Day 22 (Sun 23
Sep)
Walking Tour
We had pre-booked for a walking tour for this morning and had some very good luck in that, perhaps because it was Sunday, we were the only two customers. The Tour Guide was a middle-aged lady who quickly sized up what we were looking for and adapted the script to suit. She was able to provide a clear, well-explained response to our enquiries, even when the question was wrong. The tour covered a well-selected range of interesting items from past and present in the town which was, for most of its important history, known as Pressburg, and was an important place in the context of the Slav migration from the East about the 5th century and the coming of the Hungarians about 1000 AD. While the traditional Hungarian capital of Buda(Pest) was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for a period of 150 years from 1545 to 1699, Pressburg became the home of the Hungarian royal family and about 11 Hungarian monarchs (including Maria Theresa) were crowned in St Martin's Cathedral here, which made it an important place for us to visit. The named Bratislava started to be used in 1919, with the post-war creation of Czechoslovakia, when the city became the 'capital' of the slovakian region.
Shopping Expedition that went Right and Wrong
Dinner Out
One of the things we had planned to do in Bratislava was to sign up for a half-day cooking course in Slovakian Cuisine, which we had found on the internet. We were disappointed when our attempts to book and pay for the course in advance on-line failed, as did our attempts to pin it down after arrival. As luck happened, we came across the opportunity to indulge in the said cuisine, and which led us to a most unexpected family coincidence.
On our way down the very 'tight' and winding (mainly residential) streets from the Castle precinct the day before, we happened on a non-imposing but attractive-looking restaurant entry which invited further investigation.
A glimpse of what could be on the menu helped to make the point and we went inside.
The restaurant was located in a cave (or man-dug cellar?) in the side of the hill. We beheld a quite spacious and attractive interior with some befitting furniture and decoration. After a look at the wine list the decision made itself. We made the booking there and then.
And here we are this evening. We made a careful selection from the reds on the list and managed to select something very-well made which turned out to typify the Hungarian-style reds made in Australia but was very smooth and at the same time redolent of the cabernet fruit flavours. Delicious! Helen chose the venison and Doug was delighted with the rabbit. The cooking lived up to the promise of the atmosphere and the photos below might live up to our sense of delight and satisfaction. One of many high points for us
The dessert almost brought us to a standstill but turned out to be a very fitting final note.
The barely believable coincidence became apparent some months after our return to Australia when we were subjecting our son to a slideshow with commentary and he got us to pause at the photo of the two of us at the table for some time. Later, he sent us a photo of his then partner that he had taken when they spent some time in Bratislava 12 years previously - almost to the day.
Yes, it is the same table in the same place!
