Bratislava Castle (Slovakia) as seen from the boat.
Our river ship departed Budapest at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and would arrive in Vienna at about the same time the next evening, making Wednesday one of the longer days spent aboard the boat.
We were looking forward to seeing Slovakia, the next country we'd pass by. That's where our granddaughter-in-law Maya is from — we would be getting together with her and Jacob when we reached Vienna. We'd pass through one of our first locks just before we arrived at that part of the river.
Our ship was waiting to lock through
We didn’t dock in Slovakia, but at the top of the lock, I was able to reach out from our deck and touch the ground. (I'm not totally sure the boat was actually passing Slovakia at the exact moment we exited the lock, but I really really want to believe that at least I've 'set hand' in that country.)
Slovakia from the Deck — and requisite emergency drill
We boated past Bratislava, the country's capital city and more of the Slovakian countryside – we saw the castle shown in the top photo and other castles as well, old stone fortresses, and scenic river shores. So, whether I actually touched land there or not, we did definitely see and admire this part of Slovakia, if only from the middle of the Danube.
Wednesday was the requisite safety meeting on the top deck. We had to learn where to go in case of emergency and how to put on our life vest (some people actually did have trouble). It was funny to see every person on board wearing their "Mae Wests" while many of them continued to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. It's really hard to take your eyes off it.
The day on board went by quickly –besides the safety drill, there were program talks and of course breakfast and lunch on board — and always that scenery! The boat docked in Vienna as scheduled and we disembarked as soon as possible to meet our grandchildren.
We caught up with their busy life over a scenic walk, dinner and dessert — Sacher Torte in one of the city's classical coffeehouses. According to what we learned on board about Vienna's cafe society, coffeehouses have been a tradition in Vienna since 1683. They wouldn't have been considered complete without red velvet seating and magnificent chandeliers. Since most people lived in small crowded apartments, coffeehouses were considered to be second living rooms, where people could linger over coffee and conversation. That last part seemed to still be true today. At least it certainly was for us!
Schonbrunn Palace — the next day
The ship would be in port the whole next day … and Jacob and Maya had a hotel room just down the street. I'll show more of what these talented (brilliant and good-looking)* guides to Vienna showed us in the next post.
* I'm a grandmother — what can I say?
LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts:
ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE; TUESDAY TREASURES ; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS
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