The gate eventually opened at 22:25 And it’s no great surprise to anyone that it was a bus gate. The bus itself, and I don’t mean the air, I mean the actual physical bus was so hot that leaning against the panel on the side of the bus was like leaning against a radiator. It was pretty unpleasant waiting for the full load before we headed off.

What did come as a surprise when we reached the plane the cleaning crew was still on board so the bus unloaded onto the tarmac and off it toddled, at least it was cooler standing outside.



There was only about five minutes before the cleaning crew finished and we were allowed on board. Seat 14F for me this evening for this last of three legs, and acres of legroom on this Embraer E95



The traditional look at the safety card:




Everyone aboard by 22:45 and three out of three for empty seats beside me, I could get used to this!

The crew seem absolutely lovely on this fight and in fact I was very surprised that I was greeted by name by one member of the team who brought me a refreshing towel… maybe I just looked hot and bothered

22:53 and the safety demo is all done, the lights are down, and we are ready to roll for this 40 minute flight.

Next Stop: Kosice

Once the seatbelt sign was de-luminated the crew did the water run. It’s worth noting that the water on Austrian is large bottles dispensing into plastic glasses, just as BA have been trialling. The difference is that on Austrian they actually give a full glass of water and not three thimblefuls.

Soon thereafter the chocolates made an appearance and it would have been rude to refuse

Beyond that there is very little left to add, it was a pleasant enough little hop, the crew were friendly but clearly had no time to engage on such a quick flight, they were all on the move constantly.

The pilots announcement for 20 minutes to landing came almost immediately after the chocolates, the seatbelt light was on, and we were on our descent to Kosice.

Obviously there was no buy on board with such a short hop so now all my hopes are pinned on the hotel bar still being open

We’ve just landed a little over a quarter over an hour late, hopefully Kosice has a bus for us, or, even better, it’s a walk in strand?

I love Kosice airport! Off the plane and landside in literally ninety seconds! We came off the plane,, into the baggage reclaim, straight to the airport and out the door. A straight line from plane to kerb.







I’m now on a cab on the way to the hotel. There were a surprising number of taxi drivers outside and in the end I had to use one as there was absolutely no Ubers, let’s see if this turns into a ripoff.

Spent a few hours in that lounge with my 12yo son last November. He’s very well behaved, but mainlined that haribo… they had some German flag gummies that he particularly liked. I thought the beer selection was decent…

I may have followed his example

The taxi was 25 euros which felt a bit steep but not gouging, the uber was 10 euros if had ever turned up. When I arrived at the hotel, the crew were checking in so I could save himself a taxi trip if I’d asked them where they were staying .

A nice upgrade at the doubletree from bottom room to suite








And a little look around the reception whilst it is deserted










It’s now pushing on for 1am so time for bed. I’m in no tearing hurry in the morning as the tour doesn’t start until 1030 but I do need some sleep and I wouldn’t mind some breakfast tomorrow morning. I’ve not actually eaten that much at all today. Most of the dishes you’ve seen were left half eaten. At least I have a cookie to tide me over

That's Schengen. No Passport Control, just nothing. Just walk off the plane and you are there. Depends on the size of the airport. Sometimes it is quite a stroll from the plane to the exit.

Good morning from Kosice! It is rapidly approaching 8:30 am and I’ve made it down to breakfast. To be honest, despite my protestations of hunger last night, actually not much much of a breakfast person. A couple of slices of toast should do the job at least fuel me into the morning.

The breakfast spread is very typical what you would expect in a mid range hotel.










On the way to the breakfast restaurant I spotted the Kosice departures board. I’m impressed that they can keep an airport running at that volume.



The start point of the walking tour is around ten minutes from the hotel so no need for rushing around this morning

I love a small airport, too. And with a 10 minute drive from home (or less) I can realistically leave 40 minutes before departure and still make it. Though I usually do hour and a bit so I can have a coffee in the lounge. Unfortunately more than a coffee is not realistic, there's not really any food.

Uber is not active in Kosice. Use Bolt.

Start point of the tour. If the rest of the architecture is like this I’m in for a treat



This is a free tour from guruwalk and our guide Ester is a hoot!

The tour has just finished and I am COOKED!!!

according to the weather forecast it’s 32°C at the moment but with the sun beating down and very limited shade within the city centre it feels like an awful lot hotter. Also the lack of shade for the last three hours means I’ve really caught the sun this morning, I shall be a lovely shade of red later.




in fact, it’s so hot that absolutely every electronic device refuses to charge due to overheating.



The city center is almost empty, these were taken a few
minutes ago on the main drag and they were not staged






The tour has lasted for 2 1/2 hours and Ester continued to entertain. She was a really good guide. She’s also the number one guide here in the city partly because she’s the only guide here in the city

Photos to follow shortly after I’m fed and watered

Photo collage from the walk





















I’m blaming heat exhaustion for the ropey photos.

this really is a very pleasant city centre. The wide open boulevard down the main drag gives it a real feel of space and light, and the pastel buildings all blend nicely together.

Beer number two is in hand and after this I’m going to retire defeated. I think it’s time to head back to the hotel. There’s actually a couple of sights that we didn’t see along the way so I can stop off for a little look and then get inside for some air-conditioning and a cold shower because the heat really is brutal at the moment.

I’ve just been working through my itinerary and actually I’ve left it quite open for this afternoon. The only two things that I had on the plan were beer, the east Slovak Museum, and a couple of alleys that are on the way back to the hotel so retiring to somewhere cool isn’t actually going to massively change what I had planned it just means I’ll skip the museum… at least that gives me something to come back and see.

Technically the heat continues to be a challenge. My Insta360 go 3s which has overheating challenges at the best of times has now just frozen. The iPhone resolutely refuses to charge, and the go pro has just shut down and refuses to play!

Anyone recommend a lightweight cam that isn’t so susceptible to heat?

I remember my experience on the departure. I was not familiar then with that regional airport, and when it was time to board, the doors just opened and... there was nothing there. No bus etc. So I asked the gate agent what to do, as I was somehow confused. She pointed on the tarmac and said something like "you see the plane over there? You walk!" I was very surprised that it can work this way

It really does look like a nice city centre. Compared to my day where I went UpHanleyDuck and visited a few charity shops while trying to not trip over the homeless I think you have done well