Floating down the river

No classes today due to a scheduled excursion to Bratislava for a trip up the Danube to Devin Castle. Luckily for us, Anna, the English speaking German young woman whom we befriended, mentioned that we needed to be in the lobby at 8:00 to board the bus, not 8:30, which is listed on the schedule.

We mentioned that we hadn't seen any change on the board, and she said that the change was written in Slovak, not in English.  Hmmmmm......

In any event, we were ready to board on time.  We noticed that the rest of the group had blue bags filled with fruit and other items. At this point, Katarina informed us that it would be a good idea for us to register for lunch tomorrow so that we would have a bagged lunch since, tomorrow's trip will not have any place nearby to eat lunch. Apparently, we were supposed to have done that for today.......only no one informed us.  We are definitely out of the loop when it comes to receiving information.  

In any event, please note that I am smiling, because I am really trying to make the best of this situation.  Amy, Anna and I were the only ones to sit up on the deck for the boat trip on the river.  Everyone else was huddled in the lower cabin due to the "cold" weather.  I mentioned that today's temps were hotter than any than I experienced in Scotland, and, even though it was raining, there was a roof on the boat.

We enjoyed the solitude of sitting alone upstairs, and really took in the beauty of the area surrounding us.

We managed to tour Devin castle before the rain began to fall heavily.  One of the amazing features is a well in the center of the castle that is 55 meters deep.  The guide took a cup of water and poured it into the well, and I counted to 10 until we could hear it splash in the bottom of the well.  The sound of the splash echoed up through the well.  Pretty cool, actually.

Here you see Amy standing in the ruins.  That is Anna in the background on the right, and note the sunflowers in bloom in a field in the distance, which is Austria.  It really is a beautiful view.

Above you see the point where the Danube and the Moravian rivers meet.  That is the "virgin tower" that you see jutting straight up.  I'd tell you the story behind the name, but since Amy and I had two different translations from two different people, I'm not quite sure which is correct.  The long and short of it is that the tower involves a young woman who decided to jump from it.  The who and the why are questionable at this point.  

Here you can see Austria in the distance.

After our trip through the castle, we boarded the bus for a ride to Bratislava.  We separated from the group to enjoy lunch in the restaurant on the castle grounds.  We had several hours on our hands until we needed to meet the group for the return trip, but it was pouring down rain, so we headed to Tesco, now called My', pronounced Mee in Slovak, to buy some things. 

The best buy of the day was a fan!  Only 8.9 Euro.  How is that for a steal?

Tomorrow we head out for a trip to a Castle that is closed, and a walk through a cave.  Sounds, exciting, don't you think?  I just hope that we signed the right list for lunch, or we are in big trouble.

Always be Prepared for Some Excitement!

Today was a solo adventure for Amy & me. Helga informed us last night that she would be going to the market in the morning and that Amy and I could go into the city alone. After reviewing the bus lines for the easiest route, Amy and I felt up to the challenge.

So, we began the day with a fabulous breakfast made by Helga.

According to Helga, the American translation for this breakfast delight is "Sandwich". I can't remember the Slovak name, but I will tell you that it was really quite tasty. And the raspberry yogurt tasted more like dessert than breakfast, but who's complaining! Let me just mention that the coffee is fabulous as well!

But, really, enough about food.

We hopped the bus, exited at the President's Palace and headed towards St. Martin's Cathedral.

It was still early, and the temps had not gotten out of control yet, so the walk to the Cathedral was quite pleasant. Here you see Amy standing on the steps at the base of the Cathedral. I am still trying to adjust to the new camera that I brought with me. She really did look much closer through the view finder!

Just for the record, the interior of the churches are not air-conditioned. They tend to be only a bit cooler than the outside, unless one ventures down into the crypts.

That's all well and good, but really, who wants to hang around dead bodies for any extended length of time just to stay cool?

We headed out and didn't make it too far when we decided to cool off with an iced coffee at McDonald's. I know that I swore that I would never enter a McD's in another country, but this one offered a scenic view, delicious iced coffees AND........Air conditioning! Who could resist that combo? Plus the prices were extremely reasonable.

A bit more sight-seeing and we found ourselves at Michael's Gate where we decided to view the museum. I thought the prices were rather steep for viewing swords and some artillery, and the place was stuffy and hot, and as we made our way up stairs and more stairs, it only got steamier.

But then, we found ourselves at the top. There was an open door, and we walked outside to find an absolutely spectacular view of the city!

The view was well worth the price, heat and climb to the top. Plus, the volunteer on the 3rd floor informed us that the ticket was also good for the Museum of Pharmacy. Two for one price, she boasted.

Now, could you beat that?

So, we headed over to that museum which was only a few doors down from Michael's Gate. The woman inside was not even a little bit friendly, but she was probably roasting inside, so who can blame her for not being cheery? It could have been the heat, or it could have been the group of Americans who were apparently touring the city earlier in the morning. Who really knows?

The place was filled with decanters of herbs and oils dating back for centuries. Surely an alchemists dream. I would have taken some photos, but the crabby attendant was following us around, and I didn't want to annoy her anymore than she already appeared to be.

So, off we headed, back to the bus station, so that we could meet Helga in her flat. The plan was to go to the "garden" to see her "Mam" who was really looking forward to our visit.

So, Amy and I were headed back to Helga's on the bus when suddenly, we heard this extremely loud BANG, the bus stopped suddenly, and I spotted a spark just outside the window where Amy was sitting. I don't know if I mentioned that the buses actually run like the trolleys with attachment to an overhead wire, so they run on electricity.

I suppose with enough heat, anything can happen, and so, today, the connecting wire broke away from the bus, several blocks from our destination, and I could see the live wire tossing and turning from above.

Exciting, don't you think? Out on our own, heading home....pleased with our ability to get in and out of Bratislava successfully, anxiously awaiting our destination, only to find ourselves trotting along the road toward's Helga's flat. Because, it was obvious that there would be no bus coming to the rescue, because there is only one connection line on either side of the road.

So, about a half an hour later, after traipsing along in the hot sun, we finally arrived at our destination. We gulped down some water, refused food from Helga because we were so hot, and headed back out with Helga to the garden as planned.

Helga's mother lives in a small two room structure on a small piece of land that has trees and room for some fruits and vegetables. Helga's father bought it many years ago so that he could have a place to garden. When he retired, he moved into this small house, and after he died, about 5 years ago, Helga's mother moved in.

This "garden" is located between two industrial buildings that would really like to see this personal land eliminated.

The people who live in this garden have no septic or sewer systems because the government will not allow one to be installed, and the corporations that are encroaching on this space really don't care to see such a system put in for these people. The area has also been infiltrated with Roma, and the people who live in this garden area must worry about the Roma stealing their fruits and vegetables if they do not live in on the property, as well as stealing any metal that they can sell for cash.

I only mention this because the sound of a "garden" sounds so serene, but there is much more to the story than what the word implies. But Helga's mother seems quite content to live in this garden, and really, that is what is really important, isn't it?

The trip required a 15 minute bus ride, and, luckily, by the time we headed out the lines were fixed. After getting off the bus, we walked another 20 minutes to the "Garden".

Helga's mother was thrilled to see us, and we were so glad to have made the trip. She insisted on making us Viener Schnitzel for lunch which we enjoyed outside under some shade. There was a slight breeze to make it tolerable, and we really did have some a delightful afternoon with Helga as translator.

We spent several hours in the Garden before making the 20 minute hike back to the bus and returning to Helga's place. Helga insisted on making some Slovak specialty: Parene Buchty.

These are steamed dumplings with jam filling and sweetened curds on top. I think it is a good thing that we are headed out to Modra-Harmonia tomorrow, because I'm going to look quite "Buchty" if I keep eating like this!

So tomorrow we will go to Mass in the morning before getting picked up by Stanko who will drive us to our destination. I really thought that this time in Bratislava would be the calm part of the trip. We'll just have to wait and see what adventures await us tomorrow!

Steaming in Slovakia

Here's today's lesson for the day:  100 degrees is HOT!

Ok, so you may think that I'm a wimp, but it was reported yesterday on the news that 115 people collapsed on the streets of Bratislava due to the heat. And, here at Helga's house, there is no air conditioning, the windows only tilt open a bit from the top and there are no fans to circulate the air.  I will admit that a cold shower never felt so good!

Oh, and let me add  that buses in Slovakia are not air-conditioned either. So forget the idea of cooling off in transit.

On a happy note, we managed to find some relief by walking along as many treed streets as we could muster on our way to see Bratislava Castle.

This fountain is in the Medical Park.  Looks tempting, doesn't it?

The gardens behind the Presidential Palace were beautiful as was the front of the Palace.

On this stroll through Bratislava we popped into the oldest Greek Catholic Church in Bratislava, devoted to SS Cyril and Methodius.  I never realized that it was these saints who were responsible for implementing Cyrllic Script.  I'm not so sure that I'm thankful for that as I have as yet to master the art of translating it in church documents. 

When Marty and I were here in Bratislava we were not able to enter the castle as it was being refurbished.  Today, we were able to go inside and walk through the recently finished halls.  We were all rather disappointed.  Amy mentioned that she felt like it looked like we were walking through Ikea. Although the white walls and gold gilding look quite elegant,  we certainly hope that there are plans to add some interior decorations, and, perhaps, some historical items.

The best part of the tour was climbing up several sets of very steep steps in order to peer out the windows of the highest turret in the castle.  The views were outstanding.

Oh, and there's one more lesson to add to today's adventures.  Restaurants in Bratislava are air-conditioned. We took advantage of that by stopping for lunch at the Restauranti Hrad and enjoying some fabulous Slovak food while listening to American Music (which wasn't so fabulous......Boy George singing Carma Camelia).

And, we just had to stop into Kafee Mayer for some refreshment a few hours later.

I could be worried about those calories, but, honestly, I really think that they melted off today!  I'll know in a week whether or not I can still fit in my clothes!

Here's hoping for cooler weather!

Family Time in Bratislava

Well, here you see Milan and Beatrice, greeting us with some bubbly upon our arrival.

Never mind the fact that this was about 3:00 a.m body clock-wise for us.

We enjoyed the celebration nonetheless, and soon found ourselves being offered plates of tempting delights. 

Really, who could refuse a bite? 

With Helga as translator, we managed to really enjoy these cheery people who were just so excited to welcome us into their home.  One could get spoiled from so much attention.

Despite all of the happy greetings, it soon became obvious that we needed to get some sleep since two crying babies on the plane denied us of anything substantial.

But  before heading over to Helga's place for some much needed sleep,  we managed to get a group photo. 

 Fun stuff, for sure!