Sophistivacation

Our flight isn't due to leave until 8pm tonight, so we have most of the day to enjoy before returning to Edinburgh. We were both pretty tired after our escapades yesterday so we had a long lie before getting showered, packed and checked out. After leaving our luggage, we headed off to the old town and to a restaurant we saw yesterday; it was called Urban House and the breakfast looked pretty good. After enjoying Eggs Benedict and avocado toast, along with some coffee, we decided just to take it easy and not to bother with any more museum tours or sightseeing.  Instead we found Sladovňa - House Of Beer which had a lovely courtyard off the main tourist street leading from St Micheal's Gate. I had a large beer whereas Iain went for the tasting flight with 4 beers. We stayed there for a while, giving me a chance to blog and also fill out the track and trace from for the UK government. Anyone travelling from a different country has to fill this form out before arriving in the UK no...

We started the day off by missing breakfast and having a long lie. Both of us had sore bits that we never knew even existed, cycling is evil! I was also covered in 40 or so mosquito bites, so wasn’t feeling the best. After leaving the hotel, we headed straight to the pharmacy for mosquito repellent and after-bite care, better late than never. We then wandered back into the old town to find a place for breakfast and stumbled across a couple of places. We decided to go with Mondieu Laurinska so I could have pancakes which seems to be a huge thing here. Along with a café latte, I had pancakes with homemade blueberry jam, fresh blueberries and mascarpone cream. Iain had ordered a stuffed omelette but ended up with scrambled egg with spinach instead. The service was not good, but we were not charged for the two lattes, so we didn’t complain too much. The plan was to take it easy and have a reasonably relaxing day with lots of beer and wine. But first, I wanted to take a wander to Slavin...

Devin Castle is only 10 km from the city. In my wisdom, I thought it would be a nice cycle and it would be a different experience rather than getting the bus or the boat to the castle. I wasn't completely wrong, but it wasn't plain sailing or cycling for that matter! We had breakfast at the hotel again; maybe my choice of food was better today as it seemed slightly better or maybe my expectations had been lowered given yesterday's experience. It was still busy but bearable. After breakfast, we returned to our room to pack for a cycle in 30 degrees and to try and figure out where we could get a bicycle or two! We decided to ask at the hotel, thankfully we did; who knew they had bicycles in the garage under the hotel. We rented 2 bikes and helmets for 18 euros each, now it was time to cross our fingers and hope we made it back alive! You might think I am being a bit melodramatic but both Iain and myself are not particularly confident cycling, even on a cycle path. We decided ...

We made it back down the hill, my legs aching from the last few hours and yesterday's escapades.  Our first port of call was St Martins Cathedral as the walking tour guide said it was very beautiful inside. We didn't stay here long but there is an interesting glass walkway on one side of the floor which you can look through and view various skeletons, eek! Instead of walking around the old town streets, we decided to walk along the city walls which would eventually take us back to the main square.  One of the recommended bars was called Wine Not?, and as I was told to try orange wine, why not? Yes I know, it sounds odd but its pretty tasty. We spent an hour or so relaxing even with the rain going on and off as we sat out in the square people-watching. The wine and beer were decent but the service not so much, we decided to check out the blue church on our way back to the hotel. It was a slight detour but the church was absolutely stunning; it kind of feels like it could be in ...

We both had a pretty good sleep; no dog, no seagulls and best of all, no work to think about! Breakfast was being served until 10am so we headed down an hour before closing. Before Covid, there was a buffet breakfast where you could help yourself, but not now. Instead you have to go up wearing a mask and point at the food you want; the poor chef then plates it up for you.  Breakfast wasn't great from either a food or service perspective, which is incredibly disappointing as this was one of the highlights in reviews of the hotel. I was also surprised with the lack of socially distanced tables, but maybe they were having an off day, I'll give it another shot tomorrow.  The previous night we decided to go on a free walking tour which would start at 11 am. It was due to leave from a point on the square about a 5 minute walk from us; the exact point being between the Carlton Hotel and American embassy. Strange instructions you might think, but you can't really miss the US Embass...

Slovakia has recorded extremely low Covid 19 cases and deaths during the last 5 months; they went into lockdown early and mandated the wearing of masks almost straight away. I never imagined that I would ever be basing my holiday choice on anything like this, but needs must. We booked a Ryanair flight directly from Edinburgh to Bratislava; it has always been on my bucket list, so I was delighted to get a good deal on flights and, as it turned out, hotel. The flight was super early, so we were up at 3.30am. We decided to drive to the airport, so this was relatively pain-free given the number of cars on the road on a Sunday morning. I always choose Secure-Airparks at Edinburgh airport; its handy and the service has always been good. We did not know what to expect but the car park was virtually empty. I parked easily, and the bus even waited by our car to pick us up. We donned on our facemask, ready for the adventure ahead. There were lots of hand sanitiser dispensers and most peo...