 |
| Fields of rapeseed going into Slovakia |
After navigating out of Vienna, we had a seamless border crossing into Slovakia and headed toward its capital, Bratislava.
The day was beautiful, and the views were lovely, with bright yellow rapeseed covering every inch of the rural landscape.
We found our way to Senec which, according to our research, was close to Bratislava and had two camping sites.
The first one was closed except for one old caravan. There were a few shifty looking characters wandering around, so we didn't linger.
The first one was closed except for one old caravan. There were a few shifty looking characters wandering around, so we didn't linger.
 |
| Senec campsite |
Moving to the next one, and trying to go down a one-way street (!), we saw another site that had a caravan parked in it.
We found a lovely Dutch couple there, and with their limited English and our very limited sign language, we learned that it was a free site.
It was a nice quiet location by a lake, but the facilities were all
closed. However, we decided to stay there for 3 nights using our own on-board
facilities.
The next morning, we drove into the city of Bratislava.
Bratislava sits along both banks of the Danube River, close to the
border with Austria and Hungary.
 |
| Bratislava old town |
Arriving into the city, we managed to find a parking spot near the
river, close to the old town.
Parking in our big campervan is always a challenge in old cities with narrow
streets.
Bratislava has an 18th century pedestrian-only old
town. We walked around checking out the old part of the city, finding it quite
attractive, compact and well looked after.
And, it is packed with museums, palaces, and
historic buildings.
 |
| Bratislava Castle |
We really liked the Bratislava Castle, which sits
on a hill overlooking the old city.
The castle was a frontier post of the Roman
Empire from the 1st to the 5th century.
Crossing the New Bridge (Bridge of Slovak National
Uprising) to the other side of the Danube, we were intrigued at the unusual
circular building sitting at the top of a very tall tower.
Then, we found we could get to the unusual building
at the top, so off we went.
We ended up in a restaurant which towers 85 meters
above the Danube River. Apparently, it had been renovated, and reopened in June
2005. It has been nicknamed the "UFO" after its flying saucer shape.
 |
| UFO Tower, Bratislava |
We had a lovely lunch there, with amazing 360
degree views of the city, accompanied by an occasional sway of the tower when
traffic went over the bridge!
We liked the feel of Bratislava, and so had a good
look around.
We think that its old town is more compact and
cleaner, than the old towns in Vienna and Prague - although, it’s beginning to
be dwarfed by the newer part of the city.
After a few days of free camping, our campervan was
low on water and needed power for the appliances. We felt that, after sightseeing
and a few days of relaxing, it was time to move on. Our next stop is in Slovakia's Low
Tatras.
The above describes part of our 7 month campervan
trip around central and southern Europe, which began in Germany.