July 6, 2015: European Rail Trip: Day 11: Vienna

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: VIENNA

Sights and Sounds of Old Town Bratislava

Greetings from Vienna, Austria!

Yup folks, we made it! 
This is the last city on on Europe Rail Tour. 

What a great time it has been, and it's certainly not over yet!!

Our day actually started out in good 'ol Bratislava.

What an absolutely lovely Old Town! 
Each day there just seemed to get better and better! Given the opportunity, I would definitely return. It was just delightful!

Before I go on with our day...

Here's the Top 15 for '15 Facts for Bratislava, Slovakia:

1. Bratislava is the largest and capital city of Slovakia.
2. Nicknames - Beauty on Danube, Little big city.
3. Bratislava is only an hour away from another capital city, Vienna. The distance between the two capital cities is approximately 50 Km.
4. Bratislava has a population around 420,000 people. Slovaks form the majority of Bratislava's residents. In 2001 they made up 91.39% (391,767 inhabitants) of the population, followed by Hungarians with 3.84% (16,541), and Czechs with 1.86% (7,972).
5. Bratislava has an area of 142 square miles.
6. Languages spoken: Slovak (official), a West Slavic language, closely related to Czech, Hungarian, Czech, German (other)
7. The Devin Castle was a border fortification at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. Celtic and Roman settlers inhabited it successively and it was also a key outpost guarding trading routes. In the 9th century it became a Slavic fortress. A Gothic castle was built there in the middle Ages and later rebuilt in the Renaissance. Since 1809, when Napoleon’s army destroyed it, it has been a ruin.
8. In the 9th century it was a Great Moravian fortress. In the 10th century, it was rebuilt to become the King's residence and a border post. During the reign of Maria Theresa (18th century) it became an imperial palace. Bratislava’s Castle is on the hill overlooking the Danube and is the town’s most prominent landmark.
9. Bratislava is nothing like the rest of Slovakia in terms of Gross Domestic Product. It’s about three times higher than throughout the rest of the country and is one of the highest in the whole of Eastern Europe at a wealthy 30% above EU average.
10. The inventor of the parachute, Štefan Banič was born about 10 kms north of Bratislava in a town called Neštich in 1870. He is the man who invented the parachute. He immigrated to the United States, where he worked as a coal miner for a while but then built a prototype for a harnessed umbrella-like parachute and tested it by jumping out of an airplane and surviving in 1914. He sold it to the US military but received very little money and next to no fame for what would go on to save the lives of countless individuals.
11. Both Franz Liszt and Mozart played in Bratislava when they were under 10 years old!
12. Bratislava has been a city of many names. There was the German name (Pressburg), Hungarian (Pozsony), an older Slovakian name (Presporok), and an old Greek name - Istropolis.  All of the above are older names of Bratislava, but just 'Istropolis' is the old Greek one. Istropolis means 'City on the Danube River’.
13. Apart from the Slovak Republic, Bratislava has also been the capital of another area. What is that area? The Hungarian Kingdom. Bratislava was the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom for approximately 150 years (1536 - 1784). It was at this time that the Hungarian Kingdom was nearly overtaken by the Ottoman Empire. 
14. The first written proof of use of the Roman script in Slovak territory is found in inscriptions on coins minted in 250 BC by the Celtic Boii tribe in the Bratislava oppidum.
15. The first horse-operated tramway in Hungary was run on a 15 m route between Bratislava and Svätý Jur; service started on 27 September 1840.

Well there ya have it! 
More information than I ever knew about Bratislava and now you know it too!

Slovak National Theatre

So to continue from where I left off last night...
Elisa woke from her napping slumber, the temperatures had cooled, and we went out to have some dinner. 

The reception desk at our hotel 'Marrol's' had suggested Lemontree Restaurant and Sky Bar for some of the best views of the city. 
She wasn't kidding...the view of St. Martin's and the Bratislava Castle was brilliant!

St. Martin's and the Bratislava Castle

I ordered a virgin Bloody Paprika made with fresh pressed tomato juice, which I figured would be something like a Bloody Mary and it literally was served inside of a red bell pepper!! 

SPICY!!!!!!!

I sipped away at it - it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. 
However it lacked spice, so I bit into the small red pepper that was served along with it and holy smokes that was the WRONG thing to do for this gringo! 
Boy oh boy was my mouth on FIRE!

Once my mouth and throat had calmed down and I finished sipping away at the drink, I decided that I was gonna eat the pepper! 

I'm sure that I looked a bit odd, and it wasn't all that easy to cut up the bell pepper in the glass. 
But that's what I was doing!

My entree was the Vegan Pad Thai and it too was just okay. I'm glad that Elisa really enjoyed her meal, but once we had finished eating and it was time to pay the bill...things got a bit scary!!!

READ ELISA'S column to find out what happened!

This morning and afternoon was all about the sight seeing! 
Elisa and I both fell in love with the "Little Blue Church" it was absolutely adorable!!!

I love all of the flowers and the colorful buildings!

Little Blue Church

We then continued into the heart of the Old Town, strolled, searched for St. Michael's gate, and did a bit of shopping! 
To learn more about the sites we saw today please see Elisa's column --->>--->>--->>--->>

St. Michael's Gate

We were having such a great time, that time got away from us and we had to get back to the hotel for check out. 
So initially the plan was that we'd store our luggage and continue where we left off...

However, my cousin Elisa decided that she had enough and was going to chill out (literally) and enjoy some lunch at the hotel.

So I was off on my own to do some wandering of the streets of Bratislava Hotislava!

What a great time I had checking things out and eventually getting over to the Man at Work Sculpture and St. Martin's Church.

Slovak National Theatre

Man at Work sculpture

St. Martin's

At first I felt as though I had all the time in the world...after all Old Town Bratislava isn't all that big. 
But then I was so enthralled with everything that I saw, so I was trying to keep a close eye on the clock. 
I needed get back in time for our scheduled cab. 
But I guess in between St. Martin's and one of the stores that I went into I forget to check the time. 


I had found a beautiful delight that I wanted to buy for my mom and took a peek at the time, now realizing that I was in a HUGE RUSH! 
I made my purchase and had to truck it back to the hotel to meet Elisa and go!

Well the adventure just never ends...
We arrived at the train station and find that out train is on track 2, we soon realize that track 2 is downstairs. No biggie right? WRONG. 
There was no freakin' escalator or elevator at the train station!

So as it goes with me, I suck it up and do what has to be done! My dear cousin Elisa handed the situation a bit differently - find out what she did in her column!

After all of the hauling and weight lifting of the over weight bags, we had eventually made it onto the train. Only to find out that there was no A/C. 
Come on...Not again!

Well, lucky for us, we had met a dear sweet local girl Andrea (who had also assisted with our bags), and she had suggested that she'd look ahead in the other cars in hopes of finding A/C. 
She soon returned to inform us that 2 cars up was in fact the much needed A/C! YAY!!

We spent the remainer of the ride chatting with Andrea, and learning about her (dreams of becoming a ski instructor) and her travels, and her learning about us and our travels. 
She was quite helpful and so lovely. All the best in her journey and we do hope that she stays in touch!

Once we arrived to the Vienna station, we were so glad to see an elevator, because even though I've been "moosing" these bags - it definitely hasn't been easy!

And here's a shout out to Birdwald Ponypants who ALWAYS insists on carrying my bags for me. What a gentleman! Much appreciation. 
I'm kinda over having all of these straps dangling off of me everywhere we go!

In the Vienna cab

Soviet Memorial

And now to go and explore Vienna! 
It's Elisa's second time here and my first time visiting. 
I've researched lots of vegan foods and treats, and can't wait to go check things out!!! Wish me luck!

How's about we meet back here tomorrow? Same time, same place!

-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: VIENNA

So Long "Hot"islava -  Guten Tag Vienna!

Hey there!!
Can't believe we are in our in our fifth and final city on this incredible European Rail Trip!!

Our second and final morning in Bratislava at Marrol's

Well, before I go on to tell you about today, let me first tell you about the little scare we had last night at dinner.

After several hours of hanging out in the room to a) avoid the heat outside and b) to finalize our blog, we finally left for dinner at about 9pm. 

We walked over to this adorable Thai Restaurant called Lemontree Restaurant & Bar in the Old Town Square. It had a real eclectic flair with great upbeat music playing and located on the 7th floor, it had an outdoor terrace, which had some great views over the city.

My dinner was super yummy!  A Mint & Mango Smoothie, Vegetable spring rolls with a Pappardelle pasta dish served with vegetables and a sweet oil sauce.  So good!!

View from our table at Lemontree Restaurant in Bratislava

Mint Mango Smoothie

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Pappardelle With spinach, cherry tomatoes and Camembert Cheese

Back to our scare -- when it was time to get our check, Tanya went to look for her wallet and couldn't find it!! Need I go any further as to how distraught and panicked she became?!

I was not very worried, but I reminded her that we were ALWAYS schlepping around our back packs and camera cases and this was the first night we decided to take small handbags - I tried to calm her by telling her that she more than likely left her wallet in the back pack.

She could not calm down and so I quickly paid the bill and we rushed back to our hotel.  Thankfully, I was right - she had left her wallet in her backpack. Whew!!! That was quite a relief!!

Well, the heat really wiped me out from the day yesterday.  I slept like a baby!!

Church of St. Elisabeth's - "The Little Blue Church"

Last Day in Bratislava...
With this being our last day in this lovely Slovakian city, Tanya and I got an early start, chowed down breakfast and hit the streets for more sites.  

You must catch Tanya's Top 15 about Bratislava!
<<<---<<<---<<<---<<<---<<<---<<<

Fortunately, most of what we still needed to visit, was in close walking distance to our hotel.  It was not terribly hot at first, but within 30 minutes, it was boiling out, yet again!

First on our list was the Church of St. Elisabeth's (Slovak: Kostol svätej Alžbety),  

I had read about and saw pictures of this adorable building, but nothing could have prepared me for just how picturesque and charming it would be in person!!!

I was truly taken with this place! Tanya and I could not stop taking pictures - and while the sun was, in fact, beating down on us, the lighting could not have been more perfect!!

St. Elisabeth's, which was built between 1907-1908 has come to be affectionately called, "The Little Blue Church" because of the color of its façade, mosaics, majolicas and blue-glazed roof. 

It was initially part of the neighboring high school gymnasium and served as the school chapel.

Peering into the locked "Little Blue Church"

Close up of mosaic tile on exterior of St. Elizabeth's

This was clearly one of the highlights of the entire trip - I just loved this church so much!

Onward...we continued making our way through the city and back towards the Old Town, where we had a few other sights to check off our list... The Old Town Hall is a complex of buildings in the Old Town of Bratislava.  Each of the buildings had such charm and were just so ornate and lovely.

Here are some pictures of our stroll around...

Needless to say, as we continued our walk, it got oppressively hot again.  We walked back to hotel after walking around for a few hours since we needed to check out. 

I was so happy to go back to air conditioning! 

Remember the inappropriate picture of the day yesterday...well....
On the way back to the hotel, Tanya pointed out to me that the same guy we saw the day before "shaving" in the center of town, was back again, this time, washing up - really??

 Tanya headed out for one last walking excursion after we checked out. I decided to stay and work on the blog and have something to eat for the hour or so before we had to head to the train station.

What a fiasco!! Seriously.  I know that I can be a princess sometimes, but did you ever hear of a train station with NO ELEVATOR or NO ESCALATOR?

Tanya and I were in shock when we were told by a woman at the information booth that there was no elevator.  And there before us was a HUGE flight of steps down!!

I was in shock.  There was no way I was going to break my back to get my bags down the steps.  So, I decided to pay a few English speaking  young men to take my bags down.
Tanya opted to moose her bags down.  

What i didn’t realize, until Tanya yelled up to me horrified -  was that there was another flight to GO UP to get to the platform!  

This was after I paid and said goodbye to these fellows.  In any case, God was watching over me and there were two very kind individuals who offered to help me up the steps.  

Andrea - a sweet girl offered to help me with my luggage up the steps to the platform and also onto the train.   

She even helped us get the bags on the train (including Tanya’s!) and she was like our little guardian angel who directed us to a car that was air conditioned.

We wound up sitting with her the entire train ride to Vienna!

It was a delight chatting with her and hearing all about her travel adventures over the past few months.  She was on her way to interview for an AuPere position in Austria.  

We truly wish her well with her employment opportunities!!! We welcome you Andrea to stay in touch with the Travelin’ Cousins for any of your upcoming trips to either New York or Southern California.

Our new friend Andrea!!

The hour train ride was uneventful - not missed stops, no sweltering heat - it was all good!

And here I sit in Vienna - in the same rental apartment I stayed in last year during my Spring 2014 trip to this city.

What's so amazing is that this is the exact place - where I'm sitting right now - where I had the idea to create a travel blog with Tanya. 

In fact it was from this very same chair that I texted Tanya with the idea.  And so folks, the rest is history!!!
Travelin' Cousins reality travel blog is here to stay!!

More tomorrow from The Imperial City and our visit to the Hofburg!!

-E
xoxo