Dungroamin Holidays 2010

Saturday, June 5th

The organisational skills of Dungroamin Holidays knows no bounds. And on this trip we actually arranged a guide before we got there. So at 10am prompt, Eva arrived in the foyer of our hotel ready to take us wherevever we wanted to go. Being a local, interested in history and speaking non-stop very good English she proved an excellent guide.

We started off by going up to the castle which was just out the back of our hotel and where Eva told all about its history. We then came back into the old town. By this time it was about coffee time and Eva lead us on a fascinating tour of closed coffee shops. We eventually found ourselves at the River Danube and had coffee on a kind of semi boat overlooking the river.

The river was in near flood which was a problem because we had planned to take a boat trip up the river, but the flow was too fast for them to navigate.

The government building.

The gates to the castle.

After coffee as we walked along the river front, Alan was able to inform Eva about the interesting flood defences that they had along the river.

We found somewhere selling traditional Slovakian food for lunch. Having Eva with us, gave us confidence to order local dishes which tended to consist of significant amounts of gnocchi but actually weren’t bad.

One of the places we visited in the afternon was the cathedral. This was about to close for a wedding, but Eva flashing her official tourist guide badge managed to get us in. One of the rooms to visit is the crypt which is down through a kind of trap door into the cold basement. Dead bodies are sealed into the compartments along each wall, all with ancient numbering.

Fiona was not alone in feeling the place was bit creepy. Fortunatley they appeared to count you in and then count you out again, and the thought of getting trapped down there for the night did not appeal.

We had had a very informative day and thanks to Eva we now know where all the coffee shops are in Bratislava! (only joking Eva – thanks for showing us around)

In the evening we did the usual Dungroamin thing of wandering around the town looking for an eating place before ending up at the same place as the night before.

By all accounts bed time was less problematic, as Jerry and Fiona and Joanie and Brian had opened their wardrobes and discovered the second duvet.

A view over the Danube from the castle. The Danube River is the most international river on the planet – its course runs across or forms a part of the borders of several countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. It is the second longest European river after the Volga.

You’d have thought some one would have noticed that window in the way.

View across the city from the castle.

Eva uses sign language to get her point across to Jerry – vy u no understand?

In the town.

Cumil is one of the funniest statues around. He stares and laughs at everybody from a pothole.

A Cumil impersonator sits nearby.

The Paparazzi is a good example of how local companies participate at the centre beautification. He leans against a corner of a building, where a new restaurant, The Paparazzi, has just opened.

All the boats are tied up waiting for the water to go down.

On the other side of the river they are putting sand bags out.

An attractive building.

Schoener Naci is a legendary figue in Bratislava. Always courteous, always a gentleman, he was a welcome sight to everybody who went to the old town.

A street scene.

Is this Andy Warhol or just a dining girl?

A picture postcard street.

Ah, scrumptious!