Nitra

The published schedule was to arrive overnight and visit the Basilica, the largest in Hungary, then free time in the town returning for lunch and continuing on to Bratislava. However the water level was too low for us to dock. So plan B was to dock at Kamaron at 09:00 and have coaches take us back to Esztergon, ( 1 hour there, 2 hours on coach), Plan C was to keep going to Bratislava and have an extra half day there to explore by ourselves. Eventually plan D was announced - we would stop at Komaron and have 2 1/2 hours to explore the town by ourselves, although advised probably not enough time to visit the fortress which is the main attraction in the area. We walked to the nearby bridge and turned left across the bridge towards Slovakia, (turning right would have taken us to Tesco and a KFC). Komarom (Hungarian version) and Komarno (Slovakian version) were originally 2 separate towns, but effectively combined themselves into one using a common name when the “Elisabeth” bridge was built (in 1896) across the Danube connecting them. After WW1 the towns were split as the Danube became the border. Thanks to Schengen rules we just walked into what is known locally as the “old” town. As not on our itinerary I have no idea what we should have been specifically looking to see, so attached is a selection of pictures of what appeared most interesting. Back to the ship in time for our 12:30 departure and lunch and as we head towards Bratislava we have encountered our first shower of rain, probably not enough to impact the river level but the fishermen on the shoreline have now put waterproofs on. Expect to arrive Bratislava around 18:30.Read more