Looking at the map while in Vienna we could see that Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia was very close . 

We went there by hydrofoil, down the Danube River, on a beautiful warm sunny day. Passports were duly stamped as we were off to another country for the day.

The hydrofoil took us through a massive lock which lowers and raises river craft by 8 metres! Great experience to watch and be part off.

Bratislava is a city of sharply noticed contrasts. It has the old with castles, cobblestones, and city walls. We enjoyed wandering around and found a lovely place for a lunch sitting in the sunshine. The ambiance of good food and location encouraged us to enjoy a couple of inexpensive glasses of wine.

Climbing a hill to the castle to work off our lunch and wine, the view created by our height brought the contrast sharply into view. As far as the eye could see over the river were row upon row of grey, faceless, high rise Soviet style accommodation blocks and factory chimneys. Forever. The Soviets have a lot to answer for in the creation of ugliness.

Slovakia was formed in 1993 by the break up of Czechoslavakia. 

A funny highlight of our day was finding an apricot tree near the castle and picking ourselves a feed of lovely apricots, before boarding our hydrofoil back to Vienna. .