Devin Castle Hike near Bratislava

We knew that we wanted one last visit with our friend Katie before we both left Europe. Katie was a part of the Central European ESI team that we first met at training in Pasadena five years ago. We got along well and made a point of visiting each other over the years. She has taught at the same school for the past five years in Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia. We have often celebrated birthdays and anniversaries together.

We had originally planned to take a hiking trip to the Tatra Mountains but decided that it would be too time consuming and expensive. So we opted for taking a hike nearer Bratislava and just enjoy being together. Last year Katie had taken Cindy and some other friends on a hike to the Devin Castle. It was a beautiful hike that Jack had to miss because of how sick he suddenly became that weekend. We decided it was a hike worth repeating and showing Jack. We ended up actually taking a completely different route than last year, that was even more beautiful. The weather was in the 60's with clouds but perfect for a great hike. The hike was probably about five miles through a beautiful forest. We began the hike from the outskirts of Bratislava. We were able to take public transportation to get to the trailhead.  We arrived at the town of Devin and Devin Castle that overlooks the Danube River border between Slovakia and Austria.

Here is the view of the village of Devin and the Castle that we got along the hike.

Jack next to the Maypole in the town square of Devin. It was made with a live pine tree that all but the top branches are stripped off and then it's "planted" into a hole in the center square. It's traditionally erected on May Day (the first of May).

We passed this old Devin firetruck parked in the village.

view from Devin Castle of the Morava River intersecting with the Danube. 

All the land viewed from here is Austria.

Devin Castle viewed from the castle grounds...you can see Roman Ruins in the foreground. According to Wikipedia: "Owing to it's strategic position, the cliff at the confluence of the Danube and Morava was an ideal place for a fort. That is why the site has been settled since the Neolithic Period and fortified since the Bronze and Iron Age. Later both the Celts and Romans built strong fortresses here."

Katie and Cindy with their matching rain coats peeking through a gate of the fortress.

The castle stands just inside the Slovak border (formerly Czechoslovakia). Prior to 1989, the Iron Curtain ran just in front of the castle. Although the castle was open to the public, the area surrounding it constituted a restricted military zone and was heavily fortified with watchtowers and barbed wire.

This memorial in front of the Devin Castle was set up to commemorate those shot while trying to escape to Austria from Czechoslovakia at this place during the Nazi occupation. 

There are more than 400 names listed on the memorial.