MS Amadeus Riva: Day 7! I slept fitfully last night (weather) and was wide awake by 0630. Spent some time reading and Duolingo; later went on deck for almost 40 minutes of walking, audiobooks and photos. The crew was busy wiping down the decks after the heavy showers. The Danube was visibly narrower and shallower - I enjoyed watching barges and cruise ships having to jockey for position (current, buoys, etc.). I was a bit disappointed that we’d passed through the Danube Bend during the night but the rural scenery later was still pleasant. We passed many rural campsites along the water's edge. At 0800, I attended Mass (with Father Pat, ND) in the Amadeus Club. I got breakfast afterwards and, by 0900, I was in my room, reading about Bratislava. We continued cruising all morning, , straddling the borders of Hungary and Slovakia, and completed a transit of the Gobcikovo Lock (0930) with MS Amadeus Nova (built in 2024). I attended a “Disembarkation” Brief (for Passau, Germany) & Port Brief (1015). During this time, I noticed busy bike trails following the River’s edge on both sides. Resting in my room after this, I did some more Bratislava excursion prep and Vienna research. Meanwhile, lots of people were bailing on their excursion choices (there was a handwritten “explosion” of interest in the “Music” tour). At 1300, I went down to eat lunch (more delicious pasta and some Monte Cristo sandwiches) in the Promenade Lounge. By 1345, we had docked in Bratislava, Slovakia and I was one of the first passengers off the ship. There were some interesting excursions planned for later in the day but they weren’t expected to visit several points of interest that interested me. At first, I stayed with fellow passengers but it soon became clear that they only wanted to shop. I detached from them and explored several streets in the Central Square, photographing many interesting buildings. Highlights included: the Opera House, the Roland Fountain, the Primate’s Palace and the Michael Gate. At the latter location, I made my way through the old city wall boundary before encountering neighborhoods and office buildings. My main target was a place well off the beaten path: the Blue Church. This took some sleuthing to find but I was soon marveling at the Robin’s egg colored walls and interior decorations. Very pretty! Working my way back towards the Danube, I made stops at a large mall complex and partially crossed the “Old” Bridge. It was only then that I realized there was another tier to the city skyline: from the high vantage point, I could clearly see the Hrad (castle) that dominated the higher part of the terrain. Unfortunately, I was too far away to visit in person… Our ship was nearly below the bridge so I returned there to change out my sweaty clothes (it was in the 90s again) before the official excursions began at 1515. Joining the “Bratislava City Highlights” tour, with local guide Eva, my walking pace slowed to a crawl as we made our way over some of the same ground I’d earlier covered. The tour ended up being better, though, because there was some excellent commentary and exposure to things I’d missed. We made our way farther west until we reached the Holocaust Memorial and Cathedral of St. Martin. We spent some interesting time there before walking into the Central Square. Eva pointed out lots of historical markers, local landmarks and told us the backstory on life under the Hapsburgs. It was easy to see that the Slovaks love gelato - there were stores on nearly every street! We reached a little coffee shop (Kaffee Mayer) where our tour group was treated to pieces of “sachertorte” (chocolate cake). While at the rest stop, I also ordered a brandy-like drink, Tatratea (Original flavor, 52% alcohol) - it packed a good punch! The group walk was supposed to continue but I’d noticed a nearby Beer Hall and asked to be excused. One of my new ND friends, Steve, had expressed an interest in trying a flight of drinks there so we walked back there. We ended up trying four local drafts, all from the Sladovna Brewery - each Slovak taster was great! Our time in Bratislava was rapidly coming to an end as we finished our flight (1800) so we headed back to the ship before “All Aboard”. The rest of my evening was spent with another delicious dinner (salad, soup, chicken medallions) and (red) wine. I talked a lot with an older couple from NY (Binghamton) whose love story was portrayed in a NYT article and later went topside with several others. Throughout the evening, I heard more of the “you are a baby” comments because of my "youth" compared to the other passengers... Speaking of this, I finally determined there were two younger (40s/50s?) couples onboard with me. However, they were very lovey dovey and only one of the four (a guy) has spoken a word to me all cruise. Still feeling good about being a solo traveler but the age discrepancy is stark. Before heading to my room again, I stopped on the Sun Deck to enjoy the interesting scenery and pleasant evening breezes. After that, I did some blogging until bed (2315). We are now fully in Austria - tomorrow should be epic!
