Vienna to Bratislava (there ain't no monorail here and there never was)

I had a terrible sleep last night and woke up late this morning. My bike has another broken spoke. I've been riding it anyway as it isn't that bad but it probably wasn't up for the 100km to Bratislava so I activated cheat mode and got a train.

At the train station in Vienna I saw the first evidence of the refugee crisis since I've been in Europe. There were people camped outside the station and rubbish and discarded clothes and blankets around. I rode past a family who were setting themselves up on the bike path. There were 4 or 5 adults and maybe 10 kids. One of the kids, who was 4 or 5 reached up to grab me as I rode past. It seemed kind of like a moment was happening but I didn't really know what to do with that moment so I just swerved around him so he didn't get his fingers caught. He'll have to give his moment to someone else.

It's really sad that all those people have made it to Vienna but haven't got past the train station. There are some really really nice streets in Vienna to be stranded on. I don't really know what they are supposed to do. They've escaped to limbo. If it was me I don't know how I'd get a job. Or accomodation. All they have is their lives but the future is bleak. Still, it was nice to not be the only smelly person for once.

I'm in Bratislava now and the first impression is not good. I've been told it is better than it looks. For those who watch the Simpson's, remember the episode with the monorail where Marge goes to see the other towns that had a monorail and they are run down and abandoned? I think Bratislava once had a monorail. The roads and footpaths are in poor condition, the park I went through to get to the hostel looks like it's from I Am Legend. It was only a brief glimpse as I haven't gone back out from the hostel yet. 

The one positive is that an elderly man flopped his old fella out half way up the stairs to an overpass and did a wee. I like not having to be bound by the constraints of toilets. One thing I struggled with in London is that there wasn't much green space to wee on. Here you don't need bushes, just wee anywhere, anytime. I'm weeing right now. I like that.

Only 1 photo. It is the centrepiece of that Park. I think it is supposed to be a fountain but there was no water. I'll gather some old men and we'll get it flowing again.