Slovakia
Vydrica

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    • Day 5

      Dinnerspot Tag 5

      August 26, 2022 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Vom UFO marschieren wir tapfer bei Affenhitze zum Vegan Kiosk, wo es für uns beide einen Salat to go gibt. Mit diesem geht's mit den öffentlichen an eine Abzweigung der Donau, wo wir und auf eine kleine Sandbank setzen und den Sonnenuntergang genießen.Read more

    • Day 38

      The Reactor Fails

      October 1, 2016 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Saturday October 1st
      In Which the Reactor Fails and the Canons are Fired

      It is amazing just how often the shortest days turn out to be the most eventful. At around 30 km the ride from Carnuntum to Bratislava should have been an absolute doddle in the park. It didn't turn out that way.

      Way back home in Melbourne a ferocious battle was being played out between the Sydney Swans and the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs apparently had not won a grand final since the time of Noah, and were everyone's sentimental favourites. Even though we were on the other side of the world, due to the wonders of the Internet, we were able to follow the unfolding drama while we were having breakfast. It was quite something to see a group of Ghostriders all gathered around the tiny 2 inch screen of someone's mobile phone, all trying to glimpse a piece of the action. Every few moments the picture froze (always at a critical moment in the game) causing those watching to break out in a loud chorus of jeers and accusations that someone was secretly downloading movies on the hotel's wifi connection

      When the Bulldogs finally emerged triumphant, the group seemed happy that justice had been served and the evil menace from Sydney had been defeated.

      We then had a short meeting with the guy who has been looking after our luggage. The lanky guy answered to the name of "Wolfgang" (not many of them in Australia, but still a popular name in Austria) and was able to give us some valuable information about the next couple of day's riding. "Bad weather is on the way", he promised. After so many weeks of perfect sunny days, none of us believed his dire forecasts.

      Soon we were all off exploring the nearby Roman ruins. When I saw the great number of aging riders climbing all over the stone walls of the old city, I could not help but think that one collection of ruins was being examined by another.

      Around 10.30 am we decided it was time for morning tea and started to head for a delightful coffee shop in the town. We had not gone far before Scott started to complain. "My motor is not working", he moaned. He was not commenting on his state of health, but rather on the operation of his electric bike. It was not operating properly. In fact it was not operating at all

      Nothing, Nada. Zilch. David and I pooled our combined expertise in electric bikes (exactly nothing) and decided that "something was wrong". We tried the old remedy of a few hard whacks, but even that didn't seem to achieve anything. What were we going to do ?

      A couple of phone calls to Wolfgang sealed the deal. Scott would not be able to continue. It was arranged to get a lift to Bratislava and to get a new bike organised for the following day. It was a disappointment but we had no other option.

      While all this was going on, three other members of our peloton somehow went missing (we never saw them for the rest of the day). Things were definitely not going according to the script. I rounded up the dregs of our group and announced that we would be heading for Bratislava before anything else went wrong.

      Finally we got moving in the right direction and started to make some progress. I knew that one of the highlights of the day's ride would be the border crossing from Austria to Slovakia. In the not so distant past this border crossing marked a significant border into the soviet eastern block countries. Today the border can be crossed without even a passport or a vigorous interrogation and thrashing by one of the border guards

      The only thing left to mark the location of the border crossing are the large complex of buildings and checkpoints - now all unused and falling into disrepair.
      On the outskirts of Bratislava we started to encounter a throng of keen Saturday morning riders from the capital. The bike path appeared to be the equivalent of their "Beach Rd", with many serious riders on expensive machines.

      Not far from the bike path we saw a huge fortified blockhouse and decided to investigate. It turned out to be one of the series of huge forts that were built by the Czechs back in the 1930's to defend their borders against attack. With walls over 2 meters thick and equipped with an array of high powered machine guns, it was home to a garrison of 27 soldiers at a time. A young volunteer offered to give us a tour of the interior and gave us a fascinating insight into how the fortification operated. The lowest levels could only be accessed by climbing down a vertical ladder into the lower storage and sleeping quarters.

      Although Czechoslovakia was well prepared for invasion and was famous for the high quality of its weapons and had a huge army, due to the treaty of 1938 they signed over all control to Germany.

      A very surprising act indeed. Germany thus took over control of the whole network of fortifications that had been built at such a high cost to defend the country.

      After an hour exploring the fort we resumed our ride into Bratislava. This involves riding over a huge and very impressive bridge, complete with towering observation deck. When we met up with the other riders of our group they explained that they had been enjoying themselves by watching a large number of locals who were dressed in medieval military costumes and re enacting some famous battle. They even had a large number of muskets and canons which sent booming detonations out over the city. What an impressive way to welcome the famous Ghostriders to Bratislava. We were quite overwhelmed.

      The first impressions of the city itself were extremely favourable. We had arrived in the midst of a vibrant weekend scene with hundreds of formally dressed locals, all apparently on their way to a wedding. It seemed that the first Saturday in October must be the most popular day for Slovaks to get married.

      We then took a long (and very slow) detour through the old city. Hundreds of pictures were taken and there was much oohing and ahing over the beautiful old buildings. It is a pity that we will not have more time to experience this delightful place.
      Read more

    • Day 22

      Bratislova, Slovakia

      July 10, 2016 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Even today, it seems the locals keep a watch over their shoulder and won't do anything to catch the attention of corrupt police. They remain affected by both communist and Russian rule last century. Slovaks are quite different to their Czech neighbours and pleased to be separated now. However, they're very proud Bratislava is the EU capital city right now.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Vydrica

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