LANGKAWI

We met Rebecca at the airport and flew to Langkawi together - a quick flight and arrived by 9.30am, although without any sleep the night before, it felt like 10pm at least. Our hotel is a bit tired and old but the pool more than makes up for the slightly crusty bathroom. It's hot here of course but not too humid and the afternoon storm is a lovely relief from the heat. We haven't seen much of the island and probably won't either. We occasionally leave the pool to go to the beach down the street and also to take an afternoon nap, life's hard!

 Hope you had great birthdays Emily, Bella and Georgia.

 

FRANKFURT AND SNOW!

Our flight home started in Frankfurt so we spent a night there to make getting to the airport easier and we're gad to have done so. Frankfurt doesn't have a lot to see but it's a nice city all the same. We enjoyed the Christmas markets and Ruby enjoyed the shop window displays in a large department store - like the Myer windows. The best thing however about Frankfurt was snow. It had snowed the night before we arrived so the trees were covered and there was enough on the ground to make a small snowman...just. Ruby didn't mind that it was wet and cold. We're so glad to have seen even a little snow before we left, just made it!

FAREWELL BRATISLAVA

We've come to the end of our time here unfortunately, we've really enjoyed Central Europe and Slovakia in particular. It is starting to cool down, snow is predicted for next week so perhaps our departure is well timed. Today we had one last walk around the Old Town and Ruby had one last run around the fountain.

We had our first look at the Christmas markets on Sunday night. The square was packed with people and stalls selling food and Christmas trinkets. Beside the huge christmas tree a stage had been erected where a folk band was playing. The mood in the square was festive and even though it was cold and dark, it seemed the perfect atmosphere for some mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and crepes. The water in the fountain had been covered with boards and young children were running around and around on the boards. Of course Ruby joined them running.

We leave tomorrw but have a couple of days in Frankfurt before meeting Rebecca in KL for 5 days in Langkawi. We're sorry to leave but also looking forward to being home soon to see you all.

ISTANBUL....NOT CONSTANTINOPLE

A 2 hour flight from Vienna took us to Istanbul for 4 days. After hearing that it was an over-crowded, city we didn't find getting around that difficult. Then we discovered we had arrived on the first day of Id - the Moslem celebration to end Ramadan which explained the quieter than normal streets. At home in Coburg I would have been aware that Id was coming up but we didn't realise from Slovakia. Many shops and sites were closed for the whole 4 days we were there, but on the bright side it  was easier to get around. The huge mosques dotting the city landscape seemed straight out of Arabian Nights and the call to prayer in the Old Town seemd to boom out from every direction. Given the number of mosques, it probably was coming from every direction. There were cats everywhere; chasing cats made a nice change for Ruby from chasing pigeons in Central Europe.



From the ferry, coming back to the European side



The men standing outside the restaurants trying to get our custom became tiring really quickly - a bit Bali-like (or even the city end of Lygon St), but I guess you've got to fight for business in such a big place. We stayed in the Old Town within walking distance of the main sites we wanted to see - Blue Mosque, Hagya Sophia (for the record not Saint Sophia), Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. We took a ferry 20 min across the Bosphorus - from Europe to Asia all within Istanbul. The Turkish were very friendly and not just the ones trying to sell us something, genuinely friendly and offering help with the pram, directions, ticket machines etc. Children seem to hold a sepcial place in Turkish society, so everywhere we went people tickled Ruby, played with her and gave her lollies. It reminded me of being in Indonesia with Rebecca when she was young. The hospitalty extended to restaurants where you were expected to drink tea, free of charge at the end of a meal and often to engage in conversation with the proprietor.  

The food was great, weather was superb - low to mid twenties everyday, and the people warm and welcoming. Turkey is definately a place we want to come back to and get around the whole country - another trip perhaps.

A quick catch up on postcards and baklava on the hill above Istanbul

HUNGARY

The Danube River continues from Bratislava along the Slovak-Hungarian border before turning southwards, through Budapest and into Serbia. We drove along the border to where the river bends, the area known, not surprisingly, as the Danube Bend, through Szentendre and Esztergom before stopping in Visegrad - a small town of less than 2000 people with very little happening, but with a few huge hotels; it must be a popular summer spot I think. Perched above the town is the actual Visegrad (castle)...another one. Built over the original 4thC Roman fortress, the castle survived the invading Mongols only to be destroyed by the Turks and the replacement castle destroyed by the ruling Habsburgs to prevent Hungarian independence fighters from using it. What remains is still very impressive, strategically set on a cliff on the bend of the river with great views.

We continued into Budapest but didn't intend on going into the city centre so booked a hotel on the northern side. As the GPS directed through an industrial area in middle of nowhere we started to worry. After rechecking the GPS we realised there were two 'Szonyi' streets and the one we were approaching was not near our hotel at all. I should have used the co-ordinates instead of the street name! We got there eventually well after dark (although it's dark at 4.30pm so probably not too late).


The next day we visited "Aquaworld". The Hungarians are really into swimming and water sports, there are lots of pools and thermal baths here. Aquaworld was the most amazing pool complex I've seen. I wish the Victorian Government had built something like this instead of billions on a failed public tranport ticket system!
There was a lane pool, a pool with jets, a wave beach, outdoor thermal pools, water slides, kids pools with slides and a simulated surfing section. Needless to say we were there for hours.

From Budapest we drove to Sopron - almost on the Austrian border. The Turks never got this far so the town had a different feel. Apparently this is a popular spot for Austrians to come for cheap dental and cosmetic work - there were a lot of dentists is town. It was only 90 minutes back to Bratislava.

KAMZIK HILL - BRATISLAVA

Just out of town is Kamzik Hill with a TV tower on top we can see from our upstairs deck. From the top there are about 450km of trails through the forest. The day we visited there were some mountain bike riders making their way up the steep tracks only to fly down again at perilous speeds. Ruby made use of Martin's pack for a free ride.

BYE MAMMA & DADDA

Once the bus departed, only a doughnut and trip to the park could lift Ruby's spirits.