Thermal Hotel & Camping Komarom

... was very limited reference to Halloween. Drats!

We make it to Bratislava with no problems. As typical, it is a cold night (below freezing). Sharon prefers for a drink & eat evening. We go to the Slovak Pub, very close to our hostel. As when I was in Bratislava before, the pub is packed with backpackers. The British Ryan Air groups are rowdy as usual. The food here is basic Slovakian done surprisingly well and $2 for .5L beer. We are at the hostel by 10.

... of buildings from the 1700s plus and a river that sits at its walls. Nothing remarkable but a decent place to chill for a day or 2. Very few people makes it a little dreary. Since we can't find any nightlife, we go to a very nice restaurant (no English menu) then call it a night. Sharon is filling queasy so it is probably the right move. We are staying at a nice hotel which makes for a nice change.

After a peaceful drive through Slovakia we arrived at the Hungarian border where we changed our money for Hungarian Forints. It's a little funny reaching all the more eastern countries borders because before they were part of the EU there seemed to have been really strict border crossing areas. Now they are all abandoned and open to the world. A little creepy actually.

There was a bridge to cross from Slovakia to Hungary and across the bridge there was a ...

... You could hear everyone's hysterical laughter bouncing off the walls outside the little underground hut.

The other day, we also got to go to the ruins of Devin castle, which is an Irish-sounding name to me. Anyway, it sits on top of this giant rock right where the Danube and Moravia rivers meet. It was in operation from the 800's or 800 bc's or something like that until 1809 when it was destroyed by Napoleon I. It had a commanding view of the rivers and valleys and ...

... got good and soggy and left feeling refreshed.

I wanted to see how Hungarians celebrate their national day so we went down to the park at Tatabanya. There were food booths, carnival rides, and vendors, but not a single Hungarian flag in sight. After seeing the plethora of Canadiana at our Canada Day celebrations, it was a little surreal to see all these Hungarians celebrating... what? A day ...

... had a good soak and enjoyed the people-watching (why is it that the majority of people who wear bikinis and Speedos are the ones who shouldn't? Combine that entertainment with the European tendency to avoid shaving/waxing and well, it was quite amusing.

On the way home we stopped at the strip of food kiosks along the shore of the lake at Tata for some langos and palacsinta. Even yummier than the night before.

... s a big hit in Hungary, I would hear it and see it many times during the week. The front desk is also the bar - you can get your key, buy stamps and drink vodka if you like. I discovered why it's called the Corner - it's on the intersection of two quiet streets that explode with activity twice a day. One of those times is 4:00 am, when the diesel buses down the street fire up. I'm meeting two of my students here, Heremon and Aideen. They're staying at ...

... over, passengers uniformly terrified. Nobody in this darkened train car, not even the conductor, can speak one word of English. I've been checking for signs at the stations as they roll by, but they're hard to see - and they're in Hungarian. My map is in English. If I miss my stop I could end up in Siberia. There is a large woman sitting alone, clutching her purse, eyeing me suspiciously. I get out my Michelin map, put on my most disarming smile and gesture to the map. Once it ...

Cesky Krumlov is one of our favourite places by far that we have visited. Imagine a beautiful little town with a beautiful castle on top of a hill overlooking it. A river twirls through the town and people raft down it stopping at little cafes and bars which have been set up on the side. The streets are tiny and cobblestone, and filled with little craft and food stalls. Its such a relaxing place. It actually felt like we on a holiday whilst here. We wandered through the castle and saw the ...

Bike Tour Day 3



Before departing Mosonmagyarovar, we visited a public spa, which was a very popular place for visiting Austrian and German tourist - they came by the busloads, enjoyed the fellowship of standing around in hot pools of water - then they had no modesty about showering together, men and women - naked to the world, yet it all occured so routinely that you ...