OK - missed the deadline for finishing last night's log so need to start with a report on the tour of Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) last night.
Best way to summarise is to say we've probably beeen in two of the most beautiful cities in the world in the last 24 hours. Bratislava has about 500 000 inhabitants so is nowhere near the size of Budapest (2 million) but it is BEAUTIFUL - buildings, squares, quirky statues and tree lined avenues - only there for a few hours but would love to go back for more. Wonderful riverside walks as well.
Great duck dinner on board last night as we sailed to Budapest where we berthed at about 9 this morning. Did the hop-on-hop off tour all day covering a fair bit of the city - again beautiful with some memorable buildings - St Stephen's Basillica undoubtedly one of the most beautiful churches in the world - exquisite internally, beautifully proportioned and not overdone. Boulevards best also and trees lining streets everywhere. I think it is a city seen at its best from the inside rather than looking at the vista from outside. Partly damaged in WW 2 and anti-communist uprisings but most has been well restored. Bullet damage still visible on some buildings
Curency is interesting - 1 Euro =350 Ft so you walk around with a lot of big notes. Currency is very low at the moment - I had the most beautiful lunch - grilled tuna marinated in ginger and honey with mustard salad (yep!) for 1990 Ft which equates to about $10. Everything is VERY cheap.
No riding today but a 69k ride tommorrow doing the Danube "knee" and an island so sounds like fun. The variety of the riding and scenery has surprised us (pleasantly) and he organisation/planning has been faultless - a fantastic tour.
Trivia: The river Danube is 2860km long, rises in the Black Forest (Germany) and flows nto the Black Sea and travels through 10 counries. The speed at which it flows is incredible.
Cap report: not even close to losing it!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.