www.theblisspages.com - travel: Slovakia

Slovakia

Bratislava

I enjoyed my visits to Bratislava, where I was made very welcome by my colleagues.

It's funny how some images linger - for example, the bridge, which is the world's seventh-largest suspension bridge.

I also remember a restaurant by the river and a small eco-friendly cafe I frequented.

touring

I took some leave on one visit, and toured the country by train with my second wife.

We visited the Tatra Mountains for a couple of days, and the views were spectacular. We stayed near Lomnický štít (2,634m), the most famous peak. The air was clear and the skies blue. We took a cable-car from Tatranská Lomnica, but the queue to use the top one was too long, which was a shame.

A rather more surreal experience was had in a grim hotel in a small town somewhere - I can't recall the name of the town. It was reminiscent of the worst soviet excesses.

the cellar

The friends with whom we were staying took us to their family cellar at Modra for a drink.

At first, we were the only ones there, but then, their relatives started arriving. As they arrived, each bearing some item of food, we were introduced and were given another drink. In an hour or so, the room was heaving with new-found friends, and our stomachs were groaning with the food and drink.

I remember a rich and delicious home-made sausage we were given, called Romeo. When we went outside, we were introduced to Juliet, and realised her eventual porcine fate.

By now, it was getting late, and most of the relatives had drifted off. We thought we were about to go home, but were then ushered into the private cellar, or cave, and were plied with more, especially delicious wine.

As you can see from the photo, we were given some unusual vessels from which to drink.

Not surprisingly, we were all subdued the next morning, but we still managed a day trip to Vienna ... but that's another story, and another page.

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: : © Mike Bliss 2011