Oct 23, 2011

Quiet cruising this morning with an information session re our disembarkation which is the day after tomorrow….unreasonably early. How quickly time has passed.

We motored in varying degrees of fog today until we docked in Bratislava after seeing many different versions of summer / holiday cottages / huts along the riverbank with a few luxury ones thrown in for good measure amongst the beautiful forest. We saw a few fishing lines thrown in and evidence of places to relax in warmer weather.

We took the opportunity to do a Wheelhouse tour this morning (Norm having done an engine room one a few days ago) which was interesting.

We had some quiet time after our walking tour of Bratislava and had a farewell cocktail with the captain including an opportunity to applaud the entire crew and hotel staff which was great…..including the 12 chefs…no wonder the food has been so awesome. We then had our farewell dinner as we have other things happening tomorrow night…and a very early start for some (us included) the next morning.



In the wheelhouse



The front part of a cruise ship for this line being pushed downstream in front of a barge for fitting out in Amsterdam. The middle section has already gone and the third and last of it still to go.



The Bratislava Opera House which was closed for refurbishment….as were heaps of other buildings. For a town with a population not a whole lot larger than Traralgon I don’t know how they can manage to fund such activities!



The first square we came to on our walking tour. The newer hotel on the left is the Carlton. The three buildings (in one) to the right of that was the original Carlton hotel (now the Radisson). The square was intersected by tram and walkways.



A lovely leafy area with lots of opportunities for eating and relaxing on a warm sunny day…..as opposed to the raining cold ones with water dripping from the trees like today.



St Michaels Gate, the only remaining gate from the original city wall.



Another square, the tower being part of the Original Town Hall complex along with the building to the right and souvenir stalls under the trees to the left



The exception to the rule….a ‘woman’ on a horse instead of a man! This is the Empress Marie Therese the Matriarch of the Hapsburg Dynasty who was the mother of 16 children who were pretty much all married off in strategic political / royal marriages and ruled Europe for 600 years.

Bits and Bobs:



A display in front of a Bratislava florist with typically beautiful displays of table decoration posies and wreaths with all sorts of things we don’t see in Australia. I’ve been very impressed by the artistry of the floral arrangements we have seen throughout our whole trip. Truly beautiful.



A quirky bit of sculpture outside the Paparazzi Restaurant



And another…….apparently has his head rubbed for good luck by the look of the shine on top of his hard hat.