Bratislava, Slovakia

Friday the 13th and the rain is coming down.  We begin our bus tour of Bratislava City.

We are headed for the big white castle you can see in the distance.

One of our fellow tourists using a red Viking Tours umbrella.  We are walking up to the castle.

The castle gate.

A square white castle constructed in the ninth century.  Today the castle is a museum but we weren't taken in.

Looking out from the castle back to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia.

Another view.

One of the bridges across the Danube in Bratislava.

A tourist train bringing passengers to the castle.

Inside the walls of the castle.

This building behind the castle may be where the museum is.....a former monastery.

Heading back to the city.

Typical buildings.

Michael's gate with its 15th century tower.

Street scene.

Narrow little street.

The ceilings usually have an arch structure similar to the design outside the building.

Can you see the cannon ball?  Just a little reminder of the war.

Now we are at a distance from the tower and gate.

Some shots in the city.  This is the first time we have seen any buildings in a state of disrepair.  Their owners are fixing them up as they have the money.

Some nice doors.

Excuse me for not remembering what those last buildings are.  I am sure we were told about some of them.
This is a tiny store in one of the buildings.  They don't seem to have straight walls on the lower level.

I like the tiny windows on the roof.  They are quite typical but these are some of the nicest.

Is he doffing his hat or putting it on me?

Betty thinks this one should stay in the sewer!!

There is a restaurant and observation deck in the UFO (That's what the locals call it) on top of the bridge.

This one is on the water near where we are docked.

Heading back to the boat for lunch.  We leave for Budapest at noon.
Here I am standing on the gangway looking toward the end of the boat.  You can see that we don't come close to the shore.
You will also notice that the bridge is quite low over us.

Here we are inside the largest lock of our trip and the last.  It is Gabcikovo lock and power station and has a lifting capacity of 60 feet.

Here the doors of the lock are opening and you can see that our deck is wet from the recent rain.

In the afternoon the pastry chef gave a demonstration of strudel making.
You will find a recipe below.

While we were doing the demonstration the kitchen was whipping up enough strudel for us to have some for teatime.

Apple Strudel (serves 6)

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 1/4 oz flour

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp melted butter

3 1/2 fluid ounces lukewarm water

pinch of salt

Filling

1 1/4 lb tart apples

3 1/2 ounce melted butter

3 1/2 ounces biscuit breadcrumbs

1 3/4 ounce light brown sugar

raisins, cinnamon and/or chopped nuts

lemon juice

rum (optional)

Directions:

Peel apples and cut into thin slices.  Gently brown the biscuit crumbs in butter. Combine all ingredients for the filling together.

Dough:

Mix flour, salt, oil and lukewarm water and kneed together.in a kitchen machine for 10 minutes until dough has become smooth and elastic.  Roll dough into a ball and brush with butter.  Using a sharp knife, cut a cross at the top of the ball of dough and then leave to rest at room temperature for 2 hours, wrapped in cling film.

Assembly:
Sprinkle a table cloth evenly with flour.  Roll the dough out as thinly as possible on the cloth.  Place your hands, stretched out flat, under the dough and draw the dough over the back of your hand so that it becomes thinner and thinner.  You know the dough is ready when the pattern of the tablecloth is recognizable through the dough or you can read a newspaper through it.

Fill and roll the strudel together starting at one side, being sure to use the table cloth to help you, by raising the end with the filled dough just enough that the strudel begins to roll on its own accord.

Grease the apple strudel with melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 400 F (200 C) for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Here's a peek at our dinning room.

This is chef Michal and the galley.

Tonight is steak and lobster night and the Captain's Farewell dinner.  Now we will travel all afternoon and evening arriving in Budapest around midnight.