19August 2018

How amazing to pass through three countries in one day! Yes, today was awesome but it did not start well for ‘loskop’ me. For those of my readers who are not familiar with South Africanisms, ‘loskop’ means scatterbrain! I shall, during this story share with you my little disasters, knowing that there will be a lot of shaking of heads and muttering of – how could she and will she ever learn! I could just leave those embarrassing bits out but I feel that the bad must be reported along with the good. This is an honest account of my trip and let my experiences be a warning to other ‘loskops’ to be vigilant

Disaster number 1. Lolz and I were running late. We had to be at the bus before breakfast @ 6:20. Lolz dashed out first so as not to miss Joshi who had to load up before he went for his breakfast. I quickly gathered my stuff and followed soon after and so of course left several small items behind – only noticed at the next hotel in Vienna. And we missed Josh. So Lolz watched the bags while I went to breakfast and to ask Josh to go down to open the bus when he finished his. I then relieved Lolz while while she dashed in to eat. It must be said that Joshi was forgiving and charming and did not give us a hard time for being late!

There was one short comfort stop while still in Czech Republic where we got rid of our koruna and then it was into Slovakia. Our lunch break was in the beautiful city of Bratislava. En route Filip fed us interesting historical facts and on arrival took us to a meeting place and set us free to explore. While there, disaster number 2 happened. There was so much to photograph and at one of the places we stopped to look at menus I must have absent mindedly put my phone down on a table while taking a piccie of the surroundings. Some opportunistic thief could so easily have nicked it. I usually keep my phone in my bag and didn’t notice it was gone until I looked for it, Lolz phoned the number but of course no reply, Gone!

Yes, dear reader, I was stupid! I know it! But I’m not letting this spoil the rest of my trip. I still have my money, my passport, my camera and my iPad. Losing a phone is a nuisance but it can be replaced.

The Danube is the river that runs through Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the only capital in the world that borders two countries, namely Austria and Hungary. I loved the cobbled streets, architecture and vibe is this beautiful city.

Napoleon’s soldier is a reminder to tourists that the infamous leader visited Bratislava 1805 and 1809

Cumil, the bronze statue of a man coming out of a sewer was hard to find at first but then we saw him on Panska street. Perhaps he is taking a break from work to look at the passing parade of tourists.

There were many other interesting statues but with so many tourists posing with them I gave photography of them a miss.

Vienna

Vienna was just another hour’s drive and after checking in we boarded the bus with our local walking guide,Walter. He gave an interesting talk about the history of Vienna. He is proudly Viennese and after living for 10 years in the USA, he was more than happy to return. And who can blame him? Not only is it architecturally very beautiful it is clean, everything works and the government look after its citizens very well. There is little unemployment and the lifestyle is relaxed.

After the walk we had some free time before dinner. Lolz and I went into the church where a mass was in progress. We lit candles for Mom, Dad and Aunt Leonie. They would have loved this beautiful church.

Dinner was interesting. The restaurant was underground and served traditional food. Lolz had the best schnitzel ever and I enjoyed the goulash. We also had traditional musicians entertain us with a variety of songs from The Sound of Music to Waltzing Matilda especially for the Aussies.

My impressions of the city – just stunning! Beautiful with a great vibe. It’s prettier than Amsterdam but there’s just something about Amsterdam that keeps it at Number 1 for me.