Day 8 - Prague to Bratislava - 30th May 2024

Was in bed very early last night @9pm. 

Woke up after a good nights sleep at about 6.30 am. Didn't want to wake any of the other campers up so read the news until after 7 when I could hear a few people moving about. 

Not much to do apart from take the tent down which takes minutes as I'm not putting it into bags or drying it though strangely there was no dew this morning.

Managed to get away just after 8 a.m.

Top Tip: Don't leave so early you get caught in the rush hour traffic on the ring road!

Eventually got to the outskirts and visited a Lidl to use up the last of my Czech crowns. Beer was 7.50 crowns (+3 deposit) but that's 26p for the beer it's cheaper than water.

Bought a few supplies and then continued on my way. Loads of lorries (and I mean loads heading East - Hungary/Romania etc.) Just before Brno I came across the longest queue I've ever seen.... it was way over 20 miles of lorries.They aren't allowed in the outer lane so you sort of sail past always keeping a watchful eye out for the odd one that sneaks past. Well you do and you don't sail past.. obviously they breakdown and pull out and I was held up for about 30 minutes.

Stopped in a shopping centre at Brno with an Ikea and a Tesco. Tesco is very expensive compared to Aldi\Lidl and was practically empty and they wouldn't accept my Clubcard (computer said no) so my doughnuts were full price! All of 30p.

Onward again. As I reached the border I suddenly thought Slovakia is a separate country, no border control (EU) but I bet they want a Vignette a well. They did. I bought it for 12 euros on-line and got back on the motorway. 

Motorway all the way to Bratislava. The ring-road at Bratislava was very busy even though it was about 3 pm. Managed to get round to the campsite with a few stops.The campsite is being renovated (finished) and is ridiculously cheap for 1 person (as they charge per person). For 2 nights 32 Euros or £13.50 a night.

I've put the tent up and had a little cycle around on the Brompton.

Tomorrow I'll explore Bratislava.

Had a couple of lovely cold Staropramen at a café by the lake. All part of the camping complex.

Now to find somewhere to eat after a lunch of an undecided what it was tin! (Salmon paste). I looked it up its pork...

Weather does change quickly a cooler wind has picked up... maybe a few spots of rain tonight?

Had a lovely meal in a local restaurant that I walked about a mile to get to then noticed an open back door to the campsite and nipped through it was less than 200 metres on the way back.The meal was beef in a puree sauce with dumplings and was absolutely lovely. I also had a side salad and a beer. Came in at about 20 Euros.