Day 13--Vienna, Austria to Bratislava, Slovakia

Fortresses & Flying Saucers

Monday, July 7
Vienna, Austria to Bratislava, Slovakia
Distance: 76 km (47 miles) 

Slovakia: Republic; President, Ivan Gasparovic; capital, Bratislava

X+--An easy ride atop a levee of the Danube takes us to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Czechoslovakia was formed from parts of the historic Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918 and came under Soviet domination in 1948. Not until 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, was the country freed from the Soviets. Bratislava became the capital of Slovakia when it separated from the Czech Republic during the "velvet divorce" in 1993.

We left Vienna as a group this morning. Shortly after we left the hotel, we came to bike lanes, and shortly after that to a very broad tree shaded boulevard, used this morning only by us cyclists, sulky drivers, horses and carriages (one pink carriage that we decided was Mary Kay carriage), but no motorized vehicles. There were very few people on it also, so it was a lovely way out of this big city and to the Donauradweg 6 that runs along the river.

Me taking a photo on the broad boulevard we rode out of Vienna

Vienna channelizes the Donau into five canals. Seven of us (Marion & Fred, Bob, Rod, Steve, and Judy & I) missed an arrow and so got in 3 bonus kilometers following the wrong channel to where the track dead-ended.

In the process we saw more nude sunbathers. (We’d seen a party of nudes on a float at river side a couple of days ago.) One man was standing stark naked in the middle of the track. I gave him a cheery “Guten Morgen!”

We corrected our route and soon after we rode a gravel track for a couple of kilometers and then rode a rough-paved, straight-as-an-arrow track on top of a levee. This long bumpy stretch required skilled bike handling and was very wearing on the hands and seat. (That’s my seat not the bike saddle.) We could not see any water, and the track cut through trees and fields and a couple of swampy areas and became very tedious. It was exposed to the sun for the most part, too. (Whine whine.)

There were hunting blinds all along the trail. I later learned that hunting deer and hare from these stands is a favorite pastime. Seems at odds with a designated and signed cycling path.

Exposed levee track and a short stretch of shaded trail

Me next to a cart laden with flowers and before some buildings that appear to be sliding downhill; a ruin above the levee track

We take a shady lunch break in one of the hunting blinds along the track; it was pretty rickety and not long for this world methinks

The hotel had packed each of us a lunch. When we realized that there was to be no shade, Judy and I stopped and ate half of our lunch at one of these hunting blinds, the one we chose being close to rotting away but affording us a bit of shade and a place to sit down. Our lunch included two sandwiches on blah white bread. One was two slices of cheese and the other two slices of ham—nary a bit of mayo or mustard or lettuce or anything else. We also had a box of apple juice, a small bottle of yogurt drink and a tub of blueberry yogurt, as well as a banana. There was no spoon with which to eat the yogurt, so I drank it as best I could.

When we neared Bratislava, we kept looking for the border. We had our passports with us as instructed. When we got there, the bike track cut behind customs so we never had to pass through it. As we neared the city, the track got seedier and seedier, and the city in the distance on the other side of the river looked like the stereotypical old Soviet city with drab concrete block high rises.

A water controlling swale; the track ran along either side of it

View from the bike path across the river to Brataslava, Slovakia; the enormous castle dwarfing the city

High on a hill  opposite above the city sat a mammoth castle/fortress that I later learned Maria Theresa of Austria claimed for her home until 1918 when the monarchy fell. 

I was looking for the border crossing, so when I saw a high, round, windowed tower similar to an airport control tower above the trees, I remarked to Judy that it looked like “Big Brother’s” way of observing border crossing traffic.

Bridge across the Danube from Austria to Slovakia

It turned out to be a flying saucer shaped restaurant atop the bridge across the river. The bridge had a walkway suspended beneath the roadway for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. There were buildings but no customs check at the border.

What the guidebook says about the bridge:

The flying saucer-shaped cafe on top of Bratislava's New Bridge 312 feet above ground re-opened to visitors following two years of refurbishment work.
        The venue consists of an up-scale restaurant, bar and a sightseeing deck that had never been accessible before because during the Communist era as it gave great views of capitalist Austria. 

       Today it can be reached by an elevator in one of the pillars in about 45 seconds.

       The New Bridge, formerly known as the SNP Bridge, is the world's seventh largest suspension bridge and was declared the construction of the 20th century in Slovakia. It was built between 1967 and 1972 and a large part of the Bratislava Old Town had to give way to this symbol of Communist modernity.

We are in a Botel on the river—a boat permanently anchored. We had to negotiate a steep gangplank to get to the boat and then lock our bikes along the rail. Our rooms are typical tiny cabins with no place for our luggage. Judy slept with hers at the foot of her bunk but I am too tall for that so had to step over it in the night to get to the bathroom.

Judy walking the gangplank to the botel

Entrance to our botel

Dining area and bar

The Botel is run by east Indians . . . the dining room décor is decidedly east Indian with gold and silver cloths and tapestries of the Taj Mahal, tigers etc. We ate our dinner this evening on the open back deck of the boat. We were nearly the only people in the dining room. I can’t for the life of me remember what we ate.

When we got in, we cleaned up and then, despite threatening rain, hiked up to the castle. It was quite a hike, too. We walked down the promenade along the river, crossed a broad street with streetcar line on it, and then climbed up through a fringe of the Old Town and further up narrow cobblestoned streets between restaurants and homes until we came to the castle gate and more climbing up cobblestones, this time between the castle wall and the ramparts. It had rained a bit and was still sifting, making the cobblestones slippery. My Teva sandals had good traction but Judy had to tread carefully.

Brataslava Opera House

What the Guidebook say about Bratislava Castle

There are traces of human settlement on the hill from the ancient times. At the time of the Great Moravian empire, there was a castle on the hill, which played a major political role. The first written mention of the castle comes from 907 AD.
        When Maria Theresa of Austria became the queen of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1740, she promised to the nobles of the kingdom that she would have a residence both in Austria and in the Kingdom of Hungary – that is in Bratislava Castle. She kept the promise and spent much time in Bratislava. A corresponding conversion of the defense castle into a (at that time) modern royal residence was performed between 1761 and 1766.

       After the demise of Great Moravia, the Bratislava Castle was a border fortification of the Hungarian governor. In 1811, the castle burned down completely and stood in ruins until restoration in 1953.

       In the Communist era, it then served as the Bratislava quarters of the Czechoslovak president and for official functions of the Slovak National Council (parliament). At present, the Slovak parliament still uses parts of the compound.

When we got to the top, we encountered Harold and Carolyn. They joined us and we explored what we could. The main building was closed to entry. While up there it rained hard  for about 20 minutes. We took shelter under a large tree and then took photos of the rainbow and the bridge and the city below.

The alley leading up to the entrance to the castle

Walking up past the castle walls on wet cobblestones

Inscription:
St. Elizabeth of  Hungary 1207-1231

The daughter of King Andrew II and his wife Gertrude, Elizabeth spent her childhood at Bratislava Castle. After the death of her husband, Ludwig of Thuringia, she took a vow of poverty and devoted her life to others, particularly the poor and sick. Canonized in 1235, she is revered by the Sisters of Elizabeth as their patroness.

It rained for about 20 minutes while we were up at the Brataslava Castle. Though you can barelysee it, I managed to get a shot of a rainbow across the river below. None of the botels on the opposite side of the river are ours.

Our incoming route in yellow takes us on a bike lane hanging under the bridge and to our botel on this side of the river.

Empty benches on the rain washed Palace terrace; Judy, Harold and Carolyn stand in the rain momentarily while I take their picture

A wonderfully ornate sign with a sheep on it was at the foot of the climb to the castle and advertised a hotel.

Observations:

      - Saw two yellowhammers (buntings) along the track coming in.

      - Bratislava is a fascinating city and I wish we had more time here.

After our exploration, we traversed the wet, slippery cobblestones and walked down into Old Town. It was early evening and there were few people about. I did manage to get a photo of the famous soldier in the manhole, and also of some other statues and art displayed along a park. See the photos below. 

1) Streets leading to the main square

2) Lewis Carroll, with characters from Alice in Wonderland; 3) Schone Naci, a bronze statue of a Ignac Lamar who lived in Bratislava in the early 20th century, when the town was called Pressburg. He was a poor, polite and always smartly dressed man who wandered around the Old Town during the day. “Naci” is the nickname for Ignac and “Schone” is the German word for “handsome.” 4) Paparazzi—A great sculpture of a photographer leaning around a corner to snap a photo, aiming right at the doorway of a bar called Paparazzi.

5) Cumil (The Watcher)—this bronze statue is definitely the most popular piece of art in the city. Where else in the world could you possibly find a man inconspicuously peeping from a street manhole?  As Cumil has almost lost his head twice because of incautious drivers, he has even got his own traffic sign - “Man at Work.”

6) French soldier—A Napoleon-like statue leaning on a bench on the Old Town Main Square. Napoleon’s armies attacked Bratislava twice, and Napoleon himself visited the city in 1809. The legend says, that a wounded French soldier called Hubert fell in love with a nurse from Bratislava, decided to live here and started to produce a sparkling wine based on the French tradition. Hubert is now the name of the most famous sparkling wine in Slovakia. 7) Bronze wheel—A circular bronze wheel laid in the square and giving the distances from Bratislava to world famous cities