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.

MORAVIA

Moravia is the eastern region of the Czech Republic - Bohemia the western. In less than an hour from Bratislava we arrived at Lednice, a little town once graced by the Liechtenstein family who built a chateau here and established Europe's biggest landscaped garden. We wandered around the part of the garden closest to the chateau - we decided this was as much of the 200 sq km we could manage. Being the off-season, there were few other visitors and we had a peaceful stroll around the artificial lake, across small bridged islands and to the minaret withn the chateau grounds. As this may be our last trip to the Czech Republic, we were keen to get rid of all our Czech Crown, so a trip to the supermarket bought some lunch and bits and pieces, packet at a time until we were left with only a few cents remaining.

TATRAS - SLOVAKIA

The High Tatras are part of the Capathian mountains and are the border between Slovakia and Poland. We drove to Poprad to find that the apartment we'd booked online actually was as good as the featured photo. It was close to the train station and the city centre and was big enough that we could have stayed comfortably for months.

From Poprad we took a train up to a small village on the slopes of the Tatras, Stary Smokovec - not much happening at present but as soon as the snow arrives I imagine it will be a busy ski village. We have generally agreed with the Lonely Planet descriptions, but today was not so successful. On advice from the guide book we took a bus to the small town of Zdiar to look at the painted log cabins. We should have known something was up when the woman in the tourist centre said there was no particular bus stop for the centre of town, the bus route stretched 6km with several bus stops in Zdiar. We checked with the very unfriendly bus driver who sold us tickets to Zdiar then drove straight through without stopping for us. There only seemed to be a few painted houses along the 6km  - glad we didn't get off and walk! We got off at the end of the line in a deserted village, snacked on bread rolls which we filled with salami and some very orange lookinng cheese, then caught the return bus back to where we had started.

Our communication problems continued back in Stary Smokovec when we thought we were ordering a goulash-type lunch and ended up with a huge goose drum-stick served on purple cabbage and partially cooked flat bread. Later that evening we discovered that unless you specify otherwise, the standard beer here is 700ml which costs around AU$1.80. It was a day of lovely sights but terrible indigestion.

The next day we drove back to Bratislava via Banska Bystricia which turned out to be one of those great unexpected finds that make your day on the road, and then on to Banska Stiavnica, a pretty town in a valley which has been mined for gold and silver for over 200 years. The whole town is Unesco-listed.

Banska Stiavnica



Banska Bystrica



INNSBRUCK

With Mum and Dad looking after Ruby in Bratislava, Oscr and I headed to Innsbruck, Austria for 2 nights. The flight took less than an hour and was beautiful coming in over the Alps. Given that we had had chosen Innsbruck as it was on the list of 29 euro flights and somewhere neither of us had been, we weren't sure what to expect. The city was stunning; the view from our hotel window was like a post-card, and the sunny weather made it all the more enjoyable.


The view from our hotel room.


On our second day we took a funicular train then a cable car up Hafelekar peak, the conditions were perfect; nice soft snow and gorgeous sunshine in which to enjoy it all. The views were fantastic so we sat up on the peak in the sunshine having a beer and meal for an hour or so. Just when we thought it was already perfect, two musicians arrived with their Alpine horns and set up on the snow to play.

We had some delicious meals in the Old Town, schnitzels, sauerkraut, venison and strudel. Ruby had enjoyed her time with Mamma and Dadda of course - not sure what she'll do when they return to Australia.