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James and Ellie in Europe
Day 16:
We were woken up by a boiling sun this morning and were stiflingly hot before we'd even woken up properly. We also found our porch awash with ants as we had unknowingly camped on their nest! We'd also been bitten whilst setting up camp and eating so weren't in the best of moods it was safe to say!!!
We went for brekkie in the campsite restaurant and had eggs (James) and mushrooms on toast (Ellie). Not normally a relevant detail I grant you but when Ellie's order initially arrived it was just toast, then just mushrooms so when it did arrive we were celebrating!! Eating vegetarianly in eastern europe isn't easy especially when the waitress only speaks German and Slovak and we only speak English, Italian and French. Bad German meant we didn't get any meat but it also meant we got not a lot more either!!!
By the time we'd packed up and were ready, we were hot, tired, irritated and had missed the bus to take us to the station. A further complication arose when James asked for a taxi to get us there in time for a 'half eleven' train and was told it was already 'half eleven'. We then realised that the Slovak guy meant it was 'half TO eleven' so we actually just about had enough time to get there. Our cab was driven by someone who was clearly not old enough to drive and had obviously lived in south london in a previous life (by the way he drove and also the Jungle music he was listening to!!!)
The train to Bratislava was pretty uneventful and we arrived there ready to buy a tram ticket to take us to our hostel. However, trying to find change was impossible. No-one in Slovakia has any coins. In the end we were forced to take a free ride on the tram (feeling very guilty obviously). When we got there we were faced with a pissed-off woman who obviously hated English people and who gave us postcards instead of coins in our change!!! (We're not kidding about the no change here). This was especially rubbish as we were still short of money at this point!!
Our room had no curtains, and the 'private bathroom' was shared with another room. This bathroom had a door that didn't lock and actually didn't even shut!!! James complained and was rewarded with an identical situation only with curtains this time :o)
We showered and went out to see what sights we could in the evening. Luckily for us everything in Bratislava is concentrated in an area about a mile square so we actually saw everything and more in a couple of hours. It's a beautiful beautiful place and we would recommend it for a weekend away to everyone!!
We only had about 3 pounds left at this point as James' money STILL hadn't come through!!! We managed to get a pizza for a couple of pounds although couldn't afford any drinks to wash it down!! The service was shocking and we actually left before the bill arrived presuming we got the amount right. No-one chased us so we can presume we did ok!!!
Ellie wants to note at this point that Slovakian cheese is minging. Don't eat it.
We got a couple of cheap (BUT VERY TASTY) ice creams to have on the way home and were amazed by how alive the old town became as night fell - a truly magical place.
James and Ellie
xx
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