I took the train from Prague to Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia. Slovakia has a very interesting history, most recently with the “Velvet Divorce” in 1993 when they separated  Czechoslovakia (again) into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

As I was walking from the train station to the hotel there was a torrential downpour. There were several of us ducking into doorways to try to wait it out. After an hour I headed out in the rain anyway.

Sunday morning I found the church a little late, but it was a good day to be late since they were watching the Western European Regional Conference broadcast (after a 30 min Sacrament meeting).

I caught the bus to  Devin Castle along the Danube River (which was not blue, but really brown due to the recent storms). Built in 894 AD, it is mostly ruins now. It was an interesting day to be there because they were having a big festival (like a Renaissance Faire–but at a historic castle) with jousting, folk dancing, plays, games, etc.

I took the bus back into town and went to the top of the UFO Tower also along the Danube.

After waiting out another downpour under the bridge, I hiked to Bratislava Castle, recently (1957) renovated, but there in various states for about 2000 years. The Crown tower is one of the highest points in the city.

I hiked to the top of another hill to Slavin, a war memorial built in 1960 to commemorate the 1945 liberation of the city from the Germans by the Soviet Union. 6,845 Soviet soldiers are buried there.

I wandered around Old Town and the Town Square to see some of the famous statues.

I toured St. Martin’s Cathedral, oldest in Bratislava (1221 AD). It was the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830.

I saw the Presidential Palace on my way back to the train station.