So. Much. History. (6/13)

Our first full day began with breakfast at the train station.  We chose the restaurant right above the station which I thought was pretty neat.  Three eggs and bacon, cafe latte, and bread for two for about $12.  Plus the atmosphere was free!

Railroad memorabilia on the restaurant wall

Socialist Realism and trains.  What more could I ask for?

Fe is an Uber fanatic.  She was disappointed that Budapest didn't have the service but was ecstatic when she found out Bratislava did, and I'll admit it worked well for us here.  We used it to take us to our first stop, Devin Castle.

I chose to do Devin Castle first because the site is about 10 km (6 mi) outside Bratislava and also to hopefully beat some of the heat (failed on the second one, actually).  The castle is a ruin but it is still impressive, and the views were spectacular.  Well worth the time.

Looking up at Devin Castle

View of the Danube

Panoramic View

Looking up the Morava River.  During the Cold War, this was the frontier and was patrolled by soldiers.  Because of this, the area is relatively unspoiled.  The paths the soldiers used are now bike and walking trails.

Fe and I at the Castle.  A group of students (or summer camp kids) were touring the castle at the same time and we asked one with an impressive camera set-up to take our picture.  I'm sure the iPhone was child's play to him.

Now, the hard part: we had to get back to Bratislava.  No WiFi meant no way to call Uber again.  I knew there was a bus line out here and after strolling through the town a bit in 85 to 90 degree weather, we came to the main road that had a bus stop.  We found one, but I was a bit concerned that the bus would be awhile since no one else was around.  Another lady came by shortly though, so we were OK.  Different stresses, remember?

I would have liked to explore the town of Devin a bit more, but there wasn't really time for that.  I did snap a picture of a local church.

Holy Parish Church, Devin

After the walking and the bus ride, we needed to cool down a bit, so we changed buses and wound up at Aupark, a mall that was the biggest in Slovakia when it opened in 2001.

Inside the mall

It is easy to sneer at tourists who always eat at the chains that they have at home, but we always try to go to a McDonald's to see what the differences are.  We're never disappointed.

The Kreveta-shi has shrimp with the burger. The Krava-shi has a honey barbecue beef.

One of the big differences on this trip compared to earlier ones is that we're using the hotels as a base.  The Mercure Bratislava Centrum is especially good for this because there are many tram and bus lines that go by it since it's close to the train station.  We can drop off souvenirs, change clothes, relax in the lounge, etc,, and then be ready for the late afternoon and evening. 

Another landmark on our must-see list was the Church of St. Elisabeth, otherwise known as the Blue Church.  It's located just past the town center in a quiet residential area with a nice park nearby.

Blue Church

Blue Church

Inside the church

The last stop of the day was--to me--the highlight.  It was the observation deck of the UFO Bridge, known officially as the Most SNP, The Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising.

Highway approach to UFO Bridge

View of Old Town Bratislava from the observation deck

View of Bratislava Castle from observation deck

River View after sunset

Bratislava Castle at night

We had dinner in the lounge area--not the formal dining since you needed reservations--and we stayed until the sun went down to get the night shots.  We Ubered our way there and back, which was a good choice since it was a bit of a walk to the bus stop.

More exploring tomorrow!