4 Countries in 4 Days

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Monday started in Hungary, Tuesday morning it was Slovakia, Wednesday began in the Czech Republic, and Thursday we were eating breakfast in Poland. No wonder I woke up some mornings and couldn't remember where we were! We felt like we were in that old movie, "If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium". (Not sure if that was the title of the movie, but you know what I mean.)

With so many hours spent on trains and buses, we only received a quick glimpse of Bratislava, Slovakia and Olomouc, Czech Republic. Bratislava had some beautiful old town squares with lovely art nouveau buildings that had recently been restored and painted. Olomouc's Town Hall and main square were very nice. This was once the capital of the area called Moravia. Both cities were nice and were good stopping points on our route to Poland.

In both cities, we stayed in old Communist era hotels. These are always an interesting experience. They are shabby reminders of the past and always have some interesting features. The hotel room in Bratislava was entirely decorated in carpeting. The floor, the nightstands, the built-in wall seats, and the chair were all covered in the same patterned carpet. In Olomouc, the windows were taped closed with packing tape and the bathroom was one of a kind. The built- in tub had a sink attached to its side. The drain for the sink fit into a hole in the side of the tub. The spigot could swivel for either the sink or the tub. It was most unusual and I had to take a photo to share this new design.

It was a very long day of travel, with delayed trains and slow trains, before we finally reached Krakow. After the last 2 hotels our new Ibis looked almost as good as a Hilton. Krakow was as lovely as ever and it was wonderful to be settled for 3 days before moving on to Zakopane, Poland.

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Photos

Bratislava
The round structure on the top of this bridge is a restaurant nicknamed, "the UFO".

Olomouc, Czech Republic - Town Hall - 1387
Olomouc was the ancient capital of Moravia.

Olmouc
The Communist government removed all the mechanical saints that ueed to move when the clock chimed and replaced them with statues of workers.

Olomouc - Trinity Tower
Tallest Baroque sculpture in the country.

Ultra-modern sink and shower combo
Some of the old Communist styling and decor amazes us. This was a first and hopefully our last such bathroom.

Comments

[L'il Bro]

Nice Weather
Hey Big Sis and Bro-in-Law, Looks like you guys had nice weather. Great pics as always. I just got back from GITMO on Sunday. Hope your travels are safe and wonderful. Love to you both. Jim and Jan

[Dorothy]

OK!!
Now I know what to do with the design of our second bathroom. A real money saver! Sounds like a fun adventure. The town looks interesting. How is the food?