72 Wines in 100 Minutes. I like a challenge!

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, a memorial monument and military cemetery of almost 7000 Soviet soldiers who fell during World War II while liberating the city. The monument is on a hill, which offers beautiful views across the city. You can imagine our delight that we would have to walk uphill for over 30 minutes in 30 degree sunshine.

It was actually a nice walk as we passed by Grassalkovich Palace, the Presidential palace and through the villa quarter where there are a large number of embassy residences. My favourite was the Brazilian Embassy with their Porsche cars and 4x4’s sitting outside.

After sweating our way up the hill, we got to the monument; it was covered in scaffolding! Argh! There were still amazing views of the city, so all was not lost. We took a few pictures then walked back down the hill which was so much easier.

We decided it was time for an ice-cream as the owner of the Grand Cru Wine Gallery recommended we go to “Arthurs”. I had a salted caramel and chocolate cone and was thoroughly enjoying it until I was chased by a wasp. After a brief panic, we managed to out-run it. It was definitely time for a beer or two. We settled on Café Mayer which was situated on the main square and in an ideal place for people-watching. After a few hours, we knew it was time to take up the challenge…

72 Wines in 100 minutes, all for just 25 euros per person!

Before we arrived, I had researched this place but didn’t know if it was open because of Covid restrictions. The Slovak National Collection of Wines represents the 100 top Slovak wines; there are various tasting options, but we went for the most popular. No wonder! 

It wasn’t the best advertised. A sign pointed to the entrance, but it was very unceremonious. When we arrived, no-one was there apart from a woman at the front desk. She ushered us down to a cellar where there was another guy waiting and looking bored. He asked us which tasting option we would like to do; nothing was set up as I get the impression he wasn’t expecting anyone else to turn up that day. No such luck. He was super grumpy and had absolutely no banter whatsoever. Thankfully, the wine more than made up for him!

He advised us to start with the sparkling wines of which there was 2, followed by the whites, then the rose, red and dessert wines. We were also given a jug of water and a basket of bread to go along with the tasting. Ultimately, we were to pour our own and could pour as much or as little as we wanted! Iain did ask if it was normal the place was quiet, or if we were just lucky to have the place to ourselves, he said we were very lucky. Nice!

70 wines and 100 minutes later, we did it. It was only 70 wines as 2 were not open and given he was so grumpy, we didn’t want to inconvenience him anymore. We gave him a tip at the end; he seemed a little sheepish and thanked us for coming. We were obviously slightly merry and decided to do a bit of shopping on the way back to the hotel; 100 euros later and we both conked out. We didn’t feel too drunk, but obviously the wine had worked it’s magic.

I awoke at 7.30pm thirsty and hungry. We decided to try another Slovak restaurant called The Flag Ship. I was determined to try Garlic Soup, another Slovak speciality, before leaving the following day. We were given a seat out on the veranda and a can of mosquito spray; if only someone had told me about that 3 days ago! I sprayed myself again, just to make doubly sure.

I ordered an Aperol Spritz, garlic soup to share and ribs. The garlic soup is served in a bread instead of a bowl and as well as the soup, there is a generous handful of cheese added to it. The soup is not too garlicky and is quite delicious. The ribs were equally as good; I was now full and ready for bed!

We wandered slowly back to the hotel, before collapsing in bed; Iain didn’t even finish his free beer from the mini-bar, that says it all!