From Budapest I took bus (Regiojet-Student Agency) at sharp 5pm to reach Bratislava the capital of Slovakia by 8:30pm. The duration of my stay in Bratislava is just for a day and I feel I took the right decision, the city is small and one can explore most of it in a day. My host Mr Camil, a Slovakian confirmed that he will be late to reach his place that I can only go to his house by 11pm. Walking through the city was quite scary, it gave me a feeling as if I am walking in the middle of a jungle, and it was getting dark, the streets were all empty and the shops were all closed even though it was a weekend.
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| Danube River |
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| Inside Regiojet Bus |
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| Bratislava Castle |
‘’During weekends they go to close by cities like Vienna or Budapest for partying’’ the guy in a small pub told me when I asked about the emptiness of the streets. I took the bus to my host’s place, a remote area without any street light, covered by trees and bushes; his house is in the middle of it. A shower, a coffee and a comfortable sleep in the expandable couch helped me to recoup after a long day spent in two cities. I realized the depth of the last night’s adventure only when I explored his neighborhood in the morning. The house was literally in the middle of a jungle with a big pond next to his house. The experience was unique and his hospitality was incredible. I gave one of the souvenirs I got from Qatar and took bus to the city around 10:30am. I kept my backpack in one of the hostels near the old town for free. The day was well spent with the usual stuffs like the castle, churches, old market, street food & beverages. I regret that I couldn’t go to the Tea Tower which is 45 minutes away from the city by bus. With proper planning I could have actually visited this spot as well.
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| Street Food |
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| Michael's Gate |
I took my backpack from the hostel and walked to the bus stand where I got down the previous day when I arrived in Bratislava. I couldn’t find the bus even though the scheduled departure was 8pm. I showed my ticket to the guy sitting next to me and he told me that the departure of that particular bus is from a different station which is 30 minutes away. For a moment my mind went blank, I looked around thinking whom to ask for help. I went through the bus booking sites but I couldn’t find any buses for the day. I regained my coolness resorted myself to the same guy for help. He searched in the local bus booking sites and told me that ‘’if I can reach the Bratislava airport in 50 minutes there is a bus leaving for Vienna from there’’. I took the next local bus going towards the airport and managed to catch the bus to Vienna. I would say it is a terrible experience when you are travelling on a tight schedule. I only had to spend additional €10 for this unfortunate event. The journey from Bratislava to Vienna is around 1 hour and if one book in advance the ticket charge is only €5. After this incident I made sure that whenever I reach in a new city I will check the departing station in google maps and plan in advance how to reach there.
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| Rubberneck (Čumil) |
Can't wait to reach Vienna......
Insta: way_farer
