Oct 1 - Biking in Bratislava

It's another glorious day on our travels. The ominous clouds that we saw in Vienna didn't follow us here!

Thanks to Wikipedia for the following background information on Slovakia and Bratislava:

Slovakia (official name The Slovak Republic) is a landlocked country in the eastern region of Central Europe. It is bordered by Austria in the southwest, Hungary in the south, Ukraine in the east, Poland in the north and Czech Republic in the northwest. Its capital city is Bratislava, the only capital of the world that borders with other two countries (Austria and Hungary). Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and its official currency is the Euro.

About 5.5 million people live in Slovakia. Most people are Slovak (86%).
The Slovak constitution guarantees a freedom of religion. The majority of Slovaks are Roman Catholics (69%).

The territory of Czechoslovakia was liberated by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945. After the liberation, Czechoslovakia was reunified and briefly existed as a democratic country. The Communist Party successfully performed a state coup in 1948 and ruled Czechoslovakia as a totalitarian one-party state which was a satellite of the Soviet Union. In 1989, the one-party rule of the Communist Party was overthrown during the "Velvet Revolution", which was a series of large and peaceful demonstrations by the citizens in the streets.

Czechoslovakia again became a democratic country. However, it split up into two independent countries (Slovakia and Czech Republic) in what came to be known as the "Velvet Divorce" on January 1, 1993 when it became an independent country.

Slovakia has no direct access to the sea. The most important waterway is the Danube, with the ports in Bratislava and Komárno. The Danube and the Rhine-Main-Danube canal connects Slovakia to the North Sea and the Black Sea.

Bratislava is set along the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian mountains. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century old town is known for its lively bars and cafes. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Castle overlooks old town and the Danube. Population is about 660,000 people. Today Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament and the Slovak Executive.

Our activity choice for this morning was another bicycle tour along with 18 others. Our guide Linda was aided by her colleague Simon who acted as “sweeper” at the back, keeping the stragglers on course.

Bratislava has six bridges that cross the Danube; five are located near the city centre and the other is located on the edge of the city. We crossed over one bridge and biked through a wonderful green space that is part of the huge National Slovak Park. The pathway was well-used by other cyclists, joggers, hikers, roller bladers and dog walkers on this lovely Sunday morning. We stopped for a mid-morning drink and then headed back to town, crossing via the longest (3 km) of the six bridges. Linda said that we did 25 kms, but our butts and legs said more that it had been more like 35 kms! Lots of biking and not a lot of photo ops, so not many pictures this morning.Read more