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  • Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Praga Lady)

    Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Praga Lady)

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    This is a Praga Lady car made in Czechoslovakia between 1935 and 1947, although this one was constructed in around 1938. The museum notes that it was created by developing the design from the previous Picollo 307 type, but that’s a bit niche even for this blog, although there are no end of photos of this car from the 1930s. Anyway, back to the Praga Lady, of which around 5,000 were made, with this museum having an unrestored one.

    One thing that I hadn’t realised is that many cars of this time were made from wooden frames, and that is visible in this one. There’s sheet metal shoved over the top, but the car is effectively made from wood. As an aside, there weren’t many pre-war models made against after the end of the Second World War, but they ploughed ahead making more of these. I did read that although most wooden framed cars stopped being made at this time, they decided to make the Morris Minor Travellers car in the UK out of wood from October 1953. It’s probably so retro that it’s back in fashion again now, but I think I’d rather not have a car that’s quite like a moveable wardrobe.

  • Bratislava – Fabrika

    Bratislava – Fabrika

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    By chance, I was staying at a hotel which specialises in wine and they have their own wine shop, wine menu and restaurant which focuses on wine. I can’t be doing with all that stress, so I went to a nearby hotel which has a craft beer bar that is highly rated on-line. They’ve been there since May 2014 and they’ve had their own brewery set-up since December 2014, focusing on five main beers. Having noted that, they have a lot of wines as well, but for me it’s about the beer.

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    When I arrived all of the external tables were taken and so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get in. The friendly server found me a table inside which entirely met my requirements. My requirements are quite basic really, I just want to be inside and another advantage of that is the food and drink gets to me quicker.

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    The venue’s beer list.

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    I couldn’t be choosing and so I went for a flight. From left to right:

    (i) Summer 8 – very light, but at 2.6% I wasn’t expecting Funky Fluid and it was smooth and refreshing.

    (ii) F13 Dark Lager – rather malty, quite rich and pleasant roasted tastes.

    (iii) W12 Weizen – a clean wheat beer with suitable banana notes.

    (iv) F14 APA – very punchy on the hops and it was malty with a bitter edge, rather drinkable although there was a slight taste of cupboard.

    (v) F12 Lager – Clean, smooth and a bitter finish.

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    I went for fish and chips as the main meal and this was a large portion size that I struggled to finish. The batter was light and had a pleasant flavour, whilst the cod was firmer than I’d usually expect but it was no less delicious. The chips were lightly salted, firm on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. Everything was hot, it looked well presented and it wasn’t overly greasy.

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    I’m not usually a dessert person, but the tiramisu looked appetising and I wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere. It was another generous portion, light and there was a suitable amount of coffee richness to it.

    I really rather liked this venue, it was clean, the service was efficient and the server was engaging. The food and drink all met my expectations in terms of the taste, temperature and presentation, with the range of beer being interesting to work through. The prices were moderate, the temperature wasn’t too hot and I left feeling full, so a positive result all round.

  • Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (A 100 Year Old Wooden Bicycle)

    Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (A 100 Year Old Wooden Bicycle)

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    This bike at the Bratislava Transport Museum might look at though it’s been cobbled together by a particularly imaginative joiner who’d had one too many glasses of some generic lager, but this is a genuine and functioning bicycle crafted by Matúš Povala in 1922. He put it together when he was just sixteen and clearly not burdened by a fear of splinters or broken tailbones, but he was burdened by a lack of money. Born in the village of Pucov in the Orava region of Slovakia, Povala apparently looked at the trees around him, the limitations of early 20th-century transportation, and decided the two should meet. What emerged was less a bicycle and more a moving testament to both ambition and absolute disregard for modern comfort, but it was affordable and ultimately well engineered.

    Povala rode this handmade beast from Orava all the way to Prague in 1922 which is around 500 kilometres of not-so-gentle terrain—on a bike that looks like it’s better suited for intimidating firewood than actual travel. Apparently, he managed to earn some money showing off his invention to curious onlookers, although most of it was reportedly stolen by a charming chap in Prague which feels rather sub-optimal. In true central European fashion, he returned home with ten korunas and probably a lot of stories. Personally, I wonder if my cycling friend Liam could get very far on this, although I couldn’t even get to Prague on a normal bike as I get tired easily and need to stop a lot.

  • Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Fiat 503)

    Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Fiat 503)

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    I like an exhibit in a transport museum that hasn’t been modernised and repaired, sometimes the beauty is in the original and its modifications. Well, I say beauty, it’s almost like it’s been converted into a tank. The museum notes that this is a FIAT 503 Torpedo style car from around 1927, although ChatGPT is disagreeing and saying it’s a FIAT 508. Google Gemini is less helpful, it says that it’s not a FIAT, it’s an old truck. Either way, it has been majorly changed and I rather like it sitting here in the corner of the museum.

  • Wizz Air (London Luton to Bratislava)

    Wizz Air (London Luton to Bratislava)

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    My Wizz Air flight was the second of the day to leave London Luton, so I just arrived late the previous evening by train and then waited at Pret landside. The security area opens at 02:00 sort of time, which is really quite early for an international airport.

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    Not many other people were so keen to get through this early in the day. The security process was though well managed and the staff seemed upbeat, which can’t be easy at that time of the day.

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    At least it’s easy to get a seat at this time of day.

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    I’ve written about my visit to Big Smoke separately. As for the food, it was a little bland as that avocado was quite watery, but nonetheless it wasn’t unpleasant. It’s the first time I’ve been here for breakfast and the first time that I didn’t order beer, I instead went for a pineapple juice.

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    I then popped to Avalon for a chicken and avocado salad, along with a Fanta, that most typical of breakfast drinks. This is expensive, well it would be if I was paying for it, at £12 and it was rather dry but I think there was a healthy element to it.

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    And then an almond croissant and half a pint of Menabrea. It’s a generic lager, but it was free and although the croissant wasn’t very authentic, it was light and was a satisfactory snack. The service here is always warm and friendly, although I was dreading them making an error with the number of guests as Priority Pass might have found it suspicious if I had phoned up again.

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    And then a double espresso. My flight was called to board twenty minutes earlier than advertised, so I thought that I might as well wander over.

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    It’s all happening now at Gate 21.

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    The joys of the bus gate.

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    Boarding the aircraft, which is G-WUKT, an A321 which has been in service since April 2022.

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    The flight was uneventful yet again, although the seating Gods gave me a middle seat. However, the two neighbouring passengers weren’t annoying, so the flight went quickly enough (it’s a one hour fifty minute journey), not least as I was asleep for half of it. One advantage of an early morning flight is that everyone seems to be asleep as they’re so exhausted, and I suspect Wizz Air has a fair number of customers who haven’t had any sleep at all, so it’s an extra peaceful arrangement. The crew were quite bouncy and keen, the airline does recruit some really good people and the pilot announcements were all as expected.

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    And safely into Bratislava, where it was evidently too hot. There was a queue of twenty minutes for border control, but although she did look at my passport stamps I was saved having to wait whilst she counted as she just stamped the passport. All very easy, and another £8.99 well spent with Wizz Air for my first time to Slovakia.

  • Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Pragotron Display Board from Sturovo Railway Station)

    Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Pragotron Display Board from Sturovo Railway Station)

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    I like a little bit of geeky rail infrastructure heritage and this is the last Pragotron display board which was used in the Slovakian rail network. These are the split-flap displays that were either made by Solari of Italy, or by Pragotron who are a Czech manufacturer. It was taken from Štúrovo railway station where it remained in use until 26 January 2022, before it was brought here. I liked the sound of these when they had them in stations such as Liverpool Street in London, and although I know they had become dated, they did feel like exciting things with their mechanical noises.

    For anyone interested, here’s a photo from Google of when this item was actually being used at the railway station. I particularly like that in the museum the top destination is Warszawa Wschodnia railway station, which I’ve caught many trains from.

  • Luton Airport – Efficient Priority Pass Service after Big Smoke Overcharge

    Luton Airport – Efficient Priority Pass Service after Big Smoke Overcharge

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    The title of this post sounds rather tabloidy, but there we go, it’s 04:00 in the morning at Luton Airport and I’m going to take what excitement I can. One thing that I’ve discovered is that Big Smoke are one of the first outlets to open airside at the airport, being open at 03:00 which is earlier than their advertised time and an hour ahead of many other venues. That at least was handy.

    The service was friendly, but the restaurant was in something of a state. The sauce bottles had a not inconsiderable amount of dried up bits of sauce on them and the menu was so sticky that it was hard to open. The surfaces had also not been cleaned the night before, nor had the floor, which felt an odd situation. But, it was early and I was content. I was using Priority Pass which gets me £18 to spend and I specifically mentioned, as I always do, that I had zero guests.

    However, almost immediately I received an e-mail confirming that Priority Pass had helpfully charged me £18 for my guest, the one that I didn’t have. I queried this and the staff member insisted that was right and I should have been charged. It evidently wasn’t and I showed him he had typed two guests. After some faffing about he came back and told me to make a claim with my bank. This is a ridiculous way of doing it, that would be a chargeback for Priority Pass, as well as a heap of paperwork for them and the bank. So, I asked for someone else and the manager, who really didn’t seem that engaged either way, came over.

    The manager repeated the poor advice and I queried what happened if Big Smoke said there were two people and not just one? They said that they couldn’t do anything, so I asked if they could just note on a receipt that there was just one guest. The manager didn’t show any interest and she didn’t do that, she just ignored the situation. Fortunately, I discovered that Priority Pass have a 24 hour call centre and so I phoned it, at 03:30 in the morning which I thought was rather decent. After some internal querying what to do, Priority Pass said that as I was still at the restaurant they were willing to refund the extra guest as it was a mistake.

    No-one came over to check on this situation, so I meandered off. It’s hardly the issue of the century, but I’m not keen on managers shifting responsibility to other people and causing others a heap of work when they could have easily dealt with it. Moan over….

  • Dortmund – German Brewery Museum (Declining Number of Breweries in the City)

    Dortmund – German Brewery Museum (Declining Number of Breweries in the City)

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    More on the brewery museum in other posts, but there was an interesting display at this museum at just how brewing has changed in Dortmund. From tens of brewers at the beginning of the twentieth century, the number had fallen sharply by 1958 and it was down to just one by the beginning of this century.

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    1901 and there was no shortage of breweries to surprise and delight the locals.

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    1958 and consolidation and buyouts had begun.

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    2006 and down to just one brewery in the city, which is Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (DAB) who are owned by Dr. Oetker of pizza fame.

  • Vilnius – Monument to Zemach Shabad

    Vilnius – Monument to Zemach Shabad

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    This is the Monument to Zemach Shabad (1864-1935), a physician in Vilnius during the first half of the 20th century, famed for both his medical expertise and his tireless dedication to the community. He was known as the doctor of the poor, which seems to me to be just the right balance of noble and tragic. Unfortunately, the sun was so bright and it was so hot, that the photos are a little exposed.

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    He was born in 1864 in Lithuania (or Russia, or Poland, or the Russian Empire depending on who you ask and what year it was), Dr Shabad became a towering figure in Jewish intellectual and public life. He chaired everything from science societies to humanitarian organisations, helped found schools and somehow still had time to cure people. He is widely considered to be the inspiration behind the character of Doctor Aybolit, the Russian equivalent of Doctor Dolittle, except with slightly fewer singing animals and marginally more existential dread. He was popular at the time and a monument was constructed to honour him in the 1930s, but that got destroyed in the 1930s.

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    The statue itself is genuinely rather lovely. Created by sculptor Romualdas Kvintas and unveiled in 2007, it shows Dr Shabad in full sage mode, gently leaning down to a small girl who is holding what looks like a cat. The whole scene feels very deliberate as this isn’t one of those ‘man on a horse shouting at the sky’ affairs, instead it’s quiet, tender and just a little melancholic. It’s tucked away in a nice quiet part of the park, all rather understated.

  • Vilnius – Portal with Lublin

    Vilnius – Portal with Lublin

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    There are a few of these portal arrangements around the world as something of an art installation and to make people feel closer to each other. There was one between Dublin and New York which was ultimately scrapped as there were a minority of people on the Irish side trying to spread hate which was all a bit sub-optimal for the country’s reputation. Although the Dublin situation wasn’t exactly the spirit of global harmony they were going for, this one is linked to the rather glorious city of Lublin in Poland and hasn’t had the same issues.

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    I can’t be doing all that socialising, but there was a lady nearby who was fully engaged in the whole arrangement.

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    The Vilnius portal is located in front of Vilniaus rotušė, which is the Vilnius City Hall. It’s all rather exciting in many ways, almost like going back to 1998 and the excitement of the earliest webcams. There are plans for more of these to be installed and this seems like something that seems really quite positive in building bridges and all that, perhaps between cities which are already twinned in the more traditional way.