//Day 6 /17-03-22 /Vienna - Bratislava

As mentioned in a previous post leaving a big city is most of the time no fun. Vienna proofed otherwise and that it can also be a pleasant experience. Most of the times I cycled separate bicycle lanes and once I crossed the Danube Kanal I entered the Prater park, crossed a big bridge under a bridge…and was on the left bank of the Danube. The ride to Bratislava was less then 70 K, no head wind expected….My visit to Vienna was (to) brief and I want definitely to return. Vienna is great to discover by bicycle. Most of the times there are designated bike lanes. If any point of criticism it would be the many red lights…..

The route along the Danube was well,  Danubisch… : to the right the Danube, to the left fields, sometimes a small forrest, no people but myself (except a guy who was pushing a trolley suitcase in the middle of nowhere. I tried to make some conversation with him but he only grunted). For the remainder of the route it was the Danube, fields and myself. The most exciting part was a  stretch of 30 K without any turns…. During this stretch I decided that I will try to follow a route away from the Danube. I like the Danube but trop is trop…

Although some unexpected headwind I arrived in Bratislava after 73 K before hotel check-in time at around 13.15. As my room was only available at 14.00 I decided to do some maintenance work on Black Horse : oiled his chain, tightened his bolts and changed slightly the angle of my saddle. I’m a man without bum fat so the saddle needs to be perfectly placed….. When I tried to inflate the tires I noticed that the pump was not working well. Not an issue now, but could be a problem when you have a flat in the middle of nowhere and not able to inflate the tire. I needed to buy a functioning pump somewhere. Strange how small things suddenly can become important.

After I checked-in I hit Bratislava city. Capital of Slovakia. It has been almost 30 years when I visited the city. I remembered that the city was mostly ugly soviet-style apartments with a small historic city center. When I arrived today the Soviet-era apartments had been replaced by modern apartments, shopping malls and offices. The small historical city center was still in place but also had a renovation redo. I saw a a lot of European flags on buildings, boulevards,..so assume joining Europe did Bratislava well. A lot of shops in the historical city center were empty and for rent. No big name shops one would expect, I did not see any museum besides the Jewish museum… 

There were also not a lot people around and Bratislava had certainly not the typical vibe you see in other capitals. Bratislava is not playing in the champions league of capitals…as it  neighbours Vienna, Prague and  Budapest. On the positive side restaurant/bar prices  are significantly lower then Vienna.

In the city center there were no sport shops. After asking some pointed me to a shopping mail along the Danube a short walk away. The shopping mall was part of a new city reconversion and housed all the typical brands you would have expected in a city the size of Bratislava. The shopping mall was full of people. I became clear why there were almost no people in the city center..

I found a sport shop and bought a new air pump…..

The difference between Vienna/Austria and Bratislava/Slovakia was quite visible ;  a language I no longer understood, lower prices , adult people drinking red bull in the afternoon, casino’s, a lot of vaping people on the street and in the historical city center I counted 6 Thai massage parlours besides the various XXX clubs promising weekend and other pleasure,..All people I spoke were  friendly and helpful, Plenty of public transport, not a lot of cars,….

I had also forgotten that Slovakia is a beer country. I visited a bar and a restaurant today who brew their own - excellent - pivo. I also took the opportunity to eat potato dumplings filled with meat served with Sauerkraut and cream. Slovakian dishes I learned to know 30 years ago. Although more Czech then Slovakian I hope to eat one of these day Goulash with breaddumplings… 

Tomorrow will bring me to the well known Slovakian border city Komarno. Some 120 K away, in the middle between Bratislava and Budapest. Initially I had planned to cycle via the Slovakian side of the  Danube but after my Danube overdose of today  and inspecting the map that  it would be me, the Danube and some fields again…I decided to cycle via the Hungarian side of the Danube via the small cities Mosonmagyarovar and Gyor. An additional 20 K which I’m happy to pay for a change of scenery. Although I will cycle most of the day in Hungary I will sleep in Slovakia.

Lessons learned ; 

• Most of the cars parked parked before the Bratislava Carlton are pimp style of cars (black shiny Mercs, BMW’s, dark windows,..) with big bearded men standing nearby. 
• The communists destroyed a big part of of the historical city center supposedly to build a new bridge but in reality to get rid of the Jewish heritage of the city. As result the historical city center is quite small and the highway runs through middle of the city center. 
• Inside the Carlton he only customers were big bearded men who were looking at the big bearded men standing beside their pimp styled cars (please explain…..).

Song of the day : Je pense á toi - Amadou & Mariam