Wanderung 32

I slept straight through the night, due in large measure to my portable Carista CPAP machine that I was using to avoid sleep apnea, so we were up on the obervation deck by dawn! Besides getting some nice pictures of sunrise over the Danube, we were early enough to have a decent 2-part breakfast: First, a light German breakfast at the buffet out back, and then after the dining room had opened, we joined some of the family for some scrambled eggs and bacon in the restaurant.

We all successfully caught the 8:30 bus for a morning tour through the city of Bratislava, which is the capital of Slovakia. At the crest of a hill overlooking the Danube, we were dropped off to visit the reconstructed fortress on the hill above the city. Right next to the old castle-like building we found a rather modern Slovakian Parliament building, complete with a statue of the goddess of Wisdom out in front. Our guide told us that the Slovakian politicians had engineered the split of Czechloslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, but never actually held the a plebiscite on the separation issue that they had promised the Slovakian voters. What, politicians not keeping their campaign promises?? Sound familiar?

In any event we briefly toured the castle, which turned out to be a reconstruction because the original castle was mostly destroyed in WWII fighting. Still, our guide pointed out the one corner tower that was still from the original castle, which dated back to around 1100. Curiously, the castle had served as the capital of the Hungarian Empire for a long time simply because the Ottoman Turks had threatened other potential capitals like the rich, larger cities of Vienna and Budapest, but they were not really interested in Bratislava because the countryside around it was not very valuable! Although the castle was grand from the exterior, the interior courtyard was rather plain. The fountain in the courtyard was just a circular concrete rim, so not much to write home about, but it did serve as a backdrop for our attempts at a family picture!

We then had a 5-minute bus hop down to the old town area of the city, and began our walking tour. One high point was St Michaels Gate, which was the only remaining gate from the original walled city of the Middle Ages.

From St Michaels Gate, we meandered down the byways of the old town, enjoying the mix of Baroque buildings mixed in with post WWII restorations or newer buildings. The tour ended near the Danube, and we used some of our remaining free time to purchase souvenirs and a nice pair of double-scoop ice cream cones, which were delicious!

Once back on board, our ship cast off its moorings and headed upstream to the old castle before spinning around and heading downstream for the rest of the afternoon. We were amazed at how broad the river became, occasionally being held in between dikes on one or both sides. Sometimes the dikes were so high that river level was clearly above the level of the towns lying on either side, so if the dikes ever break the land will flood just like Holland.

We passed through our last set of locks during the afternoon, and these were by far the largest locks yet. They were wide enough to fit three canal boats side by side, and we later saw a triple-hull-wide set of ore boats being pushed upstream by a tugboat, so clearly some ships actually use that triple width. The final lock was also curious because the upstream gate was a curved, 1-piece steel shell that rolled up from the bottom of the channel, but the downstream gate was a set of 2 walls in an "V" shape that is more typical in the canals that I have been on, like the old section of the Panama Canal.

The only other excitement in an otherwise very relaxing afternoon was a visit to the bridge of the Tor. This bridge, unlike any cruise ships, can be completely retracted into the hull for going under low bridges , or extended up above it for a better vantage point when there is sufficient clearance . The Captain explained the displays and controls of the ship, which were similar to an airplane but with a larger size. As on an airplane, the ship is usually driven on autopilot except when tight maneuvering is required, such as when entering the locks.

Monika asked about languages, and the Captain explained that from Amsterdam to the Hungarian border East of Budapest , the official language is German, but from that border down to the Black Sea the official language is Russian. Fortunately, he is Czeck and the language is similar enough to Russian that he can communicate with the other ships and controllers.

We took time out to arrange for a future cruise voucher at the front desk, and I still had enough time to bring the journal up to date before the Captain's farewell party at 6:15. That lead into the final port lecture for Budapest at 6:45 just before dinner at 7:00.