Brrrrr-atislava

It was a 17-hour cruise from Budapest to Bratislava. We left at 8:30 pm Thursday night and arrived in the capitol of Slovakia at 1 pm Friday. The weather was overcast and the winds were stiff. Temperature at mid-day was 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After lunch we embarked on the “Panoramic Bratislava” excursion. The tour was similar in modality: luxury coach to take us through one of the city’s nicest neighborhoods up to Bratislava Castle. Then walk around with a guide talking into our left ears describing what we’re seeing and giving interesting historical observations.

Food on board is excellent and meals are served punctually according a schedule, published daily online in our onboard Viking app and delivered to our stateroom in a hard copy every night giving us the scoop on the next day’s activities. Service is first class all the way.

Back at the Castle… it perches above the city with commanding views of the Danube and 3 countries. Since it’s high in the air with no trees around there was nothing to protect us from the cold breezes except our clothing and gloves. We were glad to get back on the bus after a bio-break at the free WC in one of the basements.

Next stop was Old Town—narrow streets, beautifully restored houses, churches, and restaurants. We were on foot again but the buildings served as windbreaks and we were pleased to be out of the wind. We made a visit to a very well-stocked souvenir shop after the guide turned us loose with directions for the short walk back to the ship. I asked her for a place to buy a heavier-duty watch cap (aka sock cap in Minnesota) and she obligingly gave us directions to a shopping mall not far from the Ingvi.

Here are the photos I managed to snap with my frigid fingers. I had a pair of heavy-duty fingerless gloves but they only slightly mitigated the cold and wind .

We returned to the ship around 5, then had an excellent dinner. Both of us were worn out from our walk and from battling the elements so we turned in early. We embarked for Vienna at 11 pm. Looking forward to the sights, the coffee house and some apple strudel!