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Last Day in Bratislava

10/26/2018

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It's Friday, our last day in Bratislava.  We must check out of our hotel by 10 am and our train leaves at 3:50 pm.  The hotel allows us to store our backpacks and we walk into the Old Town to an Irish pub that advertises an Irish Breakfast. We arrive just as they open and are the only people in the place during much of our meal.  The staff uses the quiet time to decorate for Halloween.

Following breakfast we stroll through town to Grassalkovich Palace which is the residence of the president of Slovakia.  There are barriers setup, a military band, other military units and a large press group all inside the gates.  A group of onlookers three or four deep extends around the barriers.  Everyone is waiting for something to occur.  We stand around for a bit, but decide not to wait since we don't know when something will happen.

We move on to the second stop we planned, the garden behind the Palace.  Drat!  The gates are closed.  Probably for the same reason everyone is assembled at the Palace.  Later we learn that the Emmanuel Macron, the President of France is in town to meet with Andrej Siska, the President of Slovakia.

We stroll a little further, taking a rest in a city park before returning to the Old Town and what we have planned as our third stop, the Nedbalka Art Gallery.  The Nedbalka focuses on Slovak 20th century and contemporary art.  The four floors hold 120 - 150 pieces.  We are handed an iPad with notes about the pieces and informed that our admission fee includes a beverage in the second floor coffee shop.  We make our way from the top down.  The art pieces are interesting, though most are not what I'd hang in my house, not really appreciating a great deal of contemporary art.

Following a relaxing coffee and tea in cushy chairs we leave the gallery.  We walk up to the salesman for the small trams which offer tours.  We think we'll sit back, relax and learn more about Bratislava as the vehicle takes us through town and up to the castle and back. Double Drat!  They are not able to offer that tour due to the road closures caused by President Macron's visit.
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We sit in Hlavné námestie, the Old Town square, plotting how to spend the next couple of hours until we collect our backpacks and catch our train.  We notice that the square is busy and there are a growing number of groups of men ages 20-30.  Bachelor parties!  We choose to have small(er) beverages at two different cafes/pubs and people watch.  At one we run into a bachelor who is soon to be married.  He's dressed in bride attire and his group of 10 friends seem to be thoroughly enjoying it.

​Gathering our backpacks, walking to the train station and catching our train to Budapest goes without issue other than the usual anxiety about finding the right track and the right car.  We are very tired when we arrive in our Budapest apartment.  I glance at the walking app on my phone and see 14,086 steps, 5.3 miles for today.  No wonder we're tired!

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Exploring Bratislava

10/25/2018

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William enjoys a breakfast of eggs and sausages or bacon, which isn't all that easy to find in most European cities, and Bratislava is no exception.  Google maps finds a couple of places in the Old Town, so that's where we walk.  The café that we choose has eggs, but is a little more foo foo than we expected.
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After breakfast we walk back past the ApartHotel Virgo and continue up the hill to Bratislava Castle.  The castle was constructed in the 9th through 18th century, then reconstructed in the 1950's and 60's.  We walk around the castle and enjoy the views then return to Old Town.
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We walk along the old city walls to St. Martin's Cathedral.  We've been enjoying it's towering spire since we arrived in the city.  The interior is beautiful, and it is easy to image the pageantry of the coronations which occurred here over the centuries.
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We're hungry.  We walk past Cumil (the Man at Work statue) and find Koliba Kamzik restaurant for a late lunch.  The place is picturesque, with it's checkered tablecloths and the food is wonderful.  We roll out the door feeling very full.
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As we walk through the Old Town we come across Cuba Libre Cigar bar.  William cannot resist.  He buys a couple of cigars and we sit down in the lounge while he smokes one and we sip on Oban scotch.

​We head back the the ApartHotel to relax.  We aren't hungry until 8:30 pm.  We stop in the local bar/restaurant and quickly find out that they (and most restaurants) stop serving food at 8 or 8:30 pm.  Flashback to Ireland where we had the same trouble getting dinner after 7 pm!  We walk down to the corner mini-mart, pick up some cheese, salami, rolls, wine and beer.  We'll picnic in our hotel and watch Netflix.
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A "Break" in Bratislava

10/24/2018

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We decide to take a little break and travel to see Bratislava, another European capital along the Danube.  I make the train reservations using the local Hungary Rail website, finding it is a 30-40% discount to the RailEurope site I normally use from the US.

Wednesday we catch the 9:40 am train from Budapest's Nyugati station. Before boarding we have a few minutes to share a langos with garlic, sour cream and cheese.  Mmmmm.

It's a direct train from Budapest to Bratislava, which then continues on to Prague.  For a while the train parallels the Danube and we see old towns on the riverbank and restored citadels on the top of hills.  After 2 1/2 hours looking at the countryside through a light rain, our train pulls into Bratislava Hlavna Station.

We can't check into our hotel for 45 minutes and it's supposed to continue misting for an hour more so we find a small nearby restaurant for a beverage and relax until check-in time at the ApartHotel Virgo.  We have a two bedroom apartment with a balcony looking over a courtyard.  We don't plan to cook in the apartment, but it is nice to have the frig and kettle as well as the separate living space.

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After settling in we decide to explore the area below Bratislava Castle as we make our way to a restaurant that is open early for dinner. Along the way we get our first glimpses of St. Stephens Basilica bell tower and the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising, complete with it's UFO Observation Deck/Restaurant hovering over the Danube.

After climbing up cobblestone streets we arrive at the restaurant, Modra Hviezd.  It is charmingly small, just a main bar / dining area and three small rooms which are really alcoves build with stone walls and curved brick ceilings.  We're shown into an alcove.  Fall is the season for duck, and roasted duck with buttery pancakes and red cabbage is a special.  I can't resist but William is in the mood for beef and chooses a steak for his entree.  After sitting and relaxing over a beer and glass of wine our entrees arrive, the duck with incredibly crispy skin and meat below that releases steam as I cut into it.  William loves his steak with a delicious mushroom sauce and dumplings served on the side.
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Full from our delicious meal we stroll/roll back downhill to find the ApartHotel Virgo.  We're tired.  Although much of the day was spent on public transportation - streetcar, train and taxi, my pedometer tells me that we still managed to do almost 8,000 steps. In addition we find travel days to always be tiring.  We crash on the couch watching Netflix using former guest Myrna's account (apparently she didn't sign out when she left).  Sleep comes easily.
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    Hi.  I'm Anne.  I wander around the world with William.


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Photo used under Creative Commons from A Vahanvaty