Devín Castle in Slovakia

Devín Castle is one of the most significant archeological sites in Slovakia. The castle is located in a town called Devín, which is about 10km west of Bratislava and almost right on the border to Austia, where River Danube meets River Morava. It was the ideal place to control the important trade route along these rivers. It says that the site was first settled in the Neolithic age(!) and was fortified in the Bronze and Iron Age.  During the 1st and 5th century, it became the fortresses for Romans. And in the 9th cntury, it became the most important fortress for the Great Moravian Empire.

The stone castle seemed to be built in the 13th century and continued to be expanded until Napoleon destroyed it in 1809.

From the parking lot, you climb up the hill for about 15 mins to get to the ruin (yes, it is a good exercise!). The ruin sits on top of the cliff looking down the beautiful rivers and surrounding nature.  So magnificent!

A quick trip to Bratislava, Slovakia

My hubby and I went on a quick trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. The main purpose of this trip was to apply for my visa, which is a very time consuming process (will talk about later).  Anyway, it was of course the first time for me (and gG) to visit Bratislava, and there were again lots of things to learn about the country and its capital.

Bratislava is located approx. 130 km south of Brno, VERY close to the border of Austria.  It is one of the smallest capital cities in Central Europe but is full of historic monuments and culture. And as some people may know, the beautiful River Danube runs through Bratislava.

We arrived at Bratislava too late to do a meaningful sightseeing, but we had a chance to walk through the old part of town.  The old town felt even smaller than the one in Brno.  It only took us a couple of hours to go around the town.  We made the reservation at the hotel called Devin, which stands along the River Danube. From there, we walked towards north to the long and narrow park called Hviezdoslavovo Nam.  The park was just so cozy, charming, and beautiful.  There were a bunch of cafes and restaurants along the park, and people were enjoying the beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon with coffee, tea, beer, or wine.

We walked along the park for a while and headed west to visit St. Martin's Cathedral, which is a 15th century Gothic style church that stands high at 85m.  I heard 11 Hugarian kings and 8 consorts were crowned between 1563 to 1830.  On top of the tower, you see a replica of the Hugarian crown, which weighs 300kg.  The most amusing thing was the crypt outside of the cathedral. It said "Grof Palffy Csalad, Sirboltja" with the dates 1600 to 1845 on the tomb stone. Huh??? He lived 245 years???

Later that day, we went out for a dinner, walking towards the St. Michael's Gate, one of the four gates originally built in medieval era. This gate is the only one survived to the day. At night, it lights up, and you can admire its beauty from the outside seatings of cafes and restaurants on Michalska Street.

We went into a Slovak restaurant called Presburg on Michalska Street. We are getting very familiar with the slovak cusines by now, and we ordered our regulars: garlic soup (which was different from the ones we have been eating in Czech Republic and it was creamy), halušky (a bit different as well, and I do have to say I prefer the one we had at the restaurant near our house), kabab type of dish (we decided to go for it as we were semi getting tired of pork ribs), and a plate of pickled cheese (this is also one of my hubby's favorites).

Good food, good ambience, and good company - what else can you ask in life?