Michael Faye Adventures 2014.

Saturday 27^th September, 2014…….Still docked in Vienna……got a bit ahead of myself here as it is tonight we sail to Budapest……some folk have opted for another day in Vienna whilst Michael and I have taken the optional excursion to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia……a very interesting day….Slovakia was once part of Czechoslovakia but in 1993 Slovakia broke away to become a separate country, and in 2004 they became part of NATO and started using the Euro for their currency whilst Czechoslovakia became the Czech Republic using the Krouna as their currency…. Once again as we left Austria to cross into Slovakia you noticed that things not quite as pristine as in Austria….and again the border crossing is non-existent, just abandoned buildings…. very green countryside and so many wind mills for power energy …..Slovakia has a policy to have no nuclear power plants and they do not generate enough power for themselves so they buy power from Austria…..something we have noticed all through this journey in Europe has been the solar power….many houses have their whole roof covered in solar panels….just amazing but many sell their surplus power back to the national grid…..that is a common thing here in Europe we were told…..Slovakia has Volkswagen, Audi and Kea car factories and that is the main employment here….a population of 5 million with 500,000 living in Bratislava, the capital…..Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe with a rich history that dates back before the first settlements of the Celts and the Romans…..Bratislava is on the Danube and an interesting history in that people living on the south bank of the Danube in Bratislava, still in the same house, have experienced life under Hungarian rule, then German rule and then Czechoslovakian rule!!!! All the Hapsburg Kings have been crowned in Bratislava……Beautiful building and architecture (shades of Cesky)…the old Town Hall and the Palaces testify to the importance that the city played in the history of Europe…..a very busy day here today in that a beer festival was in progress and a women’s running event so the place was a buzz with bands playing and other music and so many people……and so back on board and we were cruising by 6 pm on our way to Budapest…… M & F

En route to Bratislava....

The Castle...Bratislava....

A new building...the Parliament...Bratislava.....

The Castle entrance....

Accommodation....the guides keep referring to the Communist type accommodation which is everywhere still today in the Czech Republic and Slovakia....