Moving on…& underground again!

It was finally time to head back west, on to Bratislava. Frank and Mel kindly drove us through the rain to Kysak station, where we enjoyed one last cuppa along with the tune of the announcements….& a hoard of children off on a trip to the wilderness 🤪

Our train was very comfortable, but the rain and low cloud continued: hopes of seeing the Tatras appeared low, but finally the weather lifted and sunshine appeared for the 5 hour journey. Music, ebook, snacks and a cuppa kept us going, & the carriage was very quiet.

Almost failed to get off: they made up the delayed start and arrived on time 💪

We walked 10 minutes towards town to find a temporary uninspiring door hiding the way to a beautiful spacious apartment in an old building, opposite the Presidential Palace 👍

A quick wash-load and we set off for the short walk to St Michael’s gate, an iconic entrance to the old town.

We continued to the main square, pausing there to take some pictures, including one for a Saudi man and his wife.

Onwards to the unpronounceable old town square, Hviezdoslavovo námestie. Clearly the cultural quarter, with the National Theatre and Opera at one end.

Past a chunky, massive, brutalist monument to Ludovit Štur, the leader of Slovak national revival.
Interestingly enough, I read that on the same place there used to be a statue of Maria Theresa which was demolished by the anti-Habsburg people and this one was installed as a sign of rebellion on its place…..& that Štur died at 40 after accidentally shooting himself 😳

Once more, we reached the ubiquitous Danube, the beautiful river that we had seen in Budapest, Ruse and Vienna. We would see it again later in the week, but here it was wide yet fast flowing in the late evening sunshine.
We walked along and then crossed on the modern Most SNP - Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising. Also known as the UFO bridge, it was built between 1993-2012, and is the world's longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane 💪
At the far end, there is the impressive UFO restaurant & viewing platform, but we were too tired to be bothered to take the rather over-priced lift for a view 🤣

Back across on the sunny side, we headed up to the very cool Underground Tea Room for a light dinner and cuppa. One of several hundred such places that were built as bunkers during the Cold War, I was surprised to read that this little one could house up to 45 people for up to 75 hours 😳.
Fortunately they were never needed, & we were also lucky to find the last seats in the cool little ‘rooms’. We found the Macha milkshake and Nepalese white tea certainly hit the spot, & the young lady serving was very good at her job 👍
Amusing to witness the intense young man across from us trying to impress the young lady he was apparently trying to woo 😘

Darkness has fallen during our time underground, so a final wander through atmospheric old streets home.Read more