It is quite a few years since I walked with a backpack and one reason for this holiday is to find out if I am still up to it.
The answer in Robert’s case is that he is not: his pack is too heavy and the weather too hot, so today (Sunday) he took a train to Olomouc in Austria. I went by bus to Hainburg An Der Donau. It is about 4 km upstream from yesterday’s castle at Devín but on the other side of the river and in Austria.
I could have walked here from Bratislava, it’s only 15km, but the prospect of walking along a busy road in full sun and when it is 35 C did not appeal. The journey was rather a bargain. The bus ticket was 60 cents with a bottle of water included in the fare. I am good at procrastinating so my first full day walking will be tomorrow. I planned to cross the bridge back across the river near Hainburg and spend a day walking up the river towards Vienna, through the Donau-Auen national park. I envisaged tracks shaded by ancient chestnut and oak trees, stands selling beer, lemonade and regional snacks and a wide choice of places to stay all well signed. A degree of optimism is a necessary spur to do anything. The reality is that it is a dead straight cycle path en plein soleil.
Here is a glimpse of Hainburg on a tranquil Sunday evening.
I am staying in an old monastery (Hotel Altes Kloster) and the tradition of assisting travellers is maintained. After establishing that I wanted to walk to Vienna and not around the village the immensely helpful receptionist told me to await instructions. She asked a friend and their advice was not to take the cycle track but continue along this side of the river. It is part of the Austrian route to Compostela, known here as Jacobsweg. This is rather appropriate as my last backpacking was along the same path in Spain. My room has a high vaulted ceiling and thick walls which the heat does not permeate but the wifi signal does. The walk-in shower with marble walls and a slate floor would satisfy Alan Higgs, an architect with high standards.
My last morning in Bratislava was spent buying a belt to stop my new (Euro 5.99) shorts falling down. James Lees-Milne opined that men over sixty should not be seen in shorts and while agreeing with him I’m prepared to make an exception abroad in hot weather. After that I took a look at some parts of town that I had missed. This square is not on the main tourist route and gives a very different impression to the Old Town.
The fountain in the centre does not work anymore and there were few people around. This was fortunate as I left my Persol sunglasses behind and was able to retrieve them half an hour later.