We sailed out of Budapest at around 7:30pm and crossed into Slovakia around 3:00am. We encountered the first of the 68 locks we'll be going through on this trip about 9:30am. We entered the lock and just sat there. The doors didn't close behind us. I wondered if we were having to wait for another craft to join us. Indeed, after about 25 minutes, here came a Viking river cruise ship, the Gefjon. The doors of the lock closed, and we began our 20-minute rise to the top. Then we were on our way again. Everyone was excited to watch this first lock experience. I suspect it will get very old at some point, as there are days on our cruise where it appears we may be constantly in and out of locks.
We arrived in Bratislava midday and set out on our planned excursion not too long after. Our bus whisked us up the hill toward the castle. Along the way, we drove through what our tour guide called Bratislava Beverly Hills. This was clearly an elite residential area of the hills, with lovely houses and views over the city and river. There were a number of diplomatic residences and others attributed to people who had made money in the black market or various forms of corruption. We got to see what is known as the Bratislava White House, a diplomatic residence, not the embassy.
We visited the castle and enjoyed the views of the city and learned about some of the local history.
A view of the New Bridge, with its revolving restaurant at the top.
Then we were taken to the Old Town area. We entered through Michael's Gate and walked to the main square. We saw musicians here and there. It was a nice Sunday afternoon, and people were out at cafes and strolling down the promenade.
There were numerous tables of people playing chess, apparently a national pastime.
And we encountered a very good (and good sized) brass band. Just a happy Sunday afternoon.
We ended our walking tour at St. Martin's Cathedral and then walked back to the river and our ship.
Avalon had arranged a treat for us after dinner--a group of young women called Aphrodite. Piano, violin, viola, cello, and flute. We thought they were about to play classical music, but instead played songs from musicals and movies for about an hour. They were a local group and really quite good. They played unusual arrangements that were like a jazzy take on the originals.
We sailed out of Bratislava at 11:15pm and enjoyed a good view of the castle.
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