So... I'm going to Italy for 4 months

I just googled and found the Forte Belvedere and piazzale Michelangelo are different.
Here's a map link.
Hmmm, maybe the belvedere was designed by Michelangelo.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapimages/europe/florence/florence.gif



Hmmm, no, Forte Belvedere wasn't, it was designed by Buontalenti..

Thanks osso!

I'll fly to Bratislava on the 7th, sleep there for the night and then take a train to Vienna and stay there 8th and 9th. To go back to Bratislava and fly back on the 10th.

I'd like your opinion on how to spend my time on each city, a good restaurant or pub. Some general advise and suggestions would be very well taken.

Are there trains leaving from Bratislava to Vienna and viceversa pretty much all of the day? (I'm leaning towards yes)

On Bratislava I'm staying on Patio Hostel

On Vienna on Hostel Ruthensteiner

Soon, soon. Patio looks good, and it really is the best location, right downtown, which is small and you can easily walk everywhere. Trains do go every two hours from the main train station (Bratislava hl.st.) or every hour from Petrzalka station. They are about the same distance, the shuttle trains from Petrzalka are much nicer though:


08:19 Bratislava-Petržalka Os 7606
09:16 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

08:32 Bratislava hl.st. Zr 2519 NITRAN
09:47 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

10:04 Bratislava-Petržalka Os 7608
11:00 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

10:32 Bratislava hl.st. Zr 2527
11:47 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

10:36 Bratislava hl.st. IC 402 GERLACH
12:10 Wien Westbf

12:04 Bratislava-Petržalka Os 7610
13:00 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

12:32 Bratislava hl.st. Zr 2535
13:47 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

02.11.05 14:04 Bratislava-Petržalka Os 7612
15:02 Wien Südbahnhof Bstg 1-9

as for places to go - do you like coctail bars, or run down pubs, or dance clubs...?
Some good places in Bratislava are Verne on Hviezdoslavovo Square, my favorite, due to many a long night in my university years is Cafe Galeria on Panska, then there is Prašná Bašta-all are more pub-like.
For cocktails - Paparazzi, ....

I just found a nightlife guide online which looks good:http://www.bratislavahotels.com/bratislava-nightlife-clubs-disco

EXCEPT: Stay away from the Slovak Restaurant, Harley Davidson, and Coyote Ugly. Good thing about B'lava is that it's so compact, so anywhere you walk in downtown you're gonna find pubs and restaurants. It seems I'm on an opposite schedule - will be in Vienna on 7th, coming to B'lava on 8th in the evening until the 10th but you'll have a grand ole time.

In Vienna...well, again, depends on what you like. For some Austrian pubfood you can go to any Centimeter pub (there's a few- one in each district) - where they have sandwiches and sausages by meters. And good beer on tap. For cocktails - there's a good sort of 'ethno' bar with interesting world but dance music called Gazelle off of Mariahilfestrasse. There's also a Bar Lutz nearby, sort of shi-shi (sp?) though. If you want a dirty ole student grunge bar, Donau is your place (dark and smoked up, you can even smoke wacky tobacky there, if you're into that) - also off of Mariahilfestrasse. For a late night, you'll have to hit Bermuda Triangle in the first district - bunch of places there in one heap, just walking around will do.

.....anyhoooo, feel free to ask any questions that would come to mind. are you planning to do the whole sightseeing thing, or just sort of walk around and see what happens? some good music in both towns - babylon club in bratislava (ask for YMCA) has decent live jazz, in vienna there's a bunch of stuff. you can look stuff up on www.falter.at - though i think that's in german only. but you should be able to navigate around nonetheless...

You will be welcome. just email me when you will come. I will be glad to be your guide to Rome if I'm not busy at work

You will be welcome. just email me when you will come. I will be glad to be your guide to Rome if I'm not busy at work

Thanks Dag!

I'm thinking of going to see what happens as I don't know exactly what are the 'must-do' things on those cities. Some of your help will be appreciated here.

I prefer a 'beer straight from the tap' pub.. so I now know a few places where to find that.

How safe are these cities? After what time is it not recommended to walk alone? Because this trip will be by myself.

Tomorrow's the last day I can check internet before the trip.

Yes, they are safe, if you are in and around the center. There is a cheap internet cafe right near Pation hostel, called CC center - upstairs, on the same side of the street. 1 crown per minute, doesn't get cheaper than that.

For beer in Bratislava - stay away from the 17's pub, they'll rip you off. There is Kelt, which is a good slovak beer, they have it on tap just opposite the National Theatre (i hope it's still there), but just about any pub will have good and cheap beer on tap. Even KGB on your street (where Patio is) - Obchodna st.
For some typical late night experience there are Mali Frantiskani - a dingy smelly underground cellar place (though I heard it was somewhat renovated), with good wine and beer and, especially after 1 or 2am full of people that were kicked out from elsewhere - students, drunks, random people. I've spent one too many nights there during university, so i tend to avoid it, but you don't have to. One day in Blava - I'd mostly walk around - up to the castle, look over the Petrzalka cement city, walk down the old neighborhoods to St. Martin's cathedral which should also be open to public (Hungarian kings were coronated there for 150 years), through the town. You may want to climb the Michael Gate tower (Michalska brana) - nice overlook above the city. For lunch or dinner I'd stick to Prasna Basta (left right after Michal gate - at the end) and Verne (Hviezdoslavovo sq. - where the National Theatre is, on the side opposite the Carlton hotel). Cirkus Barok - a parked boat on the Danube might be a great place for a drink, especially if you're alone. Lots of then Slovak pretty girls to be found there. And they still appreciate foreigners a lot. Why don't you post when you're in B'lava - I don't know for sure where I'll be, it depends.

In Vienna, there were some tips for places on my Wiener Zeitung thread (you can find it through search) from people who know Vienna more. There is a brewery guide online somewhere, too.

For

Joe, a friend went to Bratislava last summer. He says the women are amazingly beautiful!

(And I doubted Dagmaraka, when she said Czech girls are "dumplings" compared to Slovaks ).

Have fun.

(sure they are. )




ehm. cough. wha? did i say that?

Oh my god! I'm in Bratislava!

World traveler, extraordinaire!

Ok, quick update:

I´m in Vienna, if everzthing goes well I´ll meet Dagmaraka tonight... hoping all goes well as we haven´t had this much interaction on the boards.

Anzhow... Vienna is unbelieavable! Pictures will surelz be up after a while.

Funny, you find a German keyboard, and suddenly you're starting to write like Thok (and Walter, sometimes).

Yeah, german keyboards rule! Too bad the opportunity to write on them is over... of course I could still write like I was using one of them but it wouldn't be the same...

Anyways.. more pictures:

Thats quite a face Joe my man!

Tomorrow I'm going to Bologna up 'til monday.

I've stayed here in Bergamo for the last two weeks, I just remembered that I didn't post pictures from my other outings to Monza and Brescia. We got to these to places just by going to the station and taking the first train we could take to somewhere inside a two-hour radius.

Brescia:


Monza:


On other plans... my visit to Rome has been posponed once more and this time it's been set and already have the train tickets. I'll go there on Dec. 22 and stay for christmas there with a mexican girl I met here and her brother. el_pohl will come on the 25th and we'll head for Venice the 27th. Paris will come on the 29th where we'll meet other mexican friends and we'll continue our adventure towards Barcelona and hopefully Seville... after that we're discussing where to head in the old continent.

Wow, you're doing well with the time you have to get a good look around. Thanks for the update!

Joe...reminds me of my days in Europe. Enjoy

These are the goodle days.

Some googled images re Monza -
(click on photo and properties to see Source of photo)



MAP





RACE TRACK





FROM THE TRACK





ISETTA MONZA





CHEVY MONZA