Saturday, December 15, 2018: Bratislava:

            When we awoke this morning, everything was covered with a fresh layer of snow.  It was beautiful view from inside.  Everyone had a relaxing slow morning.  Then everyone bundled up for a walk to the Bratislava Castle overlooking the city.  It was still snowing, but the sidewalks were clear enough that walking was not an issue.  It was a beautiful walk in the falling snow. However, at the top, due to the snow, we did not have a clear view of the city below. 

Entering the Bratislava Castle Courtyard

View of the Danube from the Castle and the "Flying Saucer" 

Cherie and Jana

Bratislava Cathedral

            This afternoon, we drove to the town Modra, to join a walking tour of the village/town.  Our guide gave us good information on the history of the area and town.  We entered two churches and climbed the city tower, giving us an overview of this village.  The Christmas market was our final stop, where they had more handicraft items, than at the markets in Vienna & Bratislava.

            It was a COLD windy evening/night.  Staying warm was somewhat of a challenge.  Getting back to the car was a relief - knowing we had seat warmers!

            We are exhausted tonight from the walking and cold, but it was a good day.

Slovakian Lutheran Church

Views from the Town Tower

Christmas Market from the Tower

Friday, December 14, 2018: Bratislava:

            Today was a slow day.  We each had a difficult night sleeping and were therefore late getting up this morning.  Our host went to school with her son and read to his class, so her husband went with us to a nearby restaurant for breakfast.  Most everything, including food, is cheaper here in Slovakia than what we found while we were in Vienna.

            After breakfast we returned to the apartment until it was time to drive to the airport to meet Cherie who was flying in today.  Her plane was a half hour late, but everything went as planned.  It was wonderful to see her again.

After Cherie arrived, we picked up our rental car, as we wanted Cherie registered as one of the drivers.  For lunch, we drove to a nearby shopping mall, after which we returned to the apartment for some much-needed rest and relaxation, until the host family returned from school and work.

            We have a reservation at a local Chinese restaurant for dinner.  Slovakian restaurants require reservations for dinner, and plan for you to have the table for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.   

            We had a lovely meal, and then walked through several Christmas market.  It is a cold night. In fact, it began snowing on our walk back to the apartment.

Bratislava Castle at Night

Carving Pork

Gluhwein and Sweets

Group Photo

Slovakia President's Palace

Thursday, December 13, 2018: Bratislava:

            This morning was spent exploring Bratislava - regular markets and Christmas markets, plus the Blue church.  Breakfast and lunch were eaten enroute. 

Bratislava Blue Church

Although Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia, it is a kind of a village city.  In other words, it is not a large city and has a village feel.

I have not mentioned anything about our hosts lovely apartment.  It is very large by European standards.  They are on the 3^nd and 4^th floors of an apartment building, so it feels like a house instead of an apartment. The floor plan is open, modern, and feels like an American apartment. 

Architecture of Bratislava

Young Children on an Excursion

Historic Bratislava Theater

Lunch at the Christmas Market

Michael City Gate of Bratislava

This afternoon we drove to the Devin Castle ruins.  The castle was built on the top of an outcrop of rocks.  From the 1^st to 5^th century, the Devin Castle was the northern most point of the Roman Empire – It was a frontier post.  In the 9^th century it was a major strong hold for Great Moravian Empire. It withstood the Turkish invasion but was blown up in 1809 by the French.  Today it is regarded as a symbol of the Slovaks who maintained their identity despite a millennium of foreign rule. 

We could not go the whole way to the top, as it is closed during the winter months, but we were within the ruins area.  From there we could see the Danube River flowing southeast, eventually through Romania and into the Black Sea.

This evening we had a wonderful homemade meal prepared by our host.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing along with booking hotels in Krakow and Bucharest for the following weeks. 

Devin Castle Ruins

The Danube River

Scenic View from The Devin Castle Ruins

Tuesday, December 11, 2018: Vienna, Austria to Bratislava, Slovakia:

            Our friend was waiting on us.  It was great to see someone you know.  We drove to Bratislava and their home.  After a light breakfast/cup of tea, and shower, we went to bed for a nap.

            We relaxed the rest of the afternoon, before going out for dinner.  The weather is cloudy and rainy, but there is no snow, at least not here.

            After dinner back at the apartment, we had a little dessert.  They picked up several small pastries, made by a chef/baker friend.  On the piece given to Cal, there were placed birthday candles, which he blew out after we sang Happy Birthday. 

Wednesday, December 12, 2018: Bratislava to Vienna:

            We walked to a wonderful little crepe shop for breakfast and coffee.  You had a choice of savory or sweet crepes.  We had one of each - so good!

Bratislava Presidential Palace

            From there we walked to the train station.  Our friends helped us with the tickets and all the details of where to go, then we were on our own!!  We rode the train from Bratislava, Slovakia to Central Station Vienna, Austria, which is an hour ride.  From there we took the “U” to one of the central squares, “platz”.

            Almost immediately after we exited the U Station, we spotted our first Christmas market.  It was already after 1:00, so we have to keep moving if we are going to see several of Vienna’s Christmas markets.  In 2012, we so enjoyed visiting the German Christmas markets.  These are very similar, but, yet they have some different items.  In the end, today we went to 8 markets.  We grazed as we went.  We collect two more Gluhwein mugs.  Each market has its own special mug.  When you buy your beverage, you pay a deposit on the mug.  If you do not want it, the deposit is returned to you when you return the mug.  So, we just did not return the mugs at one market.  We also picked up a few Christmas gifts today.

Our first Gluhwein

            It was a cool day, but we were dressed for it.  Later in the afternoon it began to rain.  We were glad when it turned to snow.  Things were a little messy, but the snow, added ambience to the markets. 

            By 6:00 we were ready to call it a day, but it did not work as well as we expected!  The train leaves every hour at 16 minutes pass the hour. We were a little late, so we knew we would miss the 6:16 train back to Bratislava.  A bite to eat was in order while we waited until 7:16. The 7:16 did not come and did not come.  Finally, it was cancelled.  When in fact it did come, all the riders already on-board had to disembark the train.  Something was not working, they turned off all the lights and the train left the platform.  By now it is after 8:00.  Just before 8:16, a new train came to pick-up everyone, and off we went, arriving back in Bratislava at the apartment around 9:30.  It was a long day, for being our first full day in town.  We should sleep well tonight. 

            It was a good day, even though we had train issues tonight.  

Ice Skating in the Park

Chocolate Fountain

Sloviaka, Poland, & Romania

Christmas 2018

            Ever since Mt Pleasant Evening Rotary Club hosted Corina Zaharia from Romania, I have been interested in visiting Romania. I am not sure what intrigued me about Romania, but it did – maybe it is Transylvania, but I’m not sure. Romania was on my bucket list, but low!

            Last spring when Cherie and I discuss where we wanted to meet to travel together, over spring break, this part of the world was mentioned.  Last Christmas we had a wonderful time exploring Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, etc.  After that experience, I had a stronger pull to the Balken countries than before.   

            In the spring Cal decided he would not travel with us, so when we discussed where he would prefer to travel, the Balkans or France, he said that he preferred the Balkans, So, spring break of 2018 found Cherie & I in France. 

            Serious discussion of this trip began in August 2018, when friends in Mt Pleasant, were celebrating their 50^th anniversary.  Both married daughters were home with their families.  As usual, the one stopped by the house to say Hi.  In the course of our conversation, a trip to Slovakia was discussed.  They live in Bratislava, Slovakia, and will be there one more year.  They invited us to visit and to be sure to include Cherie.  The girls have been friends since grade school. 

            Cherie’s job responsibilities are keeping her extremely busy, but she needs to use some holiday time in this calendar year. She can carry 5 vacation days over into the following year, but she needs to use the rest of the vacation days now.  Plus, she really does need a break from her intense work responsibilities.

            We determined our best flight would be directly from Chicago to Vienna, Austria with Austrian Airways. 

            Dates were finally set.  We are leaving Mt Pleasant on Monday, December 10, which is Cal’s birthday, arriving in Vienna on December 11.  Our friend will be at the airport to pick us up. 

            At the outset of our planning Cherie was going to arrive Dec 10, but all of a sudden there was a change in her work schedule.  She will be joining us on Friday, Dec. 14. 

            In the meantime, I contacted the former Mt Pleasant Rotary exchange student in Romania. After sightseeing in Slovakia and Poland, we are flying to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.  At first, we thought we would spend Christmas in the city, so as to not interfere with their family Christmas, but, No, we need to spend Christmas with them.  We accepted their generous offer to experience a Romania Christmas.

Monday, December 10, 2018: Mt Pleasant to Chicago to Vienna:

            We closed the suitcases, closed the house and were on our way, driving to Chicago. We decided to drive to Chicago, park at the Crown Plaza Hotel, and spend our dollars upgrading our flight to Premium Economy.  Everything went as planned and we were at the gate with plenty of time.  We were the first ones seated in Premium Economy, and only 2 other couples joined us.  It was unreal!  There is a total of 24 seats in Premium Economy and only 6 seats were filled.  The regular Economy section was full.  We asked the flight attendant about it and she told us this section was full on the flight into Chicago, so who knows. 

            Premium Economy is very nice.  The extra space is wonderful.  The food and drinks are upgraded too. 

            It was an uneventful flight, which is exactly what you want. 

hoar Frost in Illinois

Chicago at Night

Sunrise over Europe