Ferry up the Danube...

A highlight of my journeys thus far has been a ferry ride up the Danube from Bratislava to Vienna...the sky was blue, the sun out and dusk was approaching...

A final look at Bratislava's river-scape...



Here is a perfect example of why communism-socialism can do bad things...an ancient castle lines the riverside hill at Devin just up from Bratislava...and look at that ugly structure in the middle would you!!!!...


But the best was to come as the sun slowly set over the Danube...











And finally dips below the horizon to treat those further west to its glorious setting...


Next stop: Vienna

Bridging the Gap to Bratislava...

A relatively short train ride at dusk from saw me up camp from Budapest and arrive in Bratislva, the capital of Slovakia...


Bratislava has been significantly modernised since the fall of the Iron Curtain and entry in to the EU, but there is one symbol of Soviet glorification that remains, in fact, dominates the city skyline...the New Bridge... clearly all of the creativity available had all been swallowed by the design with none left for a decent name...by the way, the bridge crosses the Danube...

I like it...as you can see from the gallery below...there is a restaurant and viewing deck in the 'UFO-shaped' structure at the top of the bridge...





This is the view from the top of the UFO towards the old part of Bratislava...quite pretty really, albeit a shade of wintery grey...


But turn 180 degrees and you sight a jungle of memorials to the Soviet era...


Roof of building in main square...



Slovan Bratislava fans givin' it hard...the opposition fans are in picture towards the top right of the photo behind a small red banner...there may have been 20 of them, if that!


Town square building...


You can see why they would think it looks like a UFO...


Next stop: up the Danube to Vienna

Hungary in Budapest...

So it was down a number of degrees latitude that I travelled from Gothenburg to Budapest...a bigger city than those recently visited...and if you ever want to visit Budapest and stay cheaply, then I strongly suggest the Loft Hostel - www.lofthostel.hu - which would rank as one of the better hostels I have stayed in around the world. The atmosphere is brilliant and facilities top notch...get to know the hostel staff and you will enjoy this place immensely...

The Buda Castle Palace...


Another angle...


My take on a chandelier in the Hungarian Parliament building...


Parliament domed ceiling...


Hungarian crown jewels...


A local monument...two pieces of gigantic licorice?


Hungarian Parliament building...


Next stop: Bratislava, Slovakia

Quick jaunt across Sweden

A suprisingly fun night was had aboard the Tallink company's ferry from Riga to Latvia...owing to it still being the colder months, the numbers aboard the ship were low...but that did not prevent quite a line-up of Latvian dancing girls (scantily clad no less), a schmaltzy cover band with a male vocalist from the 80s and a pass-the-parcel competition from entertaining the paying passengers...

The ship sailed into the Stockholm Archipelago at dawn...cold for sure...but beautiful nonetheless...I have no doubt that this area is a haven for Swedish summer holidayers...a further two ferries were cruising just behind us as we made some fairly tight lefts and rights to navigate our way through...(in case you were wondering, this ship behind didn't tear through this island, but did a sharp starboard tack followed by a similarly sharp port tack)...


About halfway through the archipelago, we experienced a brief snowfall, this was as it looked in front of the ferry...



And when the snowfall disappeared...


Finally ashore in Stockholm, some of the guards at the Royal Palace...


The first red church that I have seen...St Jakob's church in Stockholm...


I then travelled by train to Gothenburg on the west coast (or near enough) of Sweden...

Sailing ship on harbour...


More harbourside...


The building behind is the Gothenburg -Utkiken...a fairly unique skyscraper on the harbour...


On a marvellous day such as this one, the reflections were brilliant...


Next stop: Budapest

Go East young man...

And so I left the centre of world capitalism...and made my way to the former Baltic states of Lenin and Stalin's failed experiment of governance and inhumanity, the Soviet Union. Of course, both Latvia and Estonia are now divorced from their communist shackles and, in the respective capital cities, things are going gangbusters it seems. A separate tale, I am informed, is to be told in the regions...but that can be saved for another forum...

First to Tallinn, Estonia...a mish-mash of an old town centre, hip architecture and Soviet style concrete jungles...

Aleksander Nevsku Cathedral...


Tallinn city authority building...


Doors...


Cathedral again...



I understand that there are not too many male visitors to this Tallinn tourist attraction...


Contrary to expectations, this is not an advertisement for one of Tallinn's multitude of strip-tease joints...


Installation of heads...some identifiable, some not...at Tallinn's national gallery...


The exterior of the very impressive and brilliantly designed Tallinn national gallery...



Wintertime in Kadrioru Park, just a couple of kilometres to the east of the city centre...


Building facade demonstrating that not all of Tallinn is spruced up and tourism oriented...


Though this facade has been a recipient of significant investment in Estonia...particularly since entry into the European Union in 2004...


And so I was on the bus...down to Riga, Latvia...much the same as Tallinn, there has been much recent investment, re-building and cleaning up...but not entirely...

Parts of Riga are famous for their Art Nouveau style of architecture...its not something I have seen elsewhere to the extent that it exists in Riga...amazing that such buildings have survived through so many difficulties in the 20th century...





But again, its not all beer and skittles in Riga...you don't have to wander far from the city centre to see what suburban life can be...



Following a few days in Riga, I hopped aboard the overnight ferry to Stockholm in Sweden...the passage along the river from the Latvian capital to the Baltic Sea is....well, err...industrial. I find it quite interesting actually...here is an example...


Next stop: Sweden