Horses, Hydroelectrics, Horticulture, and Hrad

Before our 3 days in Bratislava and Vienna we needed another slower day but we weren't in the mood for the same pace of our recent spa days so settled on a leisurely road trip the final hour long drive to Bratislava.

Before we got on the road Rob felt it important to stare down some local wildlife. Victor TBC.

Only 20 mins into our drive we stopped for a break on a dam with a tiny museum, it was not quite as cool as the river museum in the Moselle but free toilet so... yay?

A little further up the road, and an important stop on the way to Bratislava we stopped off at Gerulata, the Roman settlement in that section of the Danube. Most of the settlement is still under the modern town and with the massive sites at Vienna and Budapest I imagine Gerulata had not gained the same level of investment so much was still covered. We were treated to a lovely corner tower from the Roman fort there.

Passing over into Slovakia was largely imperceptible but the change in roads always provides some shocks and we ended up taking a wrong turn into a botanical garden. What could have been a stressful way to navigate the city turned into a very picturesque walk amongst lots of plants in their spring bloom.

Finally at the last destination of the day, we stopped off at Devin castle for some medieval history. Built in the 830s initially and enlarged later to fortify the fledgling state of Hungary's western border, it grew over the subsequent 700 years. So impressive were its fortifications that it helped to fend off the attacking Turks and keep the northern section of Hungary, modern Slovakia, out of Ottoman control. Once Hungary had been conquered by the Austrians 150 years later this once impressive bastion found itself in the heart of a largely peaceful empire and its utility diminished rapidly.

At the base of the castle was the memorial to the deaths of 400 eastern Europeans who died crossing this section of the Iron Curtain. Looking across the Danube to Austria you can imagine how tantalisingly close the West must have felt to the occupants of western Slovakia.

Our last stop of the day gave us a lovely view of Bratislava and the sunset getting us excited for the following three days. Were it not for the 12 degree drop in temperatures tomorrow I would be much more excited for our half hour morning cycle!