Today we would be going on an all-day trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The bus trip will take over an hour in each direction.
It was another cool morning: 7C with a forecast maximum of 16C in Vienna. They weren't forecasting rain and there seemed to be a lot of blue sky around.
The bus left right on time at 9am. Emma had told us that the guides were funny and she was right. Our guide kept up a constant banter throughout the journey. He was both entertaining and informative.
After leaving Venice, we passed through rural areas where we saw plenty of wind turbines. Before reaching the Slovakian border, we passed by some Roman ruins.
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and is located close to the Austrian border. Our bus took us on a scenic tour of the city with more fascinating commentary along the way. By 11am we had reached Bratislava Castle at the top of the hill.
The palace grounds gave us great views of the Danube River. We then walked into the palace but the public is not allowed to go up to the second level where the state rooms are.
Back on the bus, we travelled down to the plaza areas at the bottom of the hill. Our guide took us on a walking tour of the various plazas where could admire the architecture of the buildings and the statues. Suzy said that the word that best describes Bratislava is "charming".
At about 12:15pm, our guide finished the tour and we were free to stroll around by ourselves.
The first task was to find somewhere for lunch. We chose a nearby open-air cafe together with Jack, Lorna, Indira, Graeme and Anne.
I had a hamburger and a beer. Surprisingly the bread in the hamburger was black. Indira ordered soup and it came in a container made of bread. Even the lid was made of bread.
After lunch the girls wanted to check out the shops while Jack and I tagged along behind. We needed to meet the bus at the Park Inn Hotel by 2:15pm.
Once again the bus left on time and we were back at the ship at 3:15pm. It had been a very worthwhile outing.
Our ship was now nestled between two other similar ships at the wharf and so we had to walk through one ship to get to our ship. The ships on either side blocked out the view of the river and the wharf. Someone described it as a ship sandwich.
After the port talk by Emma at 5:15pm, we had an early dinner at 5:30pm because we'd be going to a concert this evening. Once again, the same group of ten of us had dinner in the separate room.
The buses left at 7pm for a concert at Palais Liechtenstein. This was an amazing experience. Before we even saw the concert, we were blown away by the spectacular building - tall ceilings, marble staircases, statues and gold everywhere. Opulent.
Our concert started at 7:30pm and lasted for an hour. It was a twelve-piece orchestra playing classic music such as Mozart. A hostess in a long slinky dress introduced the orchestra and the music. There was an attractive brunette singer in a stunning evening dress and a tenor.
The concert was exclusively for our APT group. There were no other people there.
These people were not amateurs. They were top notch musicians and singers. James is a singer and often goes to concerts like this back in Australia. He was very impressed by the performance. They were brilliant. These people were professionals. It was an amazing evening.
The buses got us back to the ship at about 9pm where the crew had prepared an extensive supper for us to enjoy.
Amy and Ludo were providing the music again.
What a fabulous day!
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