Bratislova, Slovakia

Wow, a good example of how the Internet can thwart your best attempts at communicating.  First, no access, then very slow speeds, then Blogger server problems and, finally, only German headings so that I couldn't figure out which word meant "sign in".

But here we are in Slovakia. I'll fill in the posts for our time in Budapest soon....but, for now, it's enough to say that we are having a wonderful trip, loved Budapest, had wonderful guides and tours and boarded the Swiss Jewell yesterday after a tour of Buda that was terrific.

The boat is charming; we've met a lot of interesting people and had a great time getting acquainted starting with the welcome dinner in Budapest at the Academy of Sciences and continuing on the boat.  We were given an orientation to the boat, found our cabin and unpacked (with, of course, not enough space for everything) then there was a safety drill followed by a wine reception and introductions to the whole staff and crew.  We had a wonderful and elegant welcome dinner which rivaled excellent restaurant food and terrific service.

After chatting with a Cruise Critic friend and his wife, we called it a night and looked forward to our first night of cruising on the Danube with all of the creeps and engine noises we expected given our cabin was at the rear (stern) of the boat.  We slept very well...on awakening found that we were going through a lock and looked out on a gray wall :)

Had a sumptuous breakfast buffet .... we eat seemingly every 5 minutes and relaxed until about 11 when we had a lecture on the history of Slovakia....very interesting, but long and detailed.  I know more about Slovakia that the Slovaks (according to the lecturer) :).  We disembarked after  lunch to go on a walking tour with our guide, Elena.  I must add that, after 3 days of glorious weather, we had payback today!  We awoke to gray skies, and a 60 % chance of rain - which rapidly became 100%.  Changed shirts several times and finally settled on a combination of sweaters and our warm jackets (along with scarf and gloves for me).  We must be living right because although it was cool and misty, it was not unpleasant and our wonderful guide kept us entertained as we walked through this charming little city.  The citizens are so proud of their country's complex history and love to tell stories and anecdotes along the way.

 Co-incidentally, the World Hockey Tournament is here and Sweden and Finland are playing for the championship TODAY.  We had fun wishing the fans well and seeing the Finnish team pass us on a narrow street.  There are statues of hockey players around the city and I took pictures of some of the festivities to post soon.  Slovakia has about 5.5 million citizens; 500,000 in Bratislava and the country is about the size of West Virginia.  Until they became a republic in 1993, they had 3 state languages - Slovak, German and Hungarian.  It always amazes me to find that most people in Europe speak more than 2 languages well and can read or understand even more.  We have a lot to learn about from them despite the superior attitude of many Americans.

Pictures of Bratislava

10:30 pm - Had another multi-course delicious dinner with 2 couples whose company we enjoy!  Then to the 'folkloric entertainment in the lounge.  A string quartet and 2 dancers playing Slovakian music from each part of the country with examples of a variety of folk dances.  Lots of fun, especially when they interspersed American country or old time songs (like Oh, Suzanna), an irish jig, etc.  Interesting to guess at the derivation of similar music.  Off to bed....Vienna tomorrow!!  Weather to be in the low 60s with clouds.... we are looking forward to coach tour of Vienna (Opera House, Parliament, City Hall and the Ringstrasses followed by the Silver Chamber at the Hofburg Palace with free time for lunch and exploring on our own in the afternoon.  Evening dinner at the Palais Pallavicini and an Imperial Viennese evening.

This trip is exceeding our expectations!!