Monday, November 28, 2016

Slovakia: Bratislava- UFOs and Foodie Tours

Something about a UFO?
So there is the "UFO Bar and Restaurant" that is in all of the Bratislava material that you read, that is to kitschy and touristy that we are immediately turned off. Except for the fact that it is in the center of the city, is the highest point, and has amazing views.
UGH.
FINE.
We'll go.

Of note, there is a fee to get up even if you are eating/drinking in the restaurant. 
The fee is worth it, as the view is worth it.
Do it.
Standing out on the top with the wind whipping you around is awesome, and you really enjoy a 360 degree view of the entire beautiful city.
We enjoyed it enough, that we went into the restaurant for some libations to sit back and enjoy the view some more.
Enjoy the view with us:








View from inside of the restaurant

Great drinks with a great view

One of the best things that we did this trip was Adam arranged us a private walking tour with Taste Bratislava Food Tours by Daniella. She is the owner and only tour guide, and she is cute and awesome. We did a combined food and craft beer tour (that ended up including local wine and liquor when she found out that we enjoy drinking), and cannot recommend her any more highly!
By the end, we were tired from walking, full of good food, and tipsy from awesome local libations. We had a genuinely great time. I think that she had a really good time with us too, as we were all a little sad to part ways when the evening came to an end.


All local made cheeses and meats. It is true craft here.

Like Cheetos but peanut-flavored instead of cheese, and NOT gross.
SO delicious actually!



She took us to the TRULY LOCAL places to experience the food and drink.
Tiny and remote places that you don't even notice from the street, that you will not find on a map, and will truly lose out on from not experiencing.


And she took us to a place that had a bird.
Adam ignored us for the entirety of this restaurant, and the bird fell in love with him.








BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Slovakia: Bratislava- A Huge Tiny Town

True to my heart, we opted for train travel between destination on this trip, and it was FANTASTIC.
Seriously, I don't think that there is a better way of traveling in the world.
The train from Budapest to Bratislava is really nice and easy, as you roll through old soviet towns, quaint and remote villages (all having MASSIVE cathedrals despite being so very small), and huge fields of lavender and sunflowers. 

After disembarking, we ventured through Old Town to explore our new area.











Bratislava Castle is really nice to walk around and explore, though we opted out of the paying for the inside tour.

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Monday, November 21, 2016

Hungary: Budapest- From Pest to Buda

It is finally time to cross the Danube River!
While Budapest is two split cities, Pest really does have most of the "stuff" going on, so it took us a few days until we crossed over to the Buda side. It should not have taken us this long, and we should have paid more attention to time tables...to be discussed below.

But to start: A beautiful morning for a wonderful walk with my amazing husband.


Our goal destination is that museum on the hill!

The inclined plane to get to the museum

The inclined plane was closed for repairs on this day.
No worries though, there are stairs all the way up the mountain.
Normally, this is not a big deal, but at this time, Adam is still contending with a serious injury from the motorbike wreck in Bali. While walking around on flat surfaces isn't too bad, stairs are terrible.


Happy to be together, happy to be done with the stairs

Exploring the mountain/museum grounds top:



Looking over and across at Pest from Buda






So, it turns out that the museum closes for cleaning 1 day of the week: Mondays.
Today is Monday.
And our final day in the city.
No museum for us.

Disappointed, but undeterred, we explored the mountaintop and enjoyed a wonderful view.

Excavation of the grounds





Our return to Hungarian Bistro involved pork and gnocchi.
Adam died a blissful death.

Pork BRAIDED in bacon over mac & cheese