Day 6 - Surprising Bratislava

Bratislava revealed itself as a little gem with a wide shaded Boulevard and curving pedestrian streets chock full of restaurants, shops and cafes.   We arrived at 1 pm and had a 40 kms bike tour to the Austrian countryside (despite the fact that we were in Slovakia!!).  We cycled along a river promenade, a two lane street and stopped at Devin Castle, a Roman times ruin overlooking the watery border between Slovakia and Austria.  There is a memorial to the 400 souls who lost their lives trying to escape communist Chekoslovakia by crossing  the river into Austria.  The memorial is small but poignant; looking at the now peaceful river you can almost see those brave people running for their freedom only to be met by bullets and barbwire.  

We crossed into Austria and made our way to Schlosshof, the hunting palace of Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose assassination started WWI.  There still remain some vestiges of the grounds' former inhabitants, such as the albino donkeys, goats, horses and a camel.  Stories tell of a tame lion he kept which he would unleash on unsuspecting visitors giving them the fright of their lives.  We had a taste of Apple Strudel and Viennese coffee and were then back on our way to Bratislava.  We would not set off until 8 pm so we had a couple of hours to stroll through the old town, marvelling at the Parisian styled architecture and local colourful roof tiles.