One last breakfast in Budapest and we were off in Viktor to our next destination….Bratislava! The drive there wasn’t nearly as hairy as the one into Budapest as the sun was out and the roads weren’t as snowy/icy. 

  
   

 As we drove further a thick fog descended around us making our surroundings look mysterious and beautiful. It only took a couple of hours and we were in a new country….this was made abundantly clear as the architecture dramatically changed into very soviet-like buildings. We still had about 20mins to meet our next AirBnB host so we spotted a pub around the corner from our apartment and thought we would stop in for a quick beer. 

  Entering the shoebox-sized, smoke-filled bar we were reminded of an old western style movie when the cowboy walks through the swinging door, the music stops and all eyes turn to the new visitor. This is pretty much what happened, except we were the cowboys and there was no swinging door (pretty sure no music either but let’s just keep that part in there). The entire patronage consisted of 5 men, including the owner/barman sitting around drinking and smoking. Despite our urge to turn around and get the flock out of there, we had committed ourselves and therefore ordered a round of beers and sat in the corner drinking as fast as we could. Once finished we left the fine establishment and headed up to check in to our next accommodation. Our little apartment was a quirky little 2 bedroom about 15mins walk from the heart of Bratislava. We dumped our bags and went in search of lunch. We found a typical Slovak restaurant and ordered from the menu. Scott had an amazing cabbage and sausage soup, Michele quite literally had ham with whipped cream and horseradish (apparently whipped cream with savoury dishes is a thing here) and Teresa had a chicken soup.

   
  These entrees were followed by delicious sheeps milk dumplings (just like pierogi!). 

  

        
A walk into the old town afterwards was beautiful as the sun disappeared and the fog lingered. Bratislava is definitely a contrast to the beautiful buildings of Ljubljana and Budapest, there is a noticeable amount of vandalism through the parks and buildings and it just seems a little dirtier. That being said, it still has a certain beauty which is amplified by walking around the snow-covered streets in the misty twilight.

   
    
  

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

 You get quite used to walking around Europe in the dark as the days are so short. Nothing really starts until 9:30-10am and the sun sets by 4:15pm. We continued to wander around the streets exploring, past an outdoor ice-skating rink and various brightly lit trees, stopping every now and then to warm up with a hot wine or two. 

   
   
By dinner time we were all a little tired and agreed that we would pick up some supplies for a home cooked meal. We stopped for one last drink in a bar called “Savage Garden” where a lovely waiter was so proud to create cocktails for us. Scott was put on dinner duty and his ham, cheese and mustard toasted sandwiches were the best we’d ever tasted! Off to bed ready to explore more tomorrow.