Finish with Brno, crossing into Slovakia

Woke up at 7am and made it to catch the 8am bus to Brno. Paid 200 Kc (ouch!) for the two and half hour bus journey through small villages and stretches of beech and spruce forest. The bus stopped into front of Grand Hotel, a mini bus interchange secondary to the main bus station just south of another huge Tesco (that's how the locals recognise it by). I stopped by the train station looking to drop off my 15 kg backpack but decided to carry it around instead to avoid withdrawing more Crowns.

Brno is the 2nd most populated town after Prague, just under 400,000 in total and the town center clearly reflects it. Centered around the old town, it is a mix of cobbled walkways with brand new shops catering to the more affluent crowd. Wanted to visit the Capuchin Monastery only to find out the it is again closed for Mondays! The Pamassus Fountain has interesting figurines of Hercules restraining the 3-headed Cerberus, watchdog of the underworld, as well as 3 female figures representing the ancient Persia, Babylon and Greece with a lady standing proudly at the top representing Europe. There is a nice local fruit and veg market which I duly refilled my 5-fruits a day recommendation :) Apparently, live carps used to be sold from the fountain during the good old times!

The Cathedral of St Peter and Paul stands menacingly from the top of the nearby elevation and is worth strolling up for a view of the interior. Head towards the main square, Nam Svobody, and try to find the stone figure of a man bearing his buttocks in the direction of the Church of St James. I gave up after 10 minutes, see if you do better than me. After lunch (a McChicken meal this time round, and NO, I am not proud of it), decided to burn some extra calories by climbing up to highest point in the city center, where Spilberk Castle stands, around 150m high. After much panting and first sight of sweat beads, I was rewarded with a good view of the city, not great, but still a good workout.

Heading back into Nam Svobody, I found a sporting shop that was having a sales and got a pair of Merrell trekking shoes to replace my aging running shoes that I was doubling up for my travels. It is almost a must to get one that has Gore-Tex label on it regardless of the brand, or other equivalent technologies to keep the feel dry. A pair of merino wool socks will complement it nicely to draw the sweat away and keep the feet fresh from everyday walking. The shoes cost 1900 Kc, about £65 or thereabouts, which is reasonable since the original price was 2300 Kc. Tried to recycle my old shoes in a clothes bank but could not find anyone to understand what I was babbling about.

After another short caffeine refuel at the modern gallerie shopping complex in front of the main bus station, I again had to run to catch the bus with almost 30kg of load. Paid 150 Kc (about £6) for a local bus to Bratislava - it is worth again to check with the various bus providers for the best quotes; Student Agency is based in Brno and offers a much newer coach for an equivalent price if you are a student or under 26. The driver asked for additional 20 Kr when he saw my massive backpack and had to resort to paying him EUR1 instead as I have used up most of my Czech crowns. Reluctantly handed him the coin so that I can continue my journey.

Within 30min of leaving the station, the bus had crossed an empty border station and I am officially in Slovakia. The landscape remained pretty much the same and was generally flat and cultivated lands along the way before the capital came within sight. After an hour and half, the bus rolled into the main bus station beside a massive and unique looking glass tower that seems house BMW offices.

As night fell, I arrived at Hostel Possonium after 20 min walk which I had booked a night for €9.90 in a 8 bed dorm. "As the hostel is not full, would you mind if we upgrade you to a 6 bed dorm instead", the lady at the reception asked as she recorded the details from my passport. "I'm definitely not complaining", I replied with a smile. Dropped my bag and headed out straight to the old Town, which was just 10 minutes walk from the hostel.

If Brno was small, Bratislava is TINY! I literally covered the entire old town in an hour and half, stopping to take some pictures along the way. But I like it this way, the cobbled streets are really nice, with the dim yellow lamps covering the stone walls and the hardly any tourists! Made my way to the restaurant recommended by the receptionist, but instead of having bryndzove halusky, which was potato wrapped with sheep cheese, i went for a more traditional broccoli pasta/lasagna instead. I did order the recommended drink 'Silvovica' which turned out to be some brandy which was REALLLLLY strong and I was almost knocked out after! But you have to try what the locals do right? :) Found out later on the internet that it was actually some plum brandy.

Headed back to the hostel after and it is the first time that the hostel is so empty since I started my travel. Met my dorm mates who were from Italy studying in Berlin and chatted with them briefly. Found out that they were also going to Wien tomorrow but leaving in the morning. Maybe we might bump into each other!

Link to all photos taken in Slovakia.