2013-7-15 - Bratislava - Slovakia

Another relaxing morning with no early tours. We were still cruising towards Bratislava. The 'newbees' had to attend the safety drill. We enjoyed breakfast. Note: breakfast in the dining room was from 7:30 to 10:00;  lunch at 12:30- SO if you go to breakfast at 9:45 (like I often do) then lunch soon follows. It amazed me that we don't 'do' breakfast or lunch at home but on the this boat you just gotta see what they're serving & you just gotta try just a little. It's insane! 
I did miss George's presentation on Vienna Coffeehouses & the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
All of a sudden it was time. We're eating again? (see what I mean?)

 

 



"Set at the foot of the Little Carpathian Mountains, the charming historic center of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is an old town of cobblestone streets, candy-colored 18h century rococo buildings, sidewalk cafes & pedestrian plazas that mae for a welcoming & relaxing visit. It stands in contrast to the concrete city across the river." 
At 2:00 we arrived & docked in Bratislava & we tagged along on the guided walking tour of Slovakia's charming capital.
We visited the impressive Bratislava Castle. "In 1811, a fire destroyed the fortress & it was reconstructed in the 1950's."





Fortress entry gate

 

 



 

 

(see picture above)

 they left an old window when the fortress was reconstructed after a fire in the 50's

 

"Named Nový most (English: New Bridge) from 1993 to 2012, is a road bridge over the Danube...  Built between 1967 and 1972 across the Danube River in Bratislava...the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising is the seventh largest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Architect J.Lacko and engineer A.Tesár designed it as a single-pylon cable-stayed steel bridge. The single pylon is in fact an A-shaped steel column leaning towards Petržalka.
The bridge is 431.8m long, 21m wide and has two decks. The lower deck has two 3.5m wide footbridges; the upper deck is designed for car traffic. The road itself is made from mastic asphalt ... The entire steel structure including pylon weighs 8,000 tons in total. The bridge was officially put into service on September 26, 1972. In 2001, the bridge was declared the structure of the century... 85m above ground level, perched on top of the pylon, is a restaurant and a cafe accessible from street level by an elevator for 10 people in one beam of the pylon, or by an emergency stairwell of 430 stairs in the other beam. In 2003, the restaurant was closed for reconstruction and, two years later,.. re-opened its doors to the public with an all-new concept – UFO WATCH.TASTE.GROOVE... A bonus for the city and its tourism is the newly-opened observation deck on top of the cupola, which offers a panoramic view of Bratislava and the surrounding area for a radius of 100 km." It is the 32nd-tallest, and thus shortest, member of the World Federation of Great Towers, & is the only bridge to be a member. It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge to have one pylon & one cable-stayed plane.
Wayne was mesmorized by this bridge.

Picture taken from the Fortress

 

 

 

 

"Winding down from Castle Hill is a collection of pretty old houses. The striking St Martin's Cathedral was once part of the city fortifications. Construction began in 1311 & for several hundred years St Martin's was the coronation church of Bratislava."

 

St Martin's cathedral - Cardinal's hat



Note the cannon ball from Nepolian's army stuck in the wall

We wandered around the lovely city streets & rested with a cold beer & vodka & tonic. This is how they serve the V&T

 

 

"As Bratislava looked to shed the greyness of the Communist era many buildings were repainted. In an attempt to enliven the city centre, a few quirky statues were installed. Their popularity with tourists led to new statues, filling the centre of Bratislava with funny and quirky installations."

 

Cumil, the Watcher

 

Street entertainment while we rested

 

 

 







Fortress at night

 

 

 

 

 

 Cocktail hour & live music from 5:30 to 7:00.  (wonder why they call it 'cocktail hour??) Fun time to share events of the day with others.  Then, of course, we eat again. Later that night, we were entertained by a Hungarian Folkloric show but I'll be damned if I can find the pictures !?

We were fast asleep when the Aegir casted off for Vienna at 11:00pm.

 

 "Located in central Europe, landlocked Slovakia is bordered by: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine & Austria & is almost 19,000 square miles in size, making it just over twice the size of Wales & slightly smaller than Massachusetts...with a population of about 5 million...The Euro is the currency (not sure why Bratislava uses the Forint?) The language: Slovak, with around 10% of the population speaking Hungarian...Religion: Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%...Most of the counry is rugged & mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakees & valleys. Slovakia has a temperate climate, with warm summers & moderate winters..."