Cake for breakfast? Absolutely when on vacation in Slovakia! What better way to energize for a full day ahead? Thanks again to Michael and Google we found Zeppelin – a charming bakery and coffee shop run by an equally charming lady. Michael had chocolate, I the walnut creme and we shared traditional poppy seed and walnut cookies with our breakfast coffees. A bit of a splurge at 20Euro but worth every cent.
We walked to the palace but found it was closed to the public. We toured the lovely grounds and gardens then ventured to a nearby neighbourhood. It housed a mix of renovated and run down buildings with every corner capturing our interest. Even gargoyles taking selfies ;-). Bratislava has quite a mix of architectures all jumbled together – more of a mix than in Czech from what we have seen.
We also passed the Czech embassy where flowers and candles were laid out for Karel Gott – a famous singer who died earlier in the week. Apparently Prague was overrun with people and flowers for the funeral.
We stopped for our second coffee at Tesla where we found some interesting ideas. They had recipes for mixed drinks made with Tatratea. One with tea, another with wine. Note to self to follow up when we get home to find new creative ways to enjoy!
Next was a walk over the Danube on the most SNP, aka UFO bridge, where the pedestrian walkway ran under the highway. Across the river is the lookout tower which is shaped like a UFO – but we didn’t go up. The walkway was apparently the primary focus of the cleaning staff in Bratislava. The workers were cleaning off the graffiti which appeared overnight – an endless job I expect.
Then off to the EURO mall – the largest on the Danube – which the river cruise ships seemed to appreciate. A mall is mall nowadays – many of the stores identical to Canadian malls – but with different merchandise and higher prices. We met up with Derek & Marketa as planned about 2:15 pm. On the walk back to their car we passed the Church of St. Elizabeth – or better known as the Blue Church, a very nice chance happening! After a quick stop at our apt, we headed for a much awaited dinner. But not before sampling the burcak D&M brought; they had bought it from a friend of Marketas. Burcak is a very fresh wine only available for a short time – and we lucked out on our timing.
Once again we ate far too much – but we couldn’t resist! Gurmansky Grob was our destination for a royal goose feast. We had soup with goose neck, carrots & parsnips and noodles. Next goose liver with apples and bread and a pickle plate. Then the main attraction of goose with red cabbage and potato crepes – all with beers and a shot of slivovitz (pear). Finally all topped off with poppy-seed strudel. We rolled out much heavier – although our wallets were much lighter after a 205 Euro dinner!
We decided that Derek & Marketa would stay at our apt to allow Derek to have a couple of drinks with us (0 tolerance for drink driving here). So we dropped the car their intended sleep spot and walked back to our place for the night where the burcak was waiting patiently for us.
