Castles & Cousins

Today our adventures took us to Devin castle which stands on the point where the Morava and Danube Rivers meet. The castle itself is extremely old, positioned to protect the town of Devin from invasion in years past. Across the river is Austria.

The lands around the castle are a nature's paradise, covered with various flowers, trees and plants. The castle itself is a "ruins", but much effort has been put into protecting what is left for future generations to enjoy.

Marty and I find such historical sights to be of great interest merely because one doesn't find much in the United States that is older than 200 years. This castle dates back to Roman times and is considered to be one of the most important monuments of Slovak history.

Despite the cold and extremely windy weather, we enjoyed traipsing through the grounds of the castle with Helga once again as our guide. We pretty much had the place to ourselves until we were leaving and a large group of school students arrived. Good timing on our part.

Helga explained to me that her mother, like most typical Slovaks, don't understand why we would be interested in seeing a castle in ruins. They are not proud of such attractions and wonder why we would want to see something that is clearly falling apart. I suppose they think that we are crazy, but I explained that we enjoy history and seeing such things is truly exciting for us.

When we exited the castle, we were delighted to find Lenka and Dominika sitting in their car, waiting for us in the parking lot. We had wanted to eat at the Castle Restaurant, but for some reason, it was closed today. So, Lenka drove us into the town of Devin, where we enjoyed real Slovak food. I had creamy garlic soup which came in a bread bowl, and a grilled cheese, similar to brie with what the menu called "cowberry" sauce. (it tasted and looked suspiciously like cranberry sauce), while Marty had the Devin special which consisted of pork, mushrooms and various items wrapped in a large potato pancake. We both were licking our chops when we left the restaurant.

Lenka then drove us to the garden house of her grandmother, Helga's mother, Olga Mrenova. Olga was so excited to see us, and being the typical grandma type, she started pulling out food for us to eat. Although I was filled beyond imagination, I somehow managed to finish off a piece of cake that was fabulous. Chocolate with three layers of coffee cream sandwiched in between. Olga chuckled at my poor Slovak skills, but I couldn't help but smile myself to see this woman so thrilled to have us as visitors.

We said good-bye to Helga this evening, and tomorrow begins our adventures on the road. I have been attempting to use some Slovak, although I do realize I am really lacking in that skill. I asked one woman what something cost today and she laughed at me. So, I figure that I must work on that one. Marty's been attempting to learn some words, but he always has had an issue rolling his "r's" so he's a far cry from sounding Slovak. But after a week, he may have managed to learn a few words.

We pick up the rental in the morning, and hopefully we will arrive at our next destination safe and sound. Guess you'll just have to wait to see what happens.