Slovakia, Austria: Day 18 (last day) - Flight from Vienna to Stockholm

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 18 - the last day of the trip.

15/8 Day 18: Flight from Vienna 1705 hours to Stockholm 1915 hours. 

Cost
(1) Flight ticket Vienna to Stockholm - Austrian Airline EUR141,47. 

(2) 1 train ticket from Pilgramkasse station to Flughafen EUR5,30

Food
(1) Breakfast at Das Funfte Cafe - Avocado and fried egg sandwich EUR13 (includes coffee with milk)
(2) Ice-cream at Burger King - Chocolate sundae EUR3,20

(3) Lunch at Bierometer - Boiled sausages with horseradish + 1 bread roll EUR9,50, salad EUR4,80, Radler 500ml EUR5,70

The Story

15082026: Today, we leave Vienna. Time to get back to reality and routine. I was happy to leave Vienna too as it is very hot and I cannot enjoy the place. We had breakfast at a nearby cafe. Not many places were opened today, not even the large grocery store as today is a public holiday - Assumption of Mary. 

Breakfast - avocado and fried egg sandwich and includes a cup of coffee. We took cappucino.

As not many grocery stores were opened, we walked around looking for one to look for wafer biscuits. But we found none, unfortunately. I bought sundae chocolate from Burger King. It looks kind of small compared to the one I had at McDonalds at Liptovsky Mikulas. 

We checked out and had lunch at Bierometer. I wanted something light as I did not have much appetite due to the heat, just sausages and salad but the sausages came with a bread. The waiter did not understand my request. Oh well. 

We took the train from Pilgramkasse station to Flughafen Wien. The ticket costs extra as we were travelling outside the city center towards the airport. A ticket usually costs EUR3, at least the ones we paid for yesterday when we took the train to Alte Donau.

I was tired after this trip. I think it took me about two weeks for my tired legs to recover. I did not realise that hiking for four days in a row (Day 5 to 8) could be so tiring for me. I did not even hike a full whole day. Then, continued hiking activity on Day 10. It was relatively easier but my legs were not looking forward to it. Well, I overestimated myself. Then, I was ambitious to hike in the Lower Tatras (Day 13) and we ended up taking the cable car instead. Now, I know myself better and should not insert too much hiking activities. I am glad that I could hike while I still can, though.  

I am happy with the itinerary. I got to see the best of Slovakia - its mountains and the convenience of its public transport. When I took the train from Bratislava, Slovakia into Vienna, Austria, I thought that this was so great for the locals. If I live here, I would be taking weekend trips or any public holidays to hike in Tatras and visit its neighbouring countries as there are long-distance train to connect them plus also cycling trips (the Danube cycle path from Vienna to Bratislava and Budapest in Hungary).  

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Here are the list of places I went. You can click on the link and be directed to the posts immediately. 

Day 1 - Flight from Stockholm to Kosice

Day 2 - Walk around Kosice town

Day 3 - Botanical garden

Day 4 - Train from Kosice to Poprad. Walk around Poprad.

Day 5 - Hike from Stary Smokovec (1010m) to Zamkovskeho chata (1475m)

Day 6 - Day hike to Skalnate pleso (1751m)

Day 7 - Day hike to Teryho chata (2015m)

Day 8 - Hike from Zamkovskeho chata (1475m) to Hotel Sliezsky Dom (1670m)

Day 9 - Short walk around Hotel Sliezsky Dom.

Day 10 - Half day hike to Dlhe Pleso (1939m)

Day 11 - From Tatranska Polianka to Liptovsky Mikulas. Visit Lake Hladiny Liptovskej Mary.

Day 12 - Visit Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty).

Day 13 - Cable car to Chopok (2024m) in the Low Tatras.

Day 14 - Train from Liptovsky Mikulas to Bratislava. Walk around Bratislava town.

Day 15 - Walking tour in Bratislava, dip in Lake Zlate Piesky

Day 16 - November 1989, Slavin monument, tried local wine, tasted Rubia Gallega

Day 17 - Train from Bratislava to Vienna, dip in Alte Donau river

Day 18 - Flight back to Stockholm (this post)

For total and different category of expenses, I will sum it here.  

1) Flight - SEK2675,02
2) Accommodation (Airbnb and Hotel) - EUR705,26

3) Food - EUR763,15

4) Activities (entrance fees to church, garden and outdoor pool, cave, cable car, tips) - EUR82,50

5) Transport (bus and tram tickets, parking fees) - EUR82,18

Exchange rate EUR1 = SEK11. 

Total Cost for the trip is about SEK18.150 for 18 days. 

Slovakia, Austria: Day 17 - From Bratislava to Vienna, dip in Alte Donau river

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 17.

14/8 Day 17: Train from Bratislava to Vienna Hbf (main station). Departed 9.50am and arrived 10.46am. Took a dip in Alte Donau river. 

Cost

(1) Train ticket from Bratislava to Vienna EUR16,20

(2) Train ticket (80 minutes) from Wien Hbf to Pilgramgasse station EUR3

(3) Train ticket (80 minutes) from Pilgramgasse station to Alte Donau station EUR3

(4) Train ticket (80 minutes) from Alte Donau station to Vogartenstrasse station EUR3

Accommodation

(1) Austria Trend Hotel Ananas Wien, 1 night (from Booking.com) - Shared room EUR93,96 for 3 persons, EUR31,32 per person

Food
(1) Breakfast at Naglreiter Cafe - Sandwich with ham, cheese and salad leaf EUR2,70. Cappucino EUR2,45.

(2) Lunch at Stöger, Vienna - today's lunch garlic soup and grilled chicken in salad EUR13,80. radler 500ml EUR5,90

(3) Coffee at Wildkaffee cafe, Vienna - cappucino EUR4,10

(4) Radler 500ml at Drunter & Druber bar opposite the place we took a dip - EUR4,50

(5) Dinner at Schweizerhaus in Prater amusement park - sausage with sour cabbage and boiled potatoes EUR11,50, radler 500ml EUR5,90

The Story

14082026: Our stay in Slovakia ends today. From Bratislava, we took the train to Vienna. There were no direct flights from Bratislava to Stockholm. The flights that I checked had a stopover at Vienna. So, I decided that we fly back from Vienna instead. Plus, there are hourly trains from Bratislava to Vienna! It takes also less than an hour to arrive in Vienna. How convenient! 

We had breakfast at the same place that we had two days ago. Not many cafes are opened at 8am. I had the same breakfast - sandwich and cappucino. 

Then, we made our way to Bratislava train station. There is no allocated time on the ticket. The ticket is valid for three days from the planned travel date. That is so great!

We arrived at the train station at 9.45am and thought that we will not be able to catch the next train at 9.50am. We decided to go to the platform and saw that the train has not left. It was 9.51am. So, we went onboard! Plus, I still had time to take a photo. No problem in getting a seat in the train. 

We arrived at Wien Hbf at 10.46am. Oh, it was even hotter here.

I booked a hotel to stay in Vienna. No Airbnb this time because it is just for one night. I had to choose the sort-of affordable hotel that is near to a train station. 

Check-in time at the hotel is 3pm. They allowed us to store our luggage in the hotel so we could have our lunch. We found a restaurant that had today's lunch which included soup. I had chicken salad. It was tasty. There were not many customers in the restaurant and the waiter was friendly. Radler here is expensive. Well, we are in Vienna. Everything is expensive now.

Slovakia: Day 16 - November 1989, Slavin monument, local wine, Rubia Gallega

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 16.

13/8 Day 16: Bad experience for breakfast - paid 10% tips without being informed. Went to November 1989 and Slavin monument. Tasted local wine.

Food
(1) Breakfast at Kafe Mayer - Cappucino EUR6,30, omelette with sheep's cheese, spinach and sundried tomatoes EUR11,50, hidden 10% tips in the bill EUR5,82 (shared between the 3 of us)

(2) Radler at Loft Hotel - EUR4,50

(3) Lunch at Slovak University of Technology - spinach soup EUR1,50, gratin cabbage and pasta with salad EUR7,90, kofola 300ml EUR1,50

(4) Radler 500ml at Shenk - EUR3,30

(5) Viecha - local wine 100ml EUR3,45

(6) Dinner at D.Steakhouse - shared Rubia Gallega 900g EUR14,80 per 100g = EUR133,20, green peppercorn sauce EUR6, grilled pimientos EUR8, fries EUR6, ice tea 250ml EUR3,50. Per person EUR54,57. 

(7) Gelato at Luculus - 2 scoop Mascaporne and passion fruit, and raspberry with hazelnut EUR5.

The Story

13082026: We tried a different cafe for breakfast today. We made a bad decision to choose Kafe Meyer. We know that it is pricey as it is located in the middle of Old Town. But I did not expect that the cafe to add 10% tips into our bill without informing us. Gosh, I was so angry! I found out after paying the bill to check the breakdown. The waiter did not give us the bill and handed me the payment terminal to swipe my card. Now, I know better to ask for the bill the next time. Damnit. Paying EUR6,30 for the cappucino was daylight robbery and I have not paid so much in Sweden before. I left a review in Google and I was not the only one who fell for this. Another guest even requested for the tips to be removed prior payment and got denied. What a dirty work! I was very pissed off the whole day. Yeah, I know it is a waste of my energy.

As you can see, the food came quite late as my travel companions finished their coffee before the food came.

Then, we went to the train station to buy our train tickets to Vienna as we are flying back to Stockholm from Vienna. Along the way, we stopped by at November 1989. This is a monument erected to remember the peaceful protest that led to the end of the communist in Slovakia. Communism came to Slovakia after the Red Army (communist) liberated Slovakia from Nazi. Explanation from Wikipedia.

The Velvet Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia included students and older dissidents. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the command economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic.

The monument is next to the giant fountain where one could cool themselves down. I saw this on the first day we arrived here and was tempted to jump into the waters. Now, I get to do that.

There is also a water pump here to fill the water bottles.

We continued to Slavin Monument which was erected to honour the Red Army that saved Slovakia from Nazi. Walked through a housing area to get to the top of a hill.