Chopin Airporthotel Bratislava

... determined that we weren't leaving Budapest without going to one of the baths - that's what you do there and we were going to do it, no matter how **** we felt. The walk there seemed to take forever and we finally got there, waited in line to get tickets and by the time we got in, only had 30 minutes to spend in the baths. We went to the Gellert one which is meant to be the most opulent. It was confusing to find our way into the pools and then we could only find a cold ...

... Square where we saw Old Town Hall. There were also a lot of side carts selling everything from Shrek tea to Slovakian lace to wooden toys. We sat on a bench and enjoyed the funny old town trolley passing by and then proceeded to walk up and down Michael's Street trying to find things like the birthplace of Liszt, the building where Mozart played at the age of 6 and the first university in Slovakia. After walking the footsteps ...

... was bad. No worries, I had an extra day on my train pass anyway that wasn't accounted for, so it wasn't a problem to switch to the train. My biggest tactical error in Bratislava was to think that I knew better than the travel info lady. She advised that I take the tram to the city centre to find my hostel - I decided to walk because the weather really was nice. I don't regret the walk - I needed the exercise, and I got some air (note how I don't say ...

... times traveling are those days like today when you wake up with a new destination in mind but have no clue how you are getting there, no clue where you are staying once there and no clue how to even find your way around the place. I arrived at 10pm in a place with a strange language and still with some evidence of the old Soviet style and feel totally in my element in a place off the beaten path. This is going to be a great place to explore. What a difference a day makes.

... Querying it a few times with an increasingly irate ticket attendant (yes this was to Vienna in AUSTRIA and yes it did only cost 8.5 Euros and yes it would only take an hour). Hold on! An hour? A long overdue look at a map did indeed show that Vienna was actually just round the corner - No sleepers indeed! Obviously this did present us with another (now familiar) problem. We would now arrive in Vienna, one of the most ...

... adorning all the rooms and hallways, it even had its own private chapel which seemed as though it was still in use. Quick bite to eat and we jumped in a topless car (with dodgy little wheels, they were not straight thats for sure, stayed tuned for photos) for a tour. We quickly realised why the wheels weren't straight´- the cobblestone streets were horrendous, very bumpy ride, but very informative and nice way to see the little streets. We ...

... and arranged to purchase boat tickets, changed currency once again, of course all in a new language, returning home to do laundry. Rick wandered off to the castle on his own, enjoying randomly choosing this street over that, encountering a dead end where he hopped a fence, walked a drainage ditch, and ended up on the castle wall where he had to scramble/slide down.

... than the former, but it was. And that isn't saying much. It turns out Slovakian cuisine isn't one of the national high points: the cheese was sharp and tangy without any real favor, and the dumplings lacked flair. The dill sauce was bland, and the meat a bit dodgy, so the highlight was probably the potato pancakes. We tried to rectify our vision of Slovak cooking by rounding out the meal with some poppy cherry strudel, but that, too, was uninspired. This ...

Hello and good evening, this is Bratislava calling... Well the music here in Slovakia certainly has more than a touch of Eurovision to it. Honestly, it's Eurovision everyday in the bars and restaurants. Poptastic!! After a bit of a downer in Hungary was very relieved to get to Bratislava and find it's beautiful and exciting to be here - if quite difficult at times! The language is proving more of a barrier, far fewer people here have much English although luckily so far ...

... and I had some the good maps, it was we agreed we hook up. More beer then bed. Hill top church Warning, cowboys.. Cakes galore, high in fat - but low in guilt 11 Aug, Thursday Start point: Jelenec End point: Zvolen Via: Zarnovica Odom(Km): 108.81 Moving(hrs.mim): 6.50 Ave(Km/h): 15.9 Total Ascent(m): 1509 Max Altitude(m) 774 Max Speed(Km/h): 52.7 They think differently over here. On a number of occasions I stand at a junction ...