{"@context":{"rdf":"http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#","rdfs":"http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#","owl":"http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#","foaf":"http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/","dc":"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/","dct":"http://purl.org/dc/terms/","sioc":"http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#","blog":"http://vocab.amy.so/blog#","as":"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#","mf2":"http://microformats.org/profile/","ldp":"http://www.w3.org/ns/ldp#","solid":"http://www.w3.org/ns/solid#","view":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/view#","asext":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/as#","dbp":"http://dbpedia.org/property/","geo":"http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#","doap":"http://usefulinc.com/ns/doap#","time":"http://www.w3.org/2006/time#"},"@graph":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/04/5aca7433342a5","@type":["as:Activity","asext:Acquire"],"asext:amountEur":"14.8","asext:amountGbp":"","asext:amountUsd":"","asext:cost":"14.80eur","as:content":"Entrance to UFO for two","as:image":{"@id":"https://i.amy.gy/obtainium/IMG_20180408_131501.jpg"},"as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-04-08T13:50:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/leisure"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/tourism"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/04/bratislava","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"
I fell in love with Bratislava immediately. I arrived on a pleasant afternoon, checked into my AirBnb (a comically small apartment) and then went wandering, ending up exploring the castle at dusk. The city reminded me in ways of Edinburgh and in ways of Sarajevo, both places I felt like I could call home.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nClose to where I was staying was the presidential palace, and a big inverted pyramid building. I went to see them, but like, don't go out of your way.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWalks along the river on both sides are pleasant. There are footpaths and parkland, not too much street hassle.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI climbed to the Slavin monument. It wasn't so far.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI took one afternoon to hike to Devin Castle, about 12km from the city. I mostly followed the river, having to detour on a couple of occassions. There was plenty of greenery, some parks that seemed to be crafted for nearby apartment blocks to enjoy, as well as wilder looking riverside beaches. THe walk took me along the top of an old quarry, through some vinyards, and eventually to the town of Devin. The castle itself is situated on the far side of town from where I emerged from the hills, and I was running out of steam and ready for lunch by the time I got there.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI bought a ticket just in time to have lunch in the grounds, as they close for a break for half an hour at 1300. Part of the castle (perhaps the interesting part) was closed for repairs. The rest was fairly pleasant, but pretty full of tourists. There's an exhibition about the history of Slovakia in one room.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe next part of the trek was to Dubravka, over the hills, about another two hours. From here, I caught a bus back into town.
\r\n\r\nWhen H arrived we embarked on another hike, this time to the distant Kamzik TV tower. You know I can never resist a tower on a hill. We took the elevator to the top, and stayed for a drink in the restaurant. It was pretty cloudy.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe whole area is a 'forest park' and it's huge. There are places set out for campsites, kids playgrounds, and exercise. There are a couple of bus routes running through as well. On the map and a couple of blog posts I saw 'cable cars' so we set out to find them. Turned out to be nothing more than ski lift, which I've never been on before, but I was swept off my feet before I could think too hard about it. It went pretty high, and pretty far.. probably ten minutes in total but it felt like eternity. H passed the time by telling me ski lift horror stories. When it finally ended, we walked around some lakes and tried to track down a bus back into town. We did not find the one I was expecting, but made it back eventually.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOn the last day we took our luggage to the bus station, and were greatly interrupted by a marathon taking place. A long line of runners got between us and the road to the bus station for what felt like an eternity. When we made it though, we were delighted to find the storage lockers are free! Unheard of. You just push some buttons, set a secret code, and lock your stuff inside.
\r\n\r\nA trip to Bratislava is probably not complete without going up the UFO bridge. Well, maybe you can skip it. It was pretty expensive (7.40eur) for the observation deck; you can go to the restaurant for free but that's a 30eur/dish kind of deal. The views are good, and adorably it's the smallest tower to belong to the World Federation of Great Towers.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nEarly afternoon we took the bus to Vienna. Regiojet sometimes has the route for 1eur, but more commonly (and what we paid, buying the ticket 20 minutes before departure) is 5eur. Beats FlixBus's 7.50!
\r\n\r\nI feel an absolute certainty in my heart that I'll be back to Bratislava, some day, for longer.
\r\n\r\nThe rest of the photos from Bratislava and the official food summary.
","as:name":"A week in Bratislava","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-04-08T19:30:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/04/i-love-bratislava","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"I love Bratislava.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-04-04T13:08:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/04/vegan-in-bratislava","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"Compared to the size of the city, there are a lot of veg*n places to eat. Most regular coffeeshops have plant milks, and a surprising number have raw vegan cakes too. It's overall cheap.
\r\n\r\nAlso quite a few places have vegan ice cream options. I got chestnut from Luculus 5 minutes after hopping off the bus.
\r\n\r\nBusy both times I went, this all vegan place has a pretty extensive menu. I tried the quesadilla which was more beans than cheese, but still good. A plate of some of the best chips I've had outside of the UK (high praise, y'know). Another time I was really not hungry enough for a full meal and I was definitely going to get soup or/and a cake, but the day's special was a pulled jackfruit burger.. It was great. I got fluffy creamy chestnut cake to go. My sister had the soup which was spicy and had avocado floating in it, which worked surprisingly well.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA foodtruck outside Tesco. Various burgers, drinks, bananabread. Interesting burger buns. Approved.
\r\n\r\nAll vegan bakery; I wish I had been able to try everything here. They also had a few groceries like nut butters. I ate a poppyseed pastry. No wifi, but a few seats and coffee as well.
\r\n\r\nAll veggie, mostly vegan. One of the only places I could find open on Easter Sunday, they have gyoza, ramen and falafel and hummus. Food quality is good. I ate miso soup and gyoza, which were covered in edamame and mushrooms. A small portion, but very delicious. They also have bottomless green tea.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA French crepe place, with coffees and fresh juices. They can make vegan and gluten-free crepes from almond milk and buckwheat flour, and have vegan chocolate options. I tried one with banana and blueberries, and one with 'nougat' chocolate sauce. There's wifi and lots of seating; I worked here for a whole morning. The espresso is good too.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNeed vegan junk food at 2am? No problem. I didn't go at 2am, but it was nice to know it was an option. Mid-afternoon, it wasn't busy and was a fantastic place to work, with wifi and power. I ate an absolutely fantastic quesadilla, which was just packed with not-cheese. They also have some great cakes; on another occasion I had a burger. It's good solid (omnivore) pub food, with extensive vegan options, big portions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAn omni place off the main street. I just stopped in for a coffee but ended up staying for a hot chocolate and waffles as well. Small portions, on the pricey side, but the hot chocolate was really fantastic. Good for vegan breakfast or snack, not so much for lunch.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThere were a bunch of places I tried to go to but didn't because they were closed when I was in the area, or were way too busy. Next time. Things I did in Bratislava that weren't eating.
","as:name":"Vegan in Bratislava","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-04-08T18:00:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/vegan"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/food"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/slovakia"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/04/week-in-review","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"The plan was to visit every country in the EU (before March 2019 for reasons). The plan was to spend at least a month in each one, ideally in one place, and just kind of absorb the surroundings. I alternate remote laptop work with city wandering, rural hiking, chilling out with the kindle in parks, coffeeshops, and vegan cafes.
\r\n\r\nThings haven't gone quite to plan so far though. I've been pulled around by people and events, in no logical order. Not complaining, but I really need to slow down for a while.
\r\n\r\nMy stay in Budapest was cut short on both ends, as at the beginning of March I had the opportunity to stay with Elizabeth and her family in Ljubljana for a long weekend. On the 21st of March, began a Vipassana meditation course in Mariazelle, Austria. I'd applied to sit, then agreed to serve when they emailed to say they were short-handed.
\r\n\r\nDreading the complicated and lengthy public transport options to the Austrian mountains, at the last minute I managed to catch a ride with another meditation student from Budapest. I made no onward travel plans, guessing I could wing it at the end of the course; I wanted to be in Bratislava, but was confident I'd get a lift at least to Vienna.
\r\n\r\nI did. I slept almost the whole way and was surprised to find myself deposited in a random suburb around 11am. I metro'd to Erdberg bus station, which is not particularly well located. Oh also it was Easter Sunday. Nothing was functioning. No coffee, no food. The bus station was open, but their internet was down. Which meant... they couldn't sell any tickets. I was told to hang about half an hour, then buy a ticket from the driver on the next bus to Bratislava. The bus was full. Next bus in an hour. I went back into the station and it seemed that the internet was back on, and they were frantically selling tickets to frantic people. I joined a line. By the time I got to the front of the line, the internet was broken again. I asked after the nearest wifi hotspot, and was told to go to MacDonald's two subway stops away. That seemed like a hassle, so I wandered into the main bus pickup area, and hopped onto a FlixBus network for just long enough to buy a ticket for the next Bratislava bus with the Flix app, which I'd had the great foresight to download and hook up to my paypal right before I left the meditation center. Onwards.
\r\n\r\nBratislava was a stop-gap. My next 'pull' was to meet my sister in Vienna. We hadn't seen each other for about three years, and she was over from the US for a conference. Her AirBnB was covered, so she agreed to let me sleep on the couch. Vienna is expensive, and spending a full two weeks there wasn't hugely appealing; hence Bratislava.
\r\n\r\nGood choice! I loved that city.
\r\n\r\nVienna airport is about half way between Vienna and Bratislava in fact, so my sister caught a late bus after her flight landed and stayed in my AirBnBs for two nights in Bratislava. I packed a majority of my touristing in during the last two days of her visit.
\r\n\r\nWe took a dead cheap and great quality Regiojet bus back to Vienna. We left our luggage in the FREE!!! lockers in the main Bratislava bus station for the first half of the day. I spent the week in Vienna working, indispersed with a little wandering and my first ~ ever ~ visit to a hair salon. There are plenty of vegan food options, including a bakery right in Stefansplatz metro station, though I mostly cooked in the flat. On my sister's free day, we hiked through vinyards to the eastern most foothill of the Alps (or something).
\r\n\r\nI caught an exceptionally good value Regiojet train to Brno, next. On the Vipassana retreat in Mariazelle I shared a room with P, who subsequently invited me to visit her in South Moravia any time. Since my next 'pull', a week after Vienna, was to Lyon for TheWebConf, and there are good Prague-Lyon bus connections, this is where I went next.
\r\n\r\nI spent a delightful week staying with P, her sister and parents in Hustopece. We synchronised our work hours, and when we were both free she took me to visit attractions in local villages, and for long walks in nature. We meditated together mornings and evenings almost every day. P is a yoga teacher; I joined her classes when there was space.
\r\n\r\nIt so happened that P also needed to be in Prague on the 21st of April. We took the bus from Brno the night before, and stayed with her friend. In the evening we took a touristy river cruise, and went to Loving Hut. The next morning we walked from the suburbs to Prague Castle, and ate a good breakfast together.
\r\n\r\nI bussed to Lyon via Munich. The latter half of the journey was full of frustrated people, constant interruptions by the Swiss police, and general chaos. I didn't sleep much.
\r\n\r\nI have been to Lyon twice before, with my high school French exchange program. I've done the tourist things, though I don't remember them. I stayed with a friend, and mostly my time was filled with TheWebConf and trying to work. It was a hot and sunny week. I got to see a few people I haven't seen for a while and whom I was very happy indeed to spend time with. I almost didn't come to WebConf. France is the wrong direction. But I'm glad I did.
\r\n\r\nThe week wound down quietly. With a late bus on Saturday night I spent the day between the library (wifi sucks, ports blocked), the river bank, YAAFA (no wifi, good falafel) and Perrache bus station (excellent wifi, seats, power).
\r\n\r\nI arrived to Munich bright and early, left my bag in a bus station locker, and explored.
\r\n\r\nNext stop Krakow, via another night bus. This time I was headed for a hostel, so I got to sleep in a bed. I explored the town center, and ate some good stuff. After brunch the next day I took a train to Gdynia. This was five hours, and much more expensive than Rome2Rio had led me to believe it would be, but such is life. I could've for half the price taken a 10 hour bus or a night train, but I kind of just wanted to be on my way.
\r\n\r\nIn Gdynia my new landlady picked me up from the train station, I signed a one month lease for a room in a shared flat, and thus begins, at long last, the slowing down.
","as:name":"Bouncing around Europe","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-05-01T21:00:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/austria"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/germany"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/poland"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/vienna"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/krakow"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/munich"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/budapest"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/europe"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/lyon"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/czech+republic"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/prague"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/france"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/slovakia"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2019/04/bus-bratislava-vienna","@type":"as:Travel","as:content":"Bus from Bratislava to Vienna (Regiojet)","as:endTime":"2019-04-15T09:55:00+02:00","as:origin":{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/location/bratislava"},"as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2019-04-14T23:30:00+02:00"},"as:startTime":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2019-04-15T08:30:00+02:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/regiojet"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/vienna"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bus"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/bratislava"}],"as:target":{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/location/vienna"}},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2019/04/week-in-review-2","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"