Bratislava - 8 September 2008

The 0900 sailing of the Twin City liner was cancelled so we were rebooked on the 1230 trip which gave us a very lazy start to the morning and a few hours less in the capital of Slovakia. Nevertheless we really enjoyed browsing around this very attractive old city; it appeared spacious, relaxed and not overly touristy as we wandered around the old town and climbed the hill to the castle.

The river trip was anything but relaxed, from the moment the catamaran turned around after leaving the dock, it was "pedal to the metal" with the twin Kiwi Hamilton Jets pushing the boat up to cruising speed of 60 kph even though we were still in the side part of the Danube that flows through Vienna.

The only interest along the way were a couple of settlements where the river crossed the border between Austria and Slovakia, Hainburg on the southern bank and Devin on the northern, both with ruined fortifications on the skyline.


The Bratislava castle terrace overlooking the river affords view to Austria in the southwest and Hungary in the south as well as across the faceless blocks of apartments in the modern part of the city across the river.

If you are passing this way and want to sample the local cuisine then we recommend the Slovak Pub for good value food.