Hello everyone
Well….we made it to Vienna, but not before spending time at
Hainburg. This small town sits very near the border between Austria and
Slovakia, and had a great free parking spot overlooking the Danube. It was a
great base for cycling upstream along the river, and walking downstream, as
well as good train and bus links. So, we left the van and headed for the
cities.
Vienna is such a beautiful place with grand ornate buildings
packed in to the centre of the city. Highlights of the trip are the huge St
Stephen’s cathedral, the house where Mozart gave his first performance (aged 6 years),
the Town Hall (where the 2014 film festival was in full swing) and the mighty
Hofburg complex. This was the former Emperor’s residence and the array of
buildings is set within parkland. We visited the Treasury and the Lipizzaner
horses from the Spanish Riding School.
From Hainburg, we also skipped across the border into
Slovakia to visit Bratislava by bus. This took 20 minutes and cost 6 Euros
return for us both! Bratislava is dominated by the huge castle high on a hill
overlooking the Danube. A stronghold has been present on this site for
centuries, but the current castle was reconstructed in the 1950s. It offers
views of the old town, and also the tower block sprawl where most of Bratislava’s
residents live. Highlights here were the crypt inside St Martin’s cathedral,
the Museum of Clocks and the Blue Church, which looked like it was covered in
fondant icing.
Our plan now is to continue northwards through Slovakia
towards the Tatra Mountains.
Will post again next week - love to all
No comments:
Post a Comment