26-27 July 2023, Bratislava, 52.66km
Autocamp Zlate Piesky €16 [R332]

A relatively easy 55km run, predominantly on route 2, to the northeast corner of Bratislava, including 16km of city cycling. The pictures show a short section of fairly rough cycle path which elevated us off the highway for a brief period.
--
It rained for much of yesterday and as our host seemed happy to continue to accommodate us in the campsite playroom, we spent the day watching YouTube and Netflix, with a quick shopping outing for lunch and dinner supplies, and a little planning thrown in.
It seems that Slovakia is in a state of flux and that the Romanian embassy in Bratislava is not at the moment issuing visas to tourists. We will have to apply in Budapest, therefore, assuming we can persuade Pretoria to forward our application forms.
--
There is a distinctly different feel to Slovakia. I mentioned more poverty in my last whatsapp, though a couple of the bigger towns through which we passed today looked better off than our earlier examples. Route 2 parallels the motorway into Bratislava. It sometimes sports a shoulder and is sometimes in perfect nick, but often not.
--
Both campsites of which we now have experience, are somewhat run-down, adequate but not optimal. Tonight's campsite is also more security conscious than others in Eastern Europe, with a boom, a security guard, signs suggesting you not leave your phones charging unattended, and a bike shed to which only reception has a key.
--
I have revised my opinion of our campsite. Although there are several run-down and abandoned buildings on the premises, the bathrooms are renovated and the administrative staff excellent. There are two or three bufets (fast food outlets) on site and a kitchen and a laundry and a lake and lots of trees.
Just behind reception is a pedestrian bridge up-n-over the double-carriage highway on which we arrived by bike yesterday. Along the road run trams, buses and trolley buses. A good public transport system is a pleasure. Our receptionist had told us to take tram 4 and at which stop to disembark both outward and inward bound. Buying a senior (half-price) ticket was easy and within 20 minutes we were in the heart of the old city. Later we took the tram two stops to visit two sites in the new city, then shopped at a Tesco Express and hopped a tram home. Easy peasy.