Day 4 – Wednesday 25
June 2025 - Bratislava
At the reasonable
time of 09:00, fortified by Viking’s buffet, we followed our guide for an amble
through Bratislava. During the cruise we’d hear a lot about the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and its ruler for 40 years Maria Theresa. (Maria
Theresa bore 16 babies; all the females were named Maria something. Her 15th
child, Maria Antonia, married the King of France, became Marie Antoinette and
was guillotined in 1793)
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| Bratislava Boulevard where Danube flowed |
Maria Theresa had the course of the Danube moved to its current position in order to make a wide boulevard. A long narrow fountain crossed by a footbridge is a reminder that once the mighty Danube flowed here.
We saw some quirky
statues. The Watcher, showing a grinning man poking out of a inspection hole is
on a corner. It seems so many cars didn’t see him that they had to erect a ‘Man
at Work’ sign on a tall pole next to him. Why is he grinning? Maybe because
he’s getting a different angle on passing women. It’s considered lucky to touch
him which is why his top is shiny.
Napoleon’s army
passed through Bratislava in 1805. A French soldier named Hubert fell in love
with a local girl and stayed in the city. He made sparkling wine and today
Hubert is the brand name of Slovakia’s most popular fizz. A statue of Hubert
leaning on a bench has been placed in a square outside the French embassy.
At 17:00 was the
Viking Explorer Society Cocktail Party but we didn’t go, we don’t want
cocktails or the sweet German Sekt they pour, preferring our usual pre-dinner
glass of Jacquart.
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| Braised Lamb Shoulder |
Bratislava mooring https://what3words.com/airports.hotspot.premises
Around 18:00 Kadlin cast-off for Budapest.
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