I do think cruising with small children is an easier form of travel. The logistics are just more straightforward: your accommodations and consistently toddler-friendly dining travel with you. On balance, this is both good and bad. On the one hand, it saves time and effort spent on ‘everyday life’ activities. On the other hand, caring for a toddler forces you to live more like the locals (in terms of engaging in kid-friendly activities and the chores of daily life). That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to drive again.

The trip had far more highlights than lowlights. Indeed, I think every place we went is now firmly affixed to the “return” list, especially Bavaria and Poland. And, while we were lukewarm on Berlin initially, it has a lot of cultural venues that are worth exploring. Thus, while it’s not the prettiest city, it’s certainly worthy of another in-depth visit. Realistically, it will likely take us another 3 years or so to finish the 157×50 (err 39? 40?) goal. So, if we’re not back in Central Europe before then, I suspect we will most assuredly return soon thereafter.

Finally, this trip reminded me just how much we like experiencing new places. I think that’s been one of the great advantages of the 157×50 project’s goals. By definition, you’re forced to expand your horizons and travel more widely. Fortunately (or unfortunately), once you’re on that path the thrill of exploring becomes addictive and you find yourself thinking: “why not drive from Budapest to Turkey?” or “maybe we should island hop through Indonesia?” Of course, we’re not hostel-dwelling, backpacking vagabonds. We’re far more (and unapologetically) bourgeois by this point in our lives both by choice (why inconvenience yourself when you needn’t have to?) and necessity (traveling with a toddler, while I’m sure it’s technically possible w/ backpacks and in hostels, I think you’d have to be stark raving mad to do it). But, I digress…

Final score: +6 countries and +1 state for us; +13 countries and +1 state for Emerson!

Up next: the Caribbean over Thanksgiving.

What a worthwhile place to visit! While the historic city center of Bratislava is diminutive in scale and lacks ‘major’ sights per se, we all found it utterly charming. It’s smartly restored, slightly arty, utterly accessible, not overly crowded, and full of friendly locals. We especially enjoyed the numerous statues that dotted the town, which added a note of whimsy to the classic facades. In short: Bratislava is a winner. I’d highly recommend it as a day trip from Wien or as a stop between Budapest and Vienna. We followed Rick Steves’s self-guided walking tour of Bratislava and added a few shopping stops to pick up souvenirs. Libby was especially taken by a silver and garnet ring, which she now owns.

Main Square -- Bratislava

Statues dot Bratislava's historic center...

For my part, I was struck by some images that I happened to notice inside of a little café near the town’s main square. It turns out that the café was run by a non-profit service organization that helps the intellectually challenged. The art work (made out of woven strips of construction paper to form multi-colored geometric patterns) was created by members of the organization as well and was for sale in the shop (at 5 euros, including frame and handmade gift bag). I found the people delightful in the café and the entire project to be very touching. The staff was clearly pleased to have sold their work, and I’ve probably never been happier spending ~$6.50 in my life.

My 'art' purchase in Bratislava...

After our successful morning, we returned to Vienna by 1:00. We grabbed lunch and took a nap. In the late afternoon, we headed to the Prater (a large public park near our hotel that’s very popular with the locals), which includes a Tivoli-style amusement park. We took a ride on a miniature train throughout the park, enjoyed a number of other amusements (including a traditional horse-drawn carousel), and wandered around the grounds enjoying the atmosphere. We then found a promising looking (and packed with locals) biergarten at which we enjoyed a tremendously awesome and insanely cheap (for Europe) dinner of bratwursts (with the most heavenly senf), frankfurters (for Emerson), potato salad, tomato salad, fresh bread, and drinks.

Fun at the Prater...

Pilot Emerson... ready for take-off!

We had ice cream—a sweet ending for a sweet day—as we walked through the park back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we depart Austria for Poland via the Czech Republic.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Slovakia)… +2 for Emerson!