We had to break out the t-shirts today in Bratislava! Such a nice change especially for Gae, Greg, Jo and Steve who had started their holidays in bitter cold and snow. The boat was docked right in the Old Town of this little capital of Slovakia, a new country for us all.
We started with the customary guided walking tour, our guide Richard had plenty to tell about the city , both its medieval past and the more recent past under the “commies” , as he called them.
One of the most striking of the more recent sights was the U.F.O. style restaurant that tops one span of the main city bridge.
From there we stopped in front of the lovely Opera House and the Statue of Liberation, commemorating the liberation of Bratislavafrom the Nazis by Soviet troops st the end of the war. Richard said the only problem was that the Soviets then ” forgot to leave!”
Liberation Statue
Opera House
Bratislava has a lovely long pedestrian boulevarde with statues and fountains shaded by trees. Its lined with some very inviting looking cafes and a number of embassies, it was easy to spot the American Embassy, it was the only one behind a high wire fence.
The American embassy at left beyond the fountain.
The Castle sits high above the town and looks down over the Cathedral which was used for coronations back in the time of the Hapsburgs.
The cathedral
We dodged the many other tour groups as we strolled up to the main square with its fountain and Town Hall and many cafes. Bratislava is cheap so its a magnet for many British, German and Dutch etc for Bucks weekends. The town caters to them with a street of Irish pubs, Scottish pubs and American bars etc, but there was also a good scattering of cafes selling traditional Slovak meals. The preferred dish is a ( not particularly attractive looking) dish which consists mainly of soft sheeps cheese and smoked meat.
Town Hall
I liked the quirky statues that are scattered throughout the town, commemorating local people who made their mark in the post Napoleonic period.
The Sewer Worker statue, Therese looking into shop windows behind him.
After the tour we all split up for free time. Neil and I heD back up through the town to St Michaels gate , the only remaining old gate into the town. From there we took a longish walk up around the hill to the back entrance to the castle. This took us out of the old town and across the highway where you could see two towers of old and new Bratislava.
Neil near St Michael’s gate
UFO restaurant and Cathedral
It was a steep climb but the views from the top were great!
View down to the Danube from the castle.
Back to the boat for lunch and a quiet afternoon. I wanted to make a start on my packing as we know tomorrow will be a busy day and tonight was our special Captain’s cocktail reception and Farewell Dinner. The entire crew were introduced to us and applauded by the passengers. We had extra claps for our two wonderful dinner waiters and the lovely young man on the bar who we became very chummy with. His mother was a teacher so he adopted Therese in particular.
During dinner we cruised away from Bratislava and had one last view back to the lit castle.
The castle illuminated.
In the lounge, Reno, the on board musician and singer entertained us with Bob and Steve’s special requests , which he had gone to the effort to learn for them during the course of the cruise. Bob had asked for Stairway to Heaven and Steve wanted Songbird ( Fleetwood Mac) Reno did them both justice and then topped it with Nessun Dorma, well enough to bring Jo to tears! She just loves her opera 😊 As well as the company of our great friends, these particular crewmembers have really added to our enjoyment on the cruise.
Reno entertained us each night.
