Ok well here we are back on the bus heading for Austria, hard to believe we're going to be out of Slovakia in the next few hours. My impressions of Slovakia were that it seemed to be the poor relation to Czech Republic which doesn't seem to be quite fair when you consider that not so many years ago they were all one country, can't quite figure how they made the division, however I guess that's not so unusual in Europe, think I'd find it difficult to one day be a Czech & next day a Slav!! Anyway - we drove into the high Tatras & stayed in a lovely mountain resort with the intention of heading up the mountains to do some hiking, the weather had other ideas & we woke to rain & mist. Not deterred we took a train to a lake & walked around it even though at times it was difficult to even see the water. Later in the day we took a couple of chairlifts up the mountain & sat in a cafe drinking mulled wine which sort of made up for the disappointment, quite fun people with us luckily. Every now & then the mist would clear & we'd get a glimpse of the valley below, beautiful really. This morning we've woken to a clear blue sky where we can see for miles, so annoying but most people are philosophical about it, not me though, I'm really brassed off but no doubt I'll get over it, another exciting day ahead.
Had a lovely lunch stop in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, wandered around a castle with views of the Danube busy with craft of all shapes & sizes, then a stroll through the old city which was buzzing with activity, nice to sit outside with lunch & a beer (this part of the world is renowned for its beer production, & it like everything else is very cheap) & watch the people go by. We've now just crossed the border to Austria & about to settle here for a few days, from what I can see already it looks a much more affluent country than our previous two, no doubt this will reflect in the prices we encounter, time will tell! Have to leave it there for now, installed in our hotel in Vienna & it's off to do some exploring. All our love xxx