In our short time here to date we have crossed borders into and back out of a few countries once behind the Iron Curtain, either by train or by vehicle. Although I’ve always held a romantic notion of border crossings (I’ve probably seen Sound of Music too many times), most of the transit zones are as depressing and unromantic as you might expect. Why should Communist leaders have inspired people to leave, right?
Entering Hungary from Austria? No passport stamps, just a gray snapshot for the photo books.
Exiting Austria into Slovenia (part of the former Yugoslavia in its day).
Croatia’s frontier. More former Yugoslavian indistinguishable dreary. Croatia officially joins the EU in July; here’s hoping for a new look at the border.
Our purpose for being in Bratislava was to shop. Vienna is closed on Sunday; Bratislava is not. We have an upcoming event at our home for which I needed worry-free stemware, and had time on Sunday in which to obtain it. The beauty of the Bratislava IKEA is that it does not matter that we do not speak Slovak; we don’t speak IKEA, either, and can muddle through the store just fine.
Not in the mood for a sit-down lunch after shopping, we opted for cafeteria-style food nearby. With awesome plate descriptions!
Shopping completed and tummies happy, we paused to take in the view from atop Bratislavsky Hrad before crossing back into Austria and its gently whirling modern windmills.
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