Bratislava Series - Pure as driven snow

Vienna today is pure white. All the way on the A4 to Bratislava the landscape is white on white on white. The wind farms stood in the whiteness like giant spikes punctuating the winter landscape. The roads were clear so passage was easy, which made up for the long delay from London Heathrow. The Austrian Airline flight OS452 from London Heathrow to Vienna International was delayed, once again, for more than an hour. Since time immemorial, this flight has never been on time. It is always late due to the delay of the incoming flight. If there is any predictability about air travel, then the delay of this flight surely tops the predictability list. The flight was nearly empty and a fellow passenger was heard requesting to change his seat. "We can't change your seat because that will upset the loading", the stewardess apologised. 

Restaurant at Marrols Hotel, Bratislava

Summer Terrace, Marrols Hotel, Bratislava

My usual hotel is full so I am overnighting at this boutique hotel, not too far from the Old Town. The reception comprises of one lady and one bellhop. The rooms are small, almost of doll house dimensions but some would charitably it describe as cosy. The dining room is cavernous and looked empty. Service was attentive and a trifle obsequious. But I did not have the appetite to walk into the old town in sub zero temperatures. 


In the hotel on the first floor there is a Summer Terrace where guests no doubt can go and have a smoke. Tonight, the entire terrace was covered in pristine snow, almost like a vision in white. It is a strange and eerie feeling to be surrounded by such an abundance of snow, to be cut off from the hustle and bustle of city life, and to be able to take a brief stop to marvel at the stillness of a garden in complete solitude.

My 365 Project - Day 15

All the little things that make me smile

27 January 2013
Whiteley's at Queensway, London W2

E& Moda - The reason for visiting Whiteley's at Queensway, London W2
The boutique that stores a wide range of Italian and French labels

The snow has finally disappeared. The traffic on the M3, M25 and M4 were relatively quiet, so it was a relative breeze until we hit Shepherds Bush where road repairs reduced traffic to a single lane. 

There were more and more empty units at Whiteley's since my last visit there in 2012. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), sales growth at UK clothing retailers in January 2013 was at its lowest level since last August (Olympics). There I was, bucking the trend.

My 365 Project - Day 14

All the little things that make me smile

24th January 2013
Snow is gradually melting. 

Bratislava Series - Remnants of the past

In the height of winter when the trees are bare of leaves, when foot traffic is light, and when everything is bathed in a dull grey winter light, the Soviet type architecture in Bratislava's Old Town come into their own. Most of them look over sized, a statement from a bygone era. They seem to be about heroics and hysterics, and in this modern age, they no longer strike a resonance.

Facing the Danube, by the ferry port

An abandoned building near the Blue Church

War, death, comradeship

Big Brother watching

My 365 Project - Day 13

All the little things that make me smile

23rd January 2013
Snow bubbles on the gravel as the snow recedes 

My 365 project - Day 12

All the little things that make me smile

22nd January 2013
Icicles, clear glass spears sparkling like jewels in sunlight

My 365 Project - Day 11

All the little things that make me smile

21st January 2013
The stork braving the snow in the garden
UK is still blanketed in snow....

My 365 project - Day 10

19th January 2013
Snow lying on conifer

Frozen UK braced for more snow and ice! And why would this make me smile? It is pretty postcard picture outside, from the comfort of one's home.

My 365 project - Day 9

16th January 2013
A tempting dessert, Bratislava

I don't want to make this project a food project. But I have found it difficult to point and shoot when travelling on business. My mind is never free from work, and it is difficult to spot the little things that make me smile. This is a lime parfait on the dessert menu of the Anjou Brasserie, Sheraton Hotel, Bratislava. It looked good and it tasted good. The parfait was a little bit too hard though.

My 365 Project - Day 8

13th January 2013.
Chestnut cakes at Hlavné námestie (Main Square), Bratislava

So I have fallen behind with my 365 project! I plea poor health and punishing hours. Still, there are always little things that make me smile. These chestnut cakes are absolutely delicious; I have not seen them elsewhere, not even in Vienna. 

Bratislava Series - More of the white stuff

Winter has truly arrived at Bratislava. Endless snowfalls: the whiteness of pristine snow, soft snow giving way beneath a pair of sturdy boots, and the slush bearing the grime of car tyre marks. 

Urban landscape, 15.01.13, Bratislava

Dawn breaking over Bratislava, 15.01.13

On the way to the office, the scenery has been white on white on white, and taxi drivers took the opportunity to take long detours to jack up the fare. On some trips, the taxi fare had nearly doubled, and it took some haggling to bring it down to a reasonable level. It was hard to believe a taxi meter when a normal fare of €7.50 jumped to €13.50. The snow has not dampened the locals' competitiveness nature on the road: the driver who took me to the airport found the skidding on the motorway A4 in winter tyres fun, demonstrating his supreme command of the car in dire wintry road conditions. The motorway to Budapest was closed on the day, and there was a long queue of traffic being redirected to Vienna. But I suspect that the truck drivers with registration plates from Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland are used to these detours in the depth of winter. 

Colleagues had kindly offered lifts from the office to the hotel, and one such trip involved scraping the whole day's snow off one side of a Ford estate car. When the soft snow gently peeled off from the scraper, my hands were screaming freezing cold inside the leather gloves. 

High heels were rendered useless and most of the time I was shod in my winter ankle boots, which had proved their weight in gold. 

This winter's favourite boots

These boots were bought for firm support after my second back procedure, to walk the endless miles from airport security to the departure gates, and their doubling up as winter boots in the snow was a pleasant surprise. The tricky part was not walking on soft snow, but mounting and crossing the raised pile of hard snow between the pavement and the kerb. It was as much a state of mind as physical agility to overcome such hurdles. 

Indoors, the buildings turned up the temperature to compensate for the sub zero temperature outside. It was not unusual to see shoppers in shopping mall leaving their winter clothing in their car and walking around in T shirts. The smokers of course are cursing the weather: they now have to brave the wind and the cold when they huddle outside the building drawing on their cigarettes. As a result, the fog created by the cigarette smoke immediately outside buildings was much denser than the summer months.

A snow man created by a colleague

The colleagues are used of course to the snow. Some of them go to work with a spare pair of snow boots, which they keep beside their desk. One even found the time to create a snowman in the balcony, clad in a Santa hat and a seasonal red bikini top. The snowman was still standing there when I left.  

On 17th January, Bratislava more or less came to a standstill. Snow fell incessantly and there were traffic warnings on the radio telling the public not to travel into Bratislava unnecessarily. Vienna Airport was closed for about two hours in the afternoon and many flights were cancelled. The airport was heaving with weary travellers waiting in long queues to re-book their flights. Normally a haven of calm and efficiency, Vienna Airport was turned into mass of frustration. This time, the body scanner worked in a super sensitive way and I was whisked off to a booth, fronted by a piece of black cloth, where I was told to lift up my bra for the item of clothing to be scanned. A piece of bra wire could set off the alarm? What kind of machines are these that would cause travellers' privacy to be so grossly invaded? 

Travel disruption at Vienna Airport, 17.01.13

Back to the eternal queues at Vienna Airport. At the G gates (these are gates where travellers have to present their passports) normally noted for the lack of foot traffic, there was a long queue waiting to rebook their flights. I noted on the departure board that an 09:00 flight to Cairo was delayed to 18:00. But that was lucky. A colleague told me that her sister who had an 06:00 flight from Vienna to Greece returned home to Bratislava at 18:00 not being able to board any flight. It was a day that truly tested my determination to go home and to take things in my stride. There was no pointing fretting over things that I had no control. In any case, I was lucky, my flight to London Heathrow was only delayed for two hours. It is no longer fun to travel on business.

Bratislava Series - The White Stuff

10 cm of snow fell on 8th January 2013 in Bratislava! The surprise for me was that traffic did not come to a standstill, as it would have in the UK. A further surprise for me was that the roads were cleared of snow by the morning. 

8th January 2013 - First heavy fall of snow, Bratislava

10th January 2013 - View from Polus Centre,
Vajnorská ulica, Bratislava

My 365 Project - Day 7

It's proving very difficult to do a daily blog. The working hours have been so punishing.

To continue with the theme: all the little things that make me smile.

10 Jan 2013
Breakfast diet of Financial Times plus fuel to start the day

My 365 Project - Day 6

All the little things that make me smile

7 Jan 2013
Festive decorations at Eurovea Square, Bratislava

The Eurovea Square was deserted at 20:30, but the festive decorations brought a smile to my face: they have recycled the deer and the trees from last year. A further reason to smile: the welcoming is as warm as ever.

Foot traffic at Vienna International Airport seemed to be at an all time low on a Monday, and my driver told me that the roads at Bratislava were nearly empty because the schools re-open tomorrow. It's been warm in western Slovakia, with not a fleck of snow to be seen on the hills.  

My Project 365 - Day 5

All the little things that make me smile

5 Jan 2013
A pair of clowns that has been with me since 2002

My Project 365 - Day 4

All the little things that make me smile

5 Jan 2013
Learning to  use Paper 53 to draw on my iPad

My Project 365 - Day 3

All the little things that make me smile

4 Jan 2013
Fridge magnet from a dear friend.
Friendship is priceless.

My Project 365 - Day 2

All the little things that make me smile.

3 Jan 2013
Watercolour of Stourhead, a birthday present

My Project 365 - Day 1

There is a 365 photo community on the internet where members post a photo a day; some of the photos are stunning. As I eschew social networks, I will do this project on my own and on this blog. The theme: all the little things that make me smile.

2 Jan 2013 - Hues of sunrise from bedroom window

New Year's Eve at Brighton, West Sussex

Inexplicably, my visits to Brighton tend to coincide with a cold windswept landscape. On New Year's Eve, the motorways M25 and M23 were almost devoid of traffic, so it was a relatively quick run to this seaside resort, a place once popular with retired widows and now the gay community.

The North Laine at Brighton was an eclectic collection of alternativism. The shops sell everything that you never thought you needed, from pointless knick-knacks to weird sculptures. What spoilt the fun was the cold and the driving rain, which made it difficult to take pictures, however odd or funny an object might be.

The irregular shoe shop

A dazzling collection of pointless objects

Probably one of the most creative objects -
a beautifully hand made cake

Legs Up!

Winter scene at Runnymede, Surrey

There has been widespread flooding in many parts of UK including the South West and South East. In Berkshire, flooding of the River Thames at Reading has disrupted railway services and further downstream at Runnymede, the River Thames has risen to a level that I have not seen before. We eat at the Runnymede Hotel time and time again with friends and loved ones, and on December 30, we arrived to find that half of the car park was submerged in water. At the back of the hotel facing River Thames, the water level had risen right up to the edge of the lawn. The dull grey sky and the drizzle summed up a miserable and wet winter of 2012.

River Thames at Runnymede in the Summer 2012

The same spot on 30 Dec 2012

Lacking in festive cheer,
Left Bank Restaurant, Runnymede Hotel

Perhaps it was lunch time and most people were still recovering from the excesses of Christmas, the restaurant was half empty at 1 pm. Still, the company was delightful and we exchanged news about each other and those we know. It really sank into me that I had been travelling too much and too often....