In Budapest we said good-bye to Erika,
our tour guide of the past twelve days...
...and boarded the Emerald Star for our two week river cruise.
There were 178 passengers on our ship...
a big change from the ocean cruise ships we had sailed on previously.
In our room we found a bottle of Prosecco waiting for us...
a gift from Tamara, our travel agent.
We shared it with some of our 'land tour friends'.
Our room was simple and lovely.
Though none of the staterooms have full balconies...
our 'panorama balcony suite' had floor to ceiling windows that open halfway.
with an open stairwell in the middle.
We were on the main deck...which also had the restaurant at one end.
The lounge was on the floor above us...
with a sundeck at the very top.
There was also a heated pool with small lounge...
where we never spent any time at all.
Bratislava is the Capital of Slovakia.
We chose to wander Old Town on our own.
We walked the cobblestone streets...
...and narrow alleyways.
It was a cool morning and the patio restaurants were empty when we arrived.
A few hours later we were in good company.
The Slovak National Theatre.
The main square in Bratislava.
Plague Column...
erected in 1713 to commemorate the end of a plague epidemic.
The flags of Slovakia and Canada outside of the Canadian Embassy.
The concert hall in Bratislava.
St. Martin's Cathedral...
a 13th Century Roman Catholic church.
The Palace of the Royal Hungarian Diet was the seat of the Hungarian parliament from 1802-1848.
We also wandered down residential alleyways where no tourists go...
like this one where the ambassadors from foreign countries live.
Why the doors were so tiny?
If you had a residence here...
you were in heaven.
Apparently!
St. Michael's Gate
One of the oldest structures in Bratislava is St. Michaels Gate...
built in the 13th century and is one of the only gates left of the original city wall.
Photo taken from the bridge at Michael's Gate.
On the bridge was a gentlemen playing for coins.
We never saw many street people in these historic cities.
Starbucks...
in every nook and alley!
The Reduta building...
central hub for cultural events and performances.
Next to the old town of Bratislava is a modern bustling city centre with tall residential towers.
We had seen enough of historic buildings...
and were happy to take a drive into the countryside.
We were welcomed into the home of a local family...
where we were served homemade baking and homemade wine.
Our host spoke little English, but our tour guide served as interpreter.
We were invited to see the garden, the chickens, the rabbits...
..as we toured the backyard.
It was good to see how the people in the country lived!
After a day of Slovakian immersion...
we had dinner on the ship and then a performance of Slovakian dance by a talented young couple.
We watched from a corner table of the lounge as we played Skyjo.
As we left the port of Bratislava that night...
we passed by the city's iconic landmark on the hill above the Danube.
A beautiful parting shot of Slovakia!
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