Monday, March 31, 2014

On Our Way to Budapest

Monday March 31, 2014

We have a long day of driving. We were on the bus by 7:30 am and ready to go. We will stop at some sort of a gas station along the way and purchase a baguette sandwich. Then our next stop will be in Bratislava for only a short visit and then on to Budapest for a Goulash Party and finally check into our hotel. We did stay in a nice Novotel in Krakow and now in Budapest we stay in a Mercure.

We made about 3 stops before our lunch break which was about 2 o'clock. We seemed to have taken a longer route than necessary so that Vaclav, our guide could drop off his girlfriend in Banska, Slovakia. It was a beautiful drive where we saw lovely scenery, ski area and agriculture. Slovakia seems to be well organized and has some industries such as car building which is a definite boost to their economy.


Entering Slovenia


A couple of sings for reminders


Leaving Poland


Coming from another pay toilet


Lovely countryside in Slovakia


Bratislava in Slovakia is a very nice city that would be a good one to return to. It seemed very historical and had a very lovely walking area to and around the square. It certainly did help that we had a very humorous guide while we were there. Many of the buildings are a combination of architecture due to various wars and problems. There were also some tapestries found between walls of a cardinals magnificent home after he sold it. Canon balls were also built into some buildings to look authentic but they are only for looks. The canon balls were coming from the wrong direction to locate where they are in the buildings.

There are also some unique brass figures located around the area of the square. There is one of Napoleon leaning on a bench and peering over someone's shoulder.




Old cathedral as part of the old wall of the city


Lovely architecture in Bratislava


Symbol on the walkway where the royal coronation route continued


Large emblem outside pharmacy


Napoleon figure leaning over bench to peer at your newspaper or to see what you may be texting.


There is also the man peering out from a manhole. It is said this man is the hardest working man in Bratislava. We did not have any free time in Bratislava due to time constraints. We should return here at least for a day.






Man in manhole again




Our tall guide who was 6'8" next to a brass figure in Bratislava


A lovely bridge with restaurant at top


Arriving into Hungary


Pouring wine as if from a special hose


Hearty stew but the real food is yet to arrive

We got into Hungary about 5 pm with approximately a 3 hour drive yet to Budapest. Our special Goulash Dinner with a folklore is near Budapest.

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