After 3 days in Budapest, we hit the road and went to Vienna. We made a one day stop in Bratislava on the way to discover the Slovak capital.
These three European capitals are very close to each other which allowed us to discover them (in part) in less than a week.
Bratislava
To drive on some of the Slovak motorways, it is necessary to use an electronic vignette that can be purchased on this site : https://www.ndsas.sk/en/charging/electronic-vignette (10€ for 10 days). Depending on where you go it may not be necessary to buy the vignette, the concerned roads are clearly indicated on the website.
After our visit of Budapest, Bratislava seemed less impressive in terms of architecture and the size of the city center but on the other hand there were a lot less people in the streets which is also nice. Tara had more room to run or get near the fountains.
Especially as the city has many sights and monuments to see, the city center is in pedestrian zone and filled with coffees and restaurant.
It was also nice to saw prices in Euro again, it avoided us to think about the conversion before buying something! We even enjoy the sales: D Even if the price began to rise as we approached Austria and Germany 🙁
And as a bonus for Marina, many words looked like Serbian, which allowed us to understand some information or menu without the need of translation: D
We stayed in a apart-hotel located close to the city center which allowed us to enjoy the surroundings without using the car. The residence was new and had shared spaces for cooking or coffee for free.
No parking however, we were there during the weekend and parking is free on the street during this time.
Travel time : 2h35
Distance traveled : 207km
Cost : 10€ Slovak Vignette
Accommodation : 105€/2 nights here
Vienna
Vienna is located just an hour away from Bratislava which allowed us to leave quietly and even to arrive before the check-in time to our accommodation and visit the neighborhood.
A vignette to be stick to the windshield is mandatory for driving on the Austrian motorways, it can be purchased before arriving at a gas station on the Slovak side or directly at the border. (9€ for 10 days)
We stayed 3 days in Vienna, and we would probably need 3 more days to see everything. The city is so rich in monuments, castles, museums, churches, etc. We tried to see a lot of things within the time we had.
Our accommodation was located near the Schloss Belvedere (see main photo) and less than 10 minutes from the city center by public transportation. The apartment was on the top floor, a terrace and a beautiful view of Vienna made us forget the price, although it is not that expensive compared to such apartment in Paris for example.
Travel time : 1h
Distance traveled : 80km
Cost : 9€ Austrian Vignette
Accommodation : 275€/3 nights here (it stings a little when you arrive from Serbia or Hungary :D)
For this part of the trip we used Airbnb to book our accommodations. If you wish to benefit of a 25 € discount during your first trip it’s here.
