city.

The next few days have been spent by either wandering the city, relaxing in Vienna's famous coffee houses, trying not to spend too much time in museums (they are bloody expensive, and we don't want to get "museumed out" before we've even reached Italy). We also spent today searching for the elusive Chinese Embassy, but we found it and and now have our last visa, yay!

With all this new found time on our hands, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot spend our whole time dedicated to travel and exploration. Therefore we have decided to get some hobbies. Not completely sure what these will be but we will keep you posted. I quite fancy learning to knit, although a little embroidery may go down well with the lads at home.

Well we best be going, we have noodles to cook (we have also realised we cannot be eating out every night)

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Photos

Bratislava Courtyard
There are some beautiful old courtyards in the Slovakian capital

Bratislava Street Scene
On of the streets of Bratislava's old town

On the train from Praha to Bratislava
Enjoying some breakfast in the dining car on the train. The food is surprisingly not that bad! It does seem that train travel is quite a classy and comfortable way to travel. Slow, but classy.

Castle on Danube
A view from the boat to Vienna, near the Austrian border

On the Danube
The guy that took this actually could have run away with the camera, but where could he go!?

National Library Vienna
Wandering around the Imperial Palace grounds

The Great Hall in the National Library
Ross's idea of heaven! Well, except for the fact he can't read any of them, they are all in German

Volksgarten in Vienna
One of Vienna's parks, full of monuments and impressive statues

The Butterfly Haus
Tormenting the wildlife

Comments

[Teena]

Hey Lynda, Ross I've been to Vienna a couple of times for work and love the city - it was so cool reading about your adventures in the city. Glad to hear you guys are having fun!

[Raynor]

Elusive Danube
Hello there, Enjoyed your photos and journal. The Danube isn't what it seems, apparently. I must have crossed it dozens of times before I worked out what it was, with its name signposted in German, which is NOT Danube. Have sympathy on the backpacks, always heavier than they should be. Best advice: Don't buy books. Love, mum