Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria

Our trip to Bratislava, started off with the simplistic intention of ticking another country off the list. Our knowledge of Slovakia was limited to being able to pin-point it on a map in central Europe, linked to neighbors by the famous Danube River. Distant memories of primary school days recalled the name Czechoslovakia; and an earlier visit to Prague had given us a history lesson in the 'Velvet Divorce'. A walking tour in this city gave gave us an insight into the pre and post Communist era that echoed the memories of locals we had met during recent visits to other former Soviet states.

Vienna, Austria - Part 2

On Christmas Day, we woke early expecting the city to be full of life. However, it was the opposite - completely deserted as in all likelihood people were spending time with families and therefore the only people roaming the streets searching for breakfast options were the tourist. We soon realised that our only option for food was the hotel buffet. This turned out to be not a bad option, as we got to see nice scenic views of the city from the 12th floor, drinking sparkling wine and eating many different food options, including Viennese pastries.

Vienna, Austria - Part 1

Olie: "I took 720 photos in Vienna!" And we were only there for 3 days and 2 nights but enough content to spread this visit across two blog postings. Vienna was as picturesque as we had expected - the only thing missing was snow as we were there over the Christmas break and it would be nice to see a White Christmas. However, we made up for this by taking a couple of day trips in the form of organised tours and having a romantic candle lit dinner at the Kursalon where Johan Strauss (The Waltz King) entertained his audiences with the 'Blue Danube' - Austria's unofficial national anthem.