Tag: Slovakia

Central Europe Snapshot

Oops! I took a slight detour from my blogging schedule to post about London before wrapping up our Central Europe trip coverage. So I’ll squeeze this snapshot in here now, and then get back to a few London things. And I thought about separating this summary into separate posts for each country, but I’m going to combine it with the intent of catching up on my blogging to-do list and just see how it turns out.

Best Moment

Chris and I just discussed this category, trying to identify a stand-out Best Moment moment, but we agreed that we loved the whole trip. Oktoberfest in Munich and the Brews and Views tour in Prague come to mind as our favorite general activities, and if we had to pinpoint one single moment, it would be when we were standing on top of the Karwendel mountains in Mittenwald. We had the entire mountaintop area to ourselves, and it was quite peaceful.

Worst Moment

As I remember it, this trip went really well and I don’t know if we had a true worst moment. Sure, I wish we had better weather in Munich, and we both ended up coming down with what turned out to be a pretty bad cold on the last day, but other than that we had an incredibly smooth trip.

Funniest Moment

A brief encounter at the Westbahnhof U-Bahn station provided us with a quote that we used frequently for the rest of the trip: “I don’t know…blah blah blah.”

A guy approached us as we were exiting the underground and seemed lost or confused. He had a strong accent and I didn’t quite catch what he was asking, but I thought I heard him say “where” and “metro.” So I responded cheerfully, “Oh! Yes, it’s down the stairs over there,” and gestured politely toward the entrance to the U-Bahn. He repeated something, but I still couldn’t understand as I wasn’t even sure what language he was speaking, so I gently said, “I don’t know. I’m so sorry I can’t help.” Then all of a sudden in much clearer English he sharply said, “I asked you a simple question and you say (and he switched to a very sarcastic mocking tone), ‘I don’t know…blah blah blah.’” And then he angrily stormed off! I was stunned.

Chris explained to me after that he thought the guy was trying to ask us for our train ticket so he could reuse it. But for the rest of the trip, whenever Chris and I asked each other a question, we responded with (in a mocking tone), “I don’t know…blah blah blah.” It cracked us up for days!

We also giggled at this menu with “rabbit-shit” on it, this “soup of the day” board, and every time we saw an exit sign in German. What can I say? We’re easily entertained.

Best Meal

This is always tough category, especially since we ate our way through the delicious cuisines of four countries! This was my first time trying schnitzel, real apple streudel, krapfen, and Sacher Torte, and they were all amazing. I also loved the goulash we ate in Germany. I could easily repeat this same itinerary just for the cuisine alone!

Something We Learned

I learned that Oktoberfest isn’t necessarily the drunken debauchery mess that I thought it would be. I mean, it certainly can be if that’s what you’re looking for, but it doesn’t have to be if that’s not your scene. Before we arrived in Munich, I sort of pictured Oktoberfest to be this massively overwhelming crowded situation descending upon the city to the point where I wouldn’t have any personal space. I read advice online to wear shoes that I don’t mind getting soaked with beer. I didn’t want any of my shoes soaked with beer!

Now that we’ve attended Oktoberfest, on opening weekend no less, I know that there are many flavors of Oktoberfest and you can make it anything you want from family-friendly fun, to a chill people-watching experience, to an all-out party-’til-you-pass-out rager. My shoes ended up being beer-free. And now I also understand that it’s about more than just beer – it’s a celebration of food, music, culture, and tradition. I loved hanging out in the beer tents and singing along with the traditional songs and even some American songs.

We’re Thankful We Packed

A wide variety of outfits for all different kinds of weather. We did not expect it to be over 90 degrees the entire time we were in Austria, but thankfully we packed some short-sleeve shirts and shorts. I’m also thankful to have purchased a dirndl ahead of time! It was so easy to have it on-hand already instead of spending time shopping for one. And I must have looked fairly festive – a group of tourists at Hofbräuhaus requested a photo with me!

We Didn’t Need To Bring

I can’t remember anything extraneous from our packing efforts. We packed pretty light, and I think we managed to wear everything we brought in our one carry-on each.

Trip Regrets

I wish we could have seen more of Munich, especially on a day when it wasn’t pouring rain. But we were busy Oktoberfesting, so we didn’t really have time to see much beyond the highlights.

Reasons To Go Back

I’d love to see these countries during the holiday season to see the Christmas markets!

Favorite Photos

Again, really tough to narrow it down to a few favorites for four countries, but I picked one from each that I love!

December 5, 2016
Bratislava Day-Tripping

Admittedly Slovakia wasn’t exactly on my radar until I started planning our time in Vienna, Austria, which ended up being the first two days of our two-week Central Europe trip. Once I realized how quickly and easily we could experience an additional capital city on this trip, I decided to give up one of our Vienna days in order to take a day trip over to Bratislava.

We originally planned to take an organized tour (round-trip transportation plus walking tour) to cross the border for simplicity’s sake, but when I discovered the start time would require us to be out the door about an hour or so before I’m functional in the morning, I decided to DIY the whole thing. And it couldn’t have been easier.

Before we left for the trip, I booked bus tickets online through FlixBus, traveling from Vienna Erdberg to Bratislava Novy Most. The morning of our day trip we simply took the U-Bahn (underground subway) from our Vienna hotel to the Erdberg bus stop, hopped on the big green bus, and enjoyed the comfy one-hour ride straight to Bratislava. The Novy Most bus stop put us right next to the main old town area. Easy breezy, and much cheaper than an organized tour!

We wandered the cozy pedestrian streets of Old Town on our own, discovering quirky statues, a mixture between tattered structures and cheerful buildings, and ample people-watching opportunities.

If there’s one thing we noticed around Old Town, it was all of the quirky, fun-loving statues. This one popping out of the sewer garnered a lot of attention from fellow tourists, and where else can you have the perfect opportunity to sidle up to Napoleon hovering behind a park bench?

For an easy way to get up to the castle, we took the one-hour Up to the Castle tour on the cutest little open-air bus, the Presporacik-Oldtimer. It meets its passengers right near the historical building of the Slovak National Theatre.

At 20 euro per person, this ended up being kind of a pricey spin around the town while listening to a pre-recorded audio guide, but in the interest of time it worked out well. I don’t think we would have made it back to the FlixBus in time for our return trip if we had trekked up to the castle and back on foot. Plus it took us away from the historic center and showed us a bit more of the surrounding Slovak socialist architecture. Random fun-fact: we learned from the audio guide that the tallest building in Bratislava, the Bratislava National Bank, has twenty-three elevators. If that ever comes up on Jeopardy, I’m ready.

It’s worth noting though that if you actually want to stay and tour the castle and don’t want to hoof it back down afterward, this isn’t an effective mode of transportation since the Oldtimer only stops at the castle for fifteen minutes.

After exploring the city center and cruising around in the Oldtimer, we walked across the Novy Most bridge to the UFO Tower where we took a speedy elevator up to the observation deck for an amazing view of the city. The entrance fee cost 7,40 euro each, but I’m a sucker for a good view and photo op. Here is where you can get a better idea of how the more opulent and medieval historic center is nestled in among modern structures.

We enjoyed drinks at the bar right below the observation deck before heading back to the bus stop to catch our bus back to Vienna. Look how much ice they gave me at the bar to go with my Coke Light! If you are an American traveling in Europe, you know this is a big deal. (Not pictured, Chris’s local Slovak beer. And the amazingly refreshing lemonade was from a stop earlier in the day at a cafe called Moods.)

Somehow we totally missed seeing St. Elizabeth, the Blue Church. It’s on the outskirts of Old Town, and didn’t know about it until we got back from the trip! I’m kind of bummed about that because it looks like a really beautiful church. I don’t think we rode past it on the Oldtimer. I’ll simply have to put it on the list for the next time I happen to be in Bratislava!

I’m so glad we added this charming city to our itinerary, if nothing else but to dispel the only (wildly inaccurate) image of Bratislava in my head courtesy of the movie EuroTrip. It’s well worth visiting, especially if you’re right next door in Vienna. Up next, Chris and I hop on a train toward Salzburg, but first we make a stop in Melk!

October 17, 2016