SofaWolves

142 – Where does the time go?

My alarm went off at 6:10 and zombie Maria turned it off and fell instantly back asleep. Mark had had a rough night with the pups stealing bed and demanding late night walks for runny tummies. I’m a terrible parent and sleep through barks…totally oblivious (it’s my terrible superpower… and deeply frustrating for Mark).

And thus our original plan to walk the pups at 6:30 to a breakfast cafe that opened at 7am and be on our way back to Vienna by 8:15 was blown out by my not re-waking until 7:30 🙈

As an exercise in time management, my nutrition coach asked me to track my day and it was really revealing! Obviously every day is different but I’ve tried to instigate new morning and bedtime routines, and every day involves long dog walks. Turns out my new morning routine takes 2hrs! (Meditation, journal day plan check, truth doctrine, mindful eating course, Daily Stoic, ABC cleanse, nice outfit, make up, hair, check in with family and friends, check Facebook, check and answer email)…that’s all before breakfast! No wonder Mark struggles getting me out in the morning. 🙈

Today was no different, while I worked through my list, he gets up washed/dressed, reads twitter or his book, has breakfast then walks the dogs. A much simpler routine. When he came back, I was cleaning the fridge and banished them all until I had finished deep cleaning the van…a task that had me outside on the pathway in my PJs sweeping the rugs… eccentric English strikes again. 1.5 hours later and it’s spotless, they all tumble back in and within an hour there will be mud and dog fluff everywhere 😂

We decide it’s too late for Vienna and it’s easier to find a football pub in Bratislava for tonight’s game (Marks ulterior motives), so instead ventured to a new cafe Literárna čajovňa. It’s themed like a Japanese tea house and much cheaper than in the touristy area (€2.70 for two coffees). We then walked on to a very popular and tasty vegan restaurant called Balans Bistro – we happily shared a table with two others people and opted for Quesadillas which were delicious. The burgers and cakes being delivered also looked scrumptious.

After a pop into another bookshop for reading inspiration we headed back to the pups. Ernest was in loopy mode – we have created a tireless monster who needs lots of exercise, so after a quick cup of tea it was back out for another two hour dog walk, spying out new murals.

This evening, while Mark was out watching the footy, I had fun helping my neice with her homework designing a monster…and I did mine – rewriting my goals, truth doctrine and washi taping my new notepad journal.

Then exercises and blog writing…and it’s almost time for bed. The time really does fly by, and the to do list is never complete…

141 – Ghost games

Another rest day and my voice has come back – my hubby is thrilled 😂

It’s been a soggy grey day so we decided to face the evil task of trying to find new trousers/jeans. We both hate shopping, but have shrunk while travelling so needs must. After a coffee at Yogi’s Eurovea we headed downstairs into the mall and each completed our mission in the first shop we visited! At only 5″2 it’s a miracle for me to try on 5 pairs of jeans and every pair fit – thank you Reserved! (I bought 2 pairs) I was so shocked I checked the average female height stats for Slovakia compared to the UK (I know…nerdy), but they are actually 4cm taller on average, so I was just lucky in the shop I chose.

Anyway, now we both have clothes that fit, we went back to the van and ate the mushroom soup I’d made (250g mushroom, 1 red onion, 2 garlic cloves, dash of water so it doesn’t stick, 3tsp of veggie stock and 2 cups of oat milk – voila vegan soup for two!)

We then took the pups for a walk and visited Vespa Cafeteria for hot chocolate. They spoilt the pups rotten with free ham, bowls of water and cuddles.

Fed up with the rain we walked back and have spent the evening reading and playing Ghost Blitz – which is a super easy, fun, rapid response game. My brain seems better suited to these and I tend to win, whereas with strategy games Mark is more likely to.

Continuing with my personal development I have a list of books and podcasts to work through from James and Holly, which I hugely appreciate. I’m looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into the 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss. Given I used to work 60+, learning how to work moderately would be great 😂

Another new recipe for dinner – red lentil pasta with spicy cauliflower (nothing special lol). And I’ve got slight cabin fever so tempted to brave the rain again for a walk…

140 – Exploring within and playing Scrabble

Before we set off I watched a travel documentary about a couple who toured Canada in their van…it was a dream trip…but they got tired of always being on the go. That seemed absurd to me, especially when we first set off. True to form, I was always thinking about the next place and in just over 4 months we have been to 16 countries and driven 12,500 miles. Now my mind is staying stop…settle…what else do you want to do on this trip?

It’s a good question – with time and flexibility, this is a great opportunity to learn, self develop and explore myself as well as the new surroundings.

Two months ago I made a huge investment in myself, getting a nutrition/fitness coach. It’s not something I would have done while working, as I didn’t value my health or time in that way…my focus was always on my business. And though I’m hugely proud of it, and it’s bought our campervan, I now realise that my work:life balance was way of kilter and was having negative impacts on other areas of my life.

It’s taken me over 4 months to sit back and reflect…to step off the treadmill…to question what the purpose of this adventure is. In so many ways I am trying to better myself…to be the best version of me. It’s a neverending journey, but one I’m enjoying. A new habit I’ve adopted is to read the Daily Stoic and a passage hit home with me:

Obviously I’ve not retired but I was so fortunate in that I believe dog grooming was my calling. However if we want to keep traveling, and face realities about my back and hands which had begun to suffer, then I need to take this time to explore other interests, try new things (not just the food – though I’m expert at that 😂) and broaden my mind.

And so today I woke really early with a mind full of options and eager to learn. Rather than dash into something like I usually do I’m giving myself time for things to muse and settle. We are in no hurry to do much or go far. Having previously thought we had ‘done’ Bratislava, we walked three new areas today…the longer you stay the more a place reveals itself.

The reason behind most of our walking is typically coffee related and so the first cafe was Sweet Beans Coffee Roastery, which had very nice coffee, modern decor, good atmosphere and nice cake. But there was no vegan option for me so we ‘had’ to go to La Donuteria which had a delicious selection of flavoured vegan ring doughnuts…though fussy me has now decided I prefer filled 🙄.

As well as more street art and sculpture, I found a boardgame shop so got lost for a while and bought a cute ghost game called Duch! that I’ve seen in three other countries. The shop owner explained the instructions as they are only in Czech, fingers crossed I remember!

I made spicy tomato soup for lunch before walking the pups along the river and ultimately to another cafe called Coffeein, which was dog friendly and served a range of roasts and coffee makers (could have bought a cafetier from here instead of IKEA!). Despite Mark saying no, we played Scrabble and drank iced coffee. A lovely relaxing afternoon…and I didn’t take too long coming up with words (Mark might disagree 😂). Playing with a Czech copy certainly made the scoring fun as they had different letters and values.

This evening we have ventured out food shopping, I tried a new coconut curry recipe and we finally bought an adapter plug. My bedtime routine will soon begin and I’ll be snoring alongside Ernest in no time.

139 – Rest and Reset

For the last few days Mark and I have both had a cold and I’m so thankful my body waited until my dad was home to blighten my day with a banging headache. My brain really wasn’t operating well, so we decided to have a rest day.

I dropped Mark at the laundrette cafe while I tried and failed to park the van anywhere close to the food market or somewhere that might sell coffee. On the plus I used the time to continue my mindful eating course (I’m a horrendous binge eater and keep attacking the nut box). I’m currently doing 10% happier Mindful eating meditation and a free 4 day trial of the Eat Right Now app. Today’s exercise was the infamous raison test…they are actually cool, translucent wrinkly things that look pretty with the sun shining through them, and make a squishy noise. Definitely an odd way to spend 3 minutes of my life observing a raison 😂

With fresh linen and a happy hubby, I braved IKEA in search of a cafetier…obviously it’s in the last department after walking through the whole maze 🙈 I definitely don’t recommend IKEA with a splitting headache.

Mark and I were discussing where next on our route plans and I confessed I felt the need of a day or two doing nothing. We so rarely just relax. Mark agreed we need to plan in more ‘down time’ as we have largely been on the go for over 4 months.

We thus waited a while for my headache to subside, gave up when it didn’t and took the pups to Eleven books and coffee cafe. The atmosphere is chilled and unpretentious. The cake is fine, coffee lovely and it’s cheap (my vegan cherry strudel was nicer than marks apple slice).

This evening, I’ve helped my neice research elephants, cooked a new recipe, spent a couple of hours on my Vegan Nutritionist course and done my exercises. Fingers crossed we will both feel recharged in the morning.

138 – Castles and old haunts

With limited time before my dad’s flight home from Bratislava we decided to drive out to Mödling to a lovely cafe called Mr Beans. I had no idea it would be so busy and there was no chance of us getting a table, so it was an expresso to go…sorry mum I know dad’s not meant to have coffee 🙈

We then visited Devin Castle, and walked the pups by the river. It’s a lovely spot and you can quite imagine relaxing with a book there the whole day.

With dad safely on his way home, Mark and I drove back to our original parking spot in Bratislava overlooking the river. We walked the railway bridge, through a new part of town to have a delicious vegan ice cream at Koun and visit the Galerie Nedbalka, which had some lovely artworks, sculpture and gave free coffee with €5 entrance fee – what a perk!

Having memorised where the Oldest Shop was, I bought more Rozok pastry and enjoyed listening to a mini concert in a bubble dome before heading back home to relax and plan the week ahead.

With retrospect Mark and I both agreed we prefer Bratislava to Vienna as it has more charm and a nice vibe. In fairness to Vienna I think our usual city sight approach doesn’t really work. I think you need to go inside a lot of the buildings to experience their full effect. There are many museums/tours we just didn’t have time to do (globe, clock, crypts, library, opera house). It’s also a hub for dark noir and has great cemeteries and murder museums if you like that sort of thing.

For us though we just felt Vienna lacked any soul. It seemed too neat/sterile. I often prefer the upcoming grungy neighborhoods and we didn’t find that in vienna.

Also most surprising, we had been told it would be hard to avoid music…in reality we heard none. Where are the buskers that add atmosphere and life to a city? Having not got opera tickets in time (my fault), the tourist fodder of chaps dressed up in Edwardian garb touting tickets left little to be desired. If I’m more organised I may go back…but there are other cities that caught my heart.

137 – Conducting orchestras and quirky architecture

Funny how not having access to a coffee maker incentivises you to get up and out asap.

Our morning was spent visiting the quirky Hunderwasser Museum and House. As an artist and architect he took great inspiration from nature and avoided straight lines. His work is playful, colourful and possibly a trip hazard 😂

So many of his screen prints I simply adored and would happily have on my walls at home. It was a fascinating museum, with a great photo exhibition as well – I’d highly recommend. We also had coffee and cake in the museum cafe which was ok food wise but a nice environment. The house he designed is 5 minutes walk from the museum and has become tourist central. The area around it is very unappealing – I’d advise a quick photo then escape asap.

We then walked on to Mak – Museum of Applied Arts. This wasn’t initially on the plan but they had a couple of really interesting exhibitions on and the Mak lab was great. We could easily have spent hours in there but had to get back to the pups.

Our evening plans involved a few more key sights (Rathaus, Library and Hofburg), with pizza at Regina Margherita – nice pizza but lazy service, and lots of fun at the House of Music.

This is an interactive museum which is open until 10pm and was likely the highlight of our weekend. As someone with little classical music knowledge I really enjoyed it. My dad who knows a lot more, seemed to really like it…he had fun playing on the keyboard stairs, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and creating his own mini symphony (it may have included fart noises 😂). Informative and fun, definitely worth a visit!

136 – Vienna…not what we expected

So I knew my dad was excited to visit Vienna. He loves music, plays in a brass band and used to be an architect, so with the limited knowledge and impression I had, I felt sure he would love it.

His feet had survived Bratislava and he’d enjoyed the Secret City Trail, so we opted to do another one. The clues took us to some of the key tourist sights as well as a little off the beaten track. All around you the architecture is hugely impressive and on such a large scale.

We stopped for lunch and went off route to a great vegan burger house called Swing Kitchen…though we could easily have been distracted by the many food stalls on the Naschmarkt. Dad’s burger was overdone and they were so apologetic they gave him another burger and free tiramisu! (He doesn’t like tiramisu so I got it 😋).

One lovely thing to mention are the new traffic lights that celebrate diversity. We saw two men, two women, a cyclist and pedestrian…it was such a nice surprise. Good to keep your eyes peeled 😊

Vienna is very neat, almost sterile, but there was a small patch of graffiti on the trail and some lovely street art in the museum passages which linked to their exhibitions. After successfully completing the trail dad and I went back to see the pups while Mark joined the Friday for Future and Climate Strike marches which were very well supported with tens of thousands of people in attendance.

We later met up with Mark at Kurpark Oberlaa for a nice walk around the park (there are thermal spas there but the men weren’t up for it) and an ice cream at the restaurant. Note to others…it’s actually quite posh so they expect you to eat a minimum 3 scoops from a glass bowl not a cone…I obviously looked confused as hadn’t read the small print. But fair play he served me 1 scoop in a glass dish with a free cone on the top 😂 Dad was ‘forced’ to try the apple strudel…when in Vienna it would be rude not to. The only catastrophe of the day being our cafeteria smashing while driving – no coffee making facilities! 😱☕❤️

With a need for vegetables and less sugar we ate dinner at home then headed out in the evening. I had us listed for standby tickets for the evenings opera but sadly no tickets came free so instead we went to Prater to see the Viennese Grand Ferris Wheel and the Independent Republic of Kuglemugel. The wheel was impressive, the barbwire surrounded derelict sphere that constitutes Kuglemugel…less so.

Another huge surprise was the beer festival and concert that was going on there. It was heaving with people and I’d say 95%, both young and old, were in traditional dress of leidehosen and dirndl. It just seemed totally normal for their Friday night attire.

135 – Riddling around Bratislava

When the alarm went off at 6:30am I clocked my pups being extra cute and really didn’t want to leave them. When I finally dragged myself out for a morning run, it was one of my worst but it was still good to be up and out exploring the riverside.

As a special treat we opted for breakfast out at Funki Punki Pancakes. Mark and I chose the traditional Slovak poppyseed and cinnamon filling while dad had caramel and lemon. If I’m honest Christopher’s Crepes in Norwich are much better. Still the sugar energy helped with our secret city trail.

Having loved the London one we did last year, I can’t believe we had forgotten about these. We have missed quite a few trails from cities we’ve already visited, but I’ve bought a bundle of 3 so we can consider it for future cities.

The basis is, by solving 14 riddles you get to see the key sights, with nuggets of history and recommendations given along the way. It’s a fun way of exploring, especially if you are in a group. My dad might have appreciated a less uphill route, but hey Castles are always on hills 😂

I would say this worked really well for Bratislava as there isn’t a huge amount to do and see, but this makes you look closer and take in more of the details of the city. It’s a great day trip city.

Food wise we had lunch at FiVE Points cafe – it does nice coffee and ok food. The waitress showed my English tea-aholic dad how to make a cup of tea using a little timer…how he bit his tongue I will never know. And no it wasn’t Yorkshire tea so it wasn’t good enough 😂

In the afternoon, Mark went back to see the pups while dad and I visited the oldest street (nothing to see), narrowest street (not very narrow), Oldest shop (home to my new favourite pastry – the Rozok 😋), Presidential Palace (completely covered on scaffolding), the striking upsidedown pyramid Slovak TV and Radio building, and the broken Union Fountain.

We met up with Mark and the pups and had coffee at Urban Food. They serve tasty looking vegan meals but had ran out of cake, so while they ate carrot cake I ran back to the Oldest Shop to buy more Rozok (the ground walnuts ones are so delicious I doubt the pack of 5 will last the night!).

In hindsight I would likely have gone to Urban Food for main food and Eleven Books and Cafe for coffee (we popped in on the lookout for English books and it was charming and friendly). Had I not found out that Rozok are called Kipferl in Austria I would also have bought more. Having now arrived in Vienna, I’m counting on being able to source more…plus Sacher Torte of course…I only exercise so I can eat all the food 😋😂

134 – My parcel arrived!

We woke at 5:30am to find the lake wasn’t quite as glorious as Google described but it suited the fishermen, our pups and a cute school trip of 4 year olds who all pottered past the van looking up at Ernest who was staring out the window.

After a brief foray into Tesco (our first visit to one for 4 months), we drove into Bratislava to the excitement that was the Laundromat Cafe. With two big bags of washing, it gave us plenty of time to drink coffee and plan the next few days. Why don’t they all do this, it totally makes sense? Yes to vegan coffee and free biscuit but sadly no cake or other food options.

As a little warning to other campers, the parking is horrendous. Cars are parked everywhere, both legally and illegally. We even saw a car reverse into another parked car, then just drive off leaving it scratched ☹️

Still after this rather dull but necessary day, my parcel arrived…bleeding! My dad had flown in to visit me as a birthday present and I’m under strict instructions to take good care of him. So when he was last off the plane, and walks through arrivals with blood on his shirt and a tissue to his ear, I had to laugh. Not in the country 5 minutes and already injured. He was actually fine, just a little nick…and he’s in safe hands now – I hope 😂

I filled him up with lentil dahl and then we visited the UFO Tower which has amazing views over the city and funky urinals (photo courtesy of Mark). Rather than have a cocktail there we ventured into the old town to an unusual beer cellar pub called Steinplatz in the middle of a traffic island. Sadly neither dad nor Mark were impressed with the beer. I need to find better alternatives…any recommendations?

On the plus we saw some cool street art on the way home.

133 – Vets and not much else

If I can get my arse out of bed early, I generally stay out of bed. Given my propensity to linger in the van until 10am, my new routine requires a 6:30 alarm and a straight out and exercise approach. So when the hubster let me sleep in, I woke with a start then panicked and dashed straight out before my brain had time to consider other options.

Not my best or easiest run. I had the lead legs but it was still nice to be out running along the river. On my way back I wanted to do 4 miles so kept looping a little coffee shop called Winkiel whose owner smiled at me each time. So when I bumped into Mark and the pups it made sense to go there for coffee. I get the feeling it’s a brand new cafe – the owner was so lovely and accommodating. It had a light jazzy feel and they will soon be doing breakfasts.

We then drove back to Animal Med vets for Ernest’s blood test results and the poor pup has anaemia. The vet there was an absolute star and I trust her completely. We left armed with three bags of antibiotics, pro biotics and a vitamin supplement. He is still bouncing off the walls and as crazy as ever so you’d know. We need to come back in 2 weeks to have his bloods redone – fingers crossed he will be back to normal – this means more bonus time in Krakow and a complete change of route plan 😂

Our afternoon was meant to be a visit to Auschwitz, but on getting there the queues were horrendous, and we were told that to do a self guide we would have to wait until after the tours at 4pm (details that frustratingly aren’t on the website). I’d read reviews that warned the guided tours were rushed and you couldn’t see much because of so many people, so we ultimately decided to read the outdoor display then leave. Thinking maybe on the way back to Krakow we can try and get in at 7:30am before the crowds 🤔

We are thus on our way to Bratislava in Slovakia to pick up a very important parcel

N.b. I think this is the fewest photos I’ve ever taken on a day and they were both taken before 9am 😂