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We were woken up at 02:00
by the boat moving. We were leaving Vienna. Goodnight Vienna!
(I’ve always wanted to say that…)
We awoke again at 06:00 to see that we
were arriving in Bratislava, the capital of the young Slovak
Republic, formed when Czechoslovakia broke up in January
1993. The castle on the hill looked very impressive as we
passed under a modern bridge across the Danube.
We had breakfast at 07:30. There was a
buffet laid out in the front with enough to please both
the Europeans and the Americans on board – everything
from cereals to cold cuts and a vast array of fruits and
breads. Hot breakfasts were cooked to order. We were joined
by Bob and Joan from San Diego, California: they have travelled
extensively.
At 09:00 we were asked to leave the ship
and file through the ugly Soviet-style concrete building
and show our passports to some very disinterested customs
officers. But we all got a new stamp in our passports and
were quickly on our bus. The Noble Caledonia group was on
Bus No 1, naturally. |
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A
local guide got on and soon started to bombard us with
facts and figures about Slovakia and Bratislava in particular.
We drove up to the hills above the city to get a superb
view of Bratislava, then down to the castle, which was
surprisingly dull.
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We
then got back into the bus to go to the town centre. The
city was pretty and mostly Baroque in style. Certainly
it was not "improved" during by the Soviet period
which has meant that most of the buildings were left alone
and not replaced by ugly concrete blocks. Many buildings
were left to deteriorate, it its true, but now the Slovakian
and Bratislavan government is gradually repairing them.
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We walked down a central pedestrianised
street under a splendid clock tower. It was built in three
main eras: mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque. Whilst is
has four clocks, only three have hands. The guide told us
that the third side faced the Jewish quarter, and that they,
unlike the rest of the community, refused to contribute
to the new clock. So when it was built, they did not affix
the hands… |
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In the town centre,
there were some very attractive buildings. St Stephens
cathedral where the Habsburgs were traditionally crowned
(unfortunately closed) the Archbishops Palace – hardly
a model of piety and restraint; and the clock tower
with an hourly carillion which is unfortunately drowned
out by students on a rag day. |
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We then had an hour
of free time to explore further this delightful city.
We wandered down cobbled lanes and were enchanted
by its this attractive city. Soon, however, I finished
my first roll of film and had to buy some more film
in a local shop. |
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Back on the bus for the
short journey to the customs and then we were back on the
ship, which left shortly after the last person had got on
board. At 13:00 we went to lunch and we joined by the couple
we had met at the airport the previous morning, Bridget
and Geoff. Bruce and I had already agreed that it would
be all-too-easy to eat too much on this trip and therefore
elected to have something light from the salad bar. We sat
there glowing with virtue when the waiter came up to us
and offered soup and/or a choice of an Austrian or Hungarian
main course. Well, it would have been churlish to refuse,
wouldn’t it? So we both had Hungarian "grandmother’s
noodles and potatoes" followed by chocolate ice cream
with egg liqueur. |
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We soon came to our first lock
at Hamuliakova: almost as large as those on the Volga
Don canal. |
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At this
point the excitement was too much for Bruce and he
had to have a nap. I read on the sun deck. |
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Later that afternoon we
arrived at Komarom in Hungary to clear customs. We were
told by the crew that customs in the former Soviet bloc
had not quite got into the 21st century and that in order
to move on quickly, bribery was still necessary. We passed
the library and saw the Hungarian customs officers being
plied with lunch and a few drinks. This was clearly satisfactory
and we were soon on our way.
Before dinner, there was free Champagne
and an introduction to the rest of the crew. A diverse lot
coming from over a dozen European countries, including Germany,
Austria, Croatia and Hungary. The dinner itself was excellent.
Who says the Germans can’t cook? The chef, Andreas
had prepared six courses with a choice of soups, main courses
and desserts. We had paté, oxtail soup, john dory
with salmon decorated with salmon eggs, veal with porcini,
forest fruits and ice cream (we declined the cheese!) We
dined with a couple from the US Virgin Island where, apparently
they drive on the left.
We were told by Elisabeth that we would
be sailing through the night and would arrive at Budapest
at around midnight. Would we stay awake to see it? |
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