Advertisement
Published: August 7th 2014
Bratislava 2 - 3 August 2014 2 August Saturday Budapest to Bratislava
We had a sumptuous breakfast in the Corinthia Hotel, our last meal of the APT Cruise in Budapest. I couldn't resist the omelettes again, and they were even larger than those on the cruise - 2 eggs in these ones. There was a huge array of fruit, cereals, cakes, hot food, and even champagne if we wished.
We cut it pretty fine, but somehow managed to break fast, buy stamps and post the post cards, say more goodbyes, order a taxi, get to the train station, buy tickets and board the train with two minutes to spare! Phew! The train tickets were pretty cheap - 38 euros. This train had individual 6 seat cabins even in second class. We shared with a young couple also going to Bratislava. They slept most of the way.
Another accomplishment was that our time in Budapest was experienced without having to buy the local currency of Forints, as even though in the European Union, they have not yet adopted the Euro. Our taxi driver was pleased as although he asked for Forints, he also took
Euros, and as the fare only equated to 8 Euros, we gave him 10.
Arriving at Bratislava, we decided to play safe and purchase our train tickets for tomorrow to Prague. The trains were running every two hours, so we chose a 4pm train and first class with reserved seats since it was a longer journey (only an extra 8 euros).
We also played safe getting a taxi since the map had no scale and we couldn't determine the traveling distance to the hotel. Well it was basically around the corner and a block and a half away, and 18 euros. We were ripped off I'd say.
The Hotel Loft was an easy check in, and our room on the third floor very spacious and comfortable, although nowhere near the salubrious standRd of the Corinthia of the night before.
With a little back and forward texting with Steve, we arranged to meet nearby, at the front of the Grassalkovich Palace. We were running a little late so didn't have the opportunity to appreciate the unusual sculptures in the palace gardens. It was good to see Steve again, and like us he had never been to Bratislava
before.
We spent the afternoon walking the streets of Bratislava, with a number of beer stops to cool us down. We walked through crowded squares, market lanes, a lovely shady stretch where chess was being played on a large paved board, and to where we could see the UFO tower at the end of one of the bridges. We then climbed the winding hilly paths and steps to the Hrad Castle. It was quite late, so we skipped the museum viewing and instead wandered around the walls and gardens to enjoy the views which were quite magnificent over the Danube and the town.
On the way down the hill, we decided to stop for an early dinner, since we had only had a liquid lunch. It was a place that had caught our eye on the way up the hill. Their offerings included wild boar, venison, duck, deer and numerous other choices. The restaurant is called Modra Hviezda. They had draft beer in tap which pleased Dave who isn't too keen on the bottled beer, and in fact, isn't too keen on the Bratislava beer at all. Our table was situated on a balcony amongst the trees on
the side of the hill, overlooking the town. The waiter was very friendly, which has been the case just about everywhere we have been. We started with liver pies, while Steve had sliced duck with citrus salad. Our "pies" were like little stiff pancakes folded like an omelette containing the liver, served with a yummy candied onion and small salad. Yumm! Next we had wild boar with orange sauce and mashed potato for me, while the boys had venison steaks with blackberries and cabbage. Also yumm. When we paid the bill, we were treated to a liqueur 52% proof and asked to guess what it was made of. Steve guessed well, raspberries, which grow along the river banks. It had a lovely nose, but what a kick when you drank it. We then traversed the rest of the cobbled down hill path. Probably not the safest walk. Actually, as we have noted on previous trips to Europe, the safety standards are a lot more relaxed than in Australia. For instance we came across a hole in a wooden platform used by many tourists and not a warning cone or roped off area in sight.
It was now early evening
and we walked to a church that Steve had seen earlier. It is called by two names, the Blue Church, and St Elisabeth's Church. Great architecture with its blue colouring and it's soft curves. We saw some stray kittens, which were obviously cared for as there was a large bowl of milk and some cat food left on a ledge next to a derelict building. Bratislava has a lot of derelict buildings, yet others that have been reconditioned very well.
The hour was now about 9pm, and after so much walking, and Steve's 3am start for his flight from Stanstead, we called it a day.
3 August Sunday Bratislava to Prague
We had breakfast and checked out by 9.45 am to meet Steve at 10am at St Michael's Gate. Weather was sunny and warm contrary to forecast of thunderstorms. Mind you it was very humid. We visited the oldest shop in Bratislava, which had some old cash registers, old petrol bowsers, various old shop wares, including many and varied coffee machines and grinders. Dave later purchased some traditional biscuits filled with walnut paste, from this store. Very tasty.
The first museum and
tower was closed until 10am so we walked on to the main square and walked through the markets looking for nick knacks, including adding to Steve's fridge magnet collection. With the size of them, Dave reckoned that a new fridge would need to be purchased, and Steve maintains that the fridge door won't close on its own anymore due to the weight of the magnets depicting all the places he has been.
Still not quite 11am, so a morning coffee was in order at one of the many market square cafes, sitting outside under the umbrellas. We watched the market square activities including the inactivity of an elderly gentleman sound asleep on a park bench. In his first pose his head was dropping forward and he had a steady stream of saliva from his mouth to his chest. In his next pose, he was stretched out on the bench with his head back and mouth wide open ready to catch passing bird droppings if he was unlucky.
We were then able to find some places open. First stop was an art gallery called Mirbachov Palace where we thought we were seeing an exhibition that looked quite interesting and
in abstract style. It was over 3 floors and barely an abstract to be seen. We found out later that the exhibition we were after was at a sister museum further along in the square. Anyway, it was an exhibition of art called the Tree of Life on 2 floors and traditional Slovanik art on the other floor. There was a popular art voting system where you could place a green ribbon on the motif next to the art piece you liked the best. The trees ranged from traditional country landscapes, to some more abstract, to family trees! On the traditional floor, there were two rooms panelled with oak with floor to ceiling paintings (prints) of religious scenes of all sorts and many artists. In these traditional rooms, each room had an amazing heater, usually ornate ceramic. In the centre of the building was a courtyard with a sculptured brass fountain. As a general statement, the viewing conditions in this gallery were of far lower condition compared to those in Brussels for instance. The building was very old with creaking floors and the rooms weren't humidity controlled. It was just like viewing someone's collection in a very old house.
As we neared the end of our viewing, it started to rain, in fact it started to hail which was amazing considering it was about 30 degrees. It slowed down a little so we went on to the next exhibition. On the way, we saw a beautiful bride having her wedding photos taken, with a galant man nearby with an umbrella. When they had finished, the bride negotiated the cobbled paving in high heels.
We went back to St Michael's Gate tower, climbed the steps and enjoyed the 360 views across the town. We also "enjoyed" the spectacular lightening and thunder as the storm continued its path across the town. It was a bit disconcerting to be high up, and standing next to metal rails, so we didn't linger too long. On the way back down through the levels, we viewed the collection or armory, and other war artifacts. Part of the entrance fee also allowed us to visit the pharmaceutical museum, which consisted of a few rooms with the original jars, drawers, etc of very old pharmacies. While we were in this exhibition, the storm really broke, and the rain poured down, so much so that one of
the windows started to leak with water pouring down the walls, promptly solved with wads of cloths in the window edges.
This was obviously the end of our outside activities since all three of us had been optimistic and come out without umbrellas or rain jackets. The only thing for it was to cross the lane directly into the nearest beer restaurant.
It turned out to be a good choice where we enjoyed hearty good quality meals at a very reasonable price. So we weathered the storm in the confines of this pub until the rain eased. Rather than chance any further sight seeing, we all headed back to our hotel since there was only about an hour before we needed to leave for the train. Unfortunately it did start to rain again so we got somewhat wet, but it was still hot so not unpleasant.
We enjoyed a quiet drink in the hotel bar before saying our goodbyes to Steve, and walking the 10 minutes to the station. The rain had stopped, so we only had to negotiate the puddles on the pavement. It was still really humid, and our luggage was heavy so the 10
minutes was a lot more difficult than it sounds. Oh, well, we walked off some of the extra kilos from lunch.
We have had a great stay in Bratislava, and it is a worthwhile place to visit again perhaps in the future. Cost of living appears to be very low. Drinks, food, museums and hotel cost were all very low.
The train ride to Prague is 4.5 hours. Somehow we predicted the wrong end of the train for the first class cabin (based on the configuration from Budapest), so it was a last minute boarding again as we pushed trough the crowds traversing from one end of the platform to the other with only a 3 minute station stop. It was a newish and clean cabin and we had plenty of room for us and luggage, although Dave's weight lifting skills have had plenty of work out, storing our 20kg suitcases on the overhead luggage racks. The only discomfort is that they seem to be conservative on using the air conditioning so it was hot and humid. It stayed this way until half way though our journey. At least they gave us numerous bottles of free water. Then,
by the three quarter point of the journey, the weather had changed, the skies were grey again, and the air conditioning was working so well that everyone was donning pullovers and shawls! You can't win.
Our booked taxi driver was waiting at Prague Rail Station with our name board (a service offered at low cost by our hotel). The Red and Blue Hotel is basic but comfortable and well located.
No need for dinner after such a big lunch, so after unpacking, we called it a night as it was now quite late.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 12; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0329s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
