Bratislava – joloyolo

I was missing 2 important events in Dalyan on Friday 19th June; my friend’s 60th birthday boat trip and the arrival of Sausage Dick and his wife. Both knew I would no longer be there for them today and were very supportive and pleased that I would instead be enjoying Day 3 of a luxury river cruise Fam trip. We’d spoken and rescheduled our meet ups so I was free to get on with my jam-packed day along the Danube. I woke up to an unfamiliar sound and found myself in a first-time situation; we were in a lock! It was fascinating watching from my picture window, in a robe as I drank orange juice, tea and buttered my toast. Daniel, my butler, had already arranged for my rather large breakfast to be delivered to my cabin this morning. This was an absolute feast which set me up for the day! I loved being able to choose between getting dressed to eat breakfast in the ship’s dining room, or to lounge on the sofa in my cabin, wearing my robe. We had a free morning to relax and I had intended to visit the spa before lunch. Unfortunately, I had selected a detox shot on my breakfast menu, not knowing what it was. I necked it, only to find it was an excruciatingly strong vinegar of some sort. I felt like my teeth would melt and that my throat and my insides were being burned. I tried to rectify the matter by having all the suitable liquids I could gather; water, orange & cranberry juices and tea – nothing soothed me. What a rookie error and the uncomfortable feeling lasted all morning! The rest of the breakfast was delicious but the uncontrollable burping was a bit of a pain.

I worked a little bit and caught up on some blogging before it was time to meet the others for lunch. Victoria had arranged for us to eat at Blue Deli, another of the restaurants to try. Being on a luxury river cruise doesn’t mean that you have to eat posh nosh and fine dining for every meal. Our evening waiter, David, had recommended we try the well loved Smash Burger for lunch today so that was the plan. Only 4 of us ate at Blue, all of us ordering our own specific burger requirements and we washed it down with a refreshing lavender lemonade. If I’m honest, that wasn’t my favourite drink but the others enjoyed it. I also had to leave some of my bread as I was so full from breakfast and still had a heartburn-like feeling going on, from the detox shot. We were then ready for an afternoon of excursions and activities. This relaxing cruise was certainly not boring and there was so much to do for any active people.

On our walking excursion of Bratislava we were given quite a treat from our expert guide; history and music were the main feature – finished off with a glass of fizz and a nice piece of cake. The guide was very aware of the heat and did her best to stop in the shade, she also was able to split the group for those who felt less capable of walking on the cobbles and steps up to the castle. I thought it was good that guests can pre-book to add the excursions on as a package and the ones we went on were very well done. It was a very hot day so I was particularly pleased that we hadn’t selected the bicycle ride along the Danube (again). The passengers who did that trip looked very hot but said that the excursion was great too.

The evenings onboard Riverside Mozart were perfect for me. Before dinner we were given an early evening show from Vienna’s Opera Ballet Soloists followed by a chance to learn a few steps of the Viennese Waltz. I got partnered up with a lovely man, whose wife was particularly thankful that she didn’t have to join in. He and I both had chubby tummies so the positioning of our legs with touching thighs had to resort to barely touching shins. It was a really good laugh, where the embarrassment of volunteering soon dissipated once we realised we were actually learning how to dance.

For our evening meal Norbert Toth, the Food & Beverage Manager, had invited us all to the Atelier Restaurant where we had a food tasting extravaganza. It was a proper snazzy dining experience, where we tasted everything on the menu aside from anything with nuts or molluscs in (due to allergies). There was so much to eat and it was such a good representation of the countries we were visiting – the wine pairing was just spot on.
We had a delightful evening which included watching the sunset as we sailed to Tulln, Austria. In the bar, later we listened to the piano player and a saxophonist then it got a little livelier with some of us getting on the dancefloor and partaking in a Baby Guiness nightcap. If I hadn’t been sold on river cruisers previously, I was fast becoming a propenent of them now!

Gratitude List

1. A luxurious start to Day 3 of the cruise
2. Seeing a little of Bratislava
3. A fantastic dining experience at Atelier, onboard Riverside Mozart.