Elvis on the Move - Motorcycle Adventure Travel

I would love to have spent a few more nights (months...years) in Bratislava but I had to keep moving. If I stopped anywhere for too long I know I would probably not be able to move any longer. Not that getting stranded in Bratislava would be such a bad thing. Speaking of being stranded in Bratislava, I forgot to mention in my last posting that I broke down in Bratislava. Fortunately, the locals were very helpful in getting me revved up and moving again. It wasn’t really a true breakdown but I discovered my bike has an idiosyncrasy that I didn’t know about until later on in my trip. When I start my bike for the first time on any given day, if I screw up and don’t get it started on the first push of the ignition button my bike won’t start for 10 to 15 minutes. The only way you can get her to run sooner is if you have the energy and strength to push her with 100 pounds of luggage on her. After all the riding I’ve done, strength and energy are the two things I need to conserve the most. Be...

So I leave Austria in my side view mirrors and after maneuvering my way through the city center and getting a little lost trying to go the right direction on the Autobahn I find myself heading due east to Slovakia and Bratislava. The trip should take about an hour but I was there in 20 minutes. Doing 190km/h on the Autobahn makes time slow down considerably. Truth be known, there is nothing worth seeing on the Autobahn with the exception of your destination coming up on you swiftly. It is truly an ugly network of roads situated on the least memorable landscapes any country has to offer. View Larger Map I follow the blue signs marked “Centar” into Bratislava. What a nice city! I cross the bridge into the old (read: tourist) part of the city and I putter around. It has to be about 40 degrees (Celsius) out and I find driving up and down by the river to be very refreshing. I take a couple of turns and end up in the business sector, then a few more turns and I’m at the top of the highest h...