In Bratislava

We rode through flat and sparsely populated farmlard into Bratislava. We left the tourists and spoken english behind on the Hungarian side of the river where, we discovered, the historic towns and sites are. And, for good reason. The Danube was the northern boundary of the Roman Empire in the Carpatian Basin and they built a network of castles, forts and outposts to defend the frontier and protect trade from the barbarians across the river. That network has grown through the centuries to what we see today. The farmland was good riding but looked a lot like Dixon, Davis and Woodland.

We found the crowds again in Bratislava. We are staying in a Radisson and the place is packed. Lots of english speaking tourist and LOTS of bike tourists. See the photo of the bikes in the hotel lobby. Those are guests' bikes, not the hotel's. Most are organized tours. Our bikes are in our room, which is very nice with a river view. Now, we are going out to walk the town.

The city is slammed with tourists. The US Embassy is 150 yards from our hotel's front entrance.Read more