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. 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. 

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

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 15.

12/8 Day 15: 2-hours guided walking tour in Bratislava. Went to the lake that has a sort-of beach at Lake Zlate Piesky to take a dip and cool ourselves down.

Costs
(1) 1 tram ticket (30 minutes) from Vysoka stop to Zlate Piesky stop - EUR1,20

(2) 1 tram ticket (30 minutes) from Zlate Piesky stop to Vysoka stop - EUR1,20
(3) Entrance fee to Lake Zlate Piesky - EUR6

(4) Tips for the walking tour EUR5

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

(2) Lunch at Meanto - pork sirloin with potato pancakes EUR19,90, sour beer 400ml EUR4,90

(3) Tea break at Laurent cafe - Kremsnita EUR3,60, cappucino EUR3

(4) Dinner at Ramen Kazu - ramen chicken karaage EUR15,90

(5) Gelato at Luculus - one scoop pistacho and raspberry EUR3

The Story

12082026: Breakfast at Naglreiter cafe. We did not have any problem in finding a cafe for breakfast but the problem is finding a cafe that is opened early at 8am. Found one and had a sandwich with ham, cheese and salad leaf and cappucino. 

Then, we made our way to the meeting point for our free guided walking tour. Well, it is not free. We give tips based on how much we enjoyed the walking tour. While waiting for the walking tour to start, I took the opportunity to have my photo taken. The town gets really crowded with tourists by mid-morning. Well, not as many as Vienna in Austria, though. 

I like that some parts of the town have this fine shower to cool a person. Fine sprays of water as one walks under it. 

There are many statues in Bratislava town. The guide of the walking tour told us that the statues were meant to lighten up the mood of the people so they are funny statues. By the way, did you know the difference between sculpture and statue? I did not know, but now I know until I forget the information again. All statues are sculptures but not all sculptures are statues. I can only share that with you, and you can research the rest on the Internet. Haha...