Goodbye Austria, Hello Slovakia
The ride out of Vienna was memorable. I left mid-morning to help Terry get some new tires. A group of six of us rode about 20 km along the Danube bike path and since it was a sunny and hot morning, the park was filling up with nudists wanting to soak up the rays. Amazing stuff! I failed to get a picture, since most of the men and women really needed to be clothed. This contributed in us missing our first turn.
We cruised along the river levee for some 70 km until we crossed the border into Slovakia, which was deserted…no passports, no stamps, no visa, no nothing.
Bratislava is the new capital of Slovakia, the other half of the Check Republic that divided in 2003. It is a pretty former communist town that is now attracting river boat tourists. For the first time I recognized lots of Americans, because prices are about half that of Central Europe, or comparable to the US. This is a country that is on the move, but about 50 years behind the rest of Europe.
The owner of Tour d’Afrique, Henry, joined us and made arrangements for us to spend the night in a botel, a river boat hotel, and he treated us all to a traditional Slovakian dinner of goulash, fried pork, and potatoes. It was a great evening.
PS Yesterday afternoon Jos, from New Zealand, had his pocket picked and lost about 500 Euros. He was checking out of a grocery store when a woman asked him questions on bagging as he was putting his wallet in his pocket. Before he got it zipped up someone bumped into him and the wallet was gone. We lost two wallets in Vienna during the European Soccer Championship.
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