Breathtaking Bratislava!

As I was up really late last night (until 3am) to finish my blog, I skipped breakfast. 
Luckily I made it in time to go for a walk with the rest at 9am. We went through Devín, a small village close to Bratislava. We only had about an hour but that's definitely enough since it's really tiny. It's actually a part of the capital Bratislava. Devín only counts 1005 inhabitants and is mainly known for its Castle (hrad Devín). The castle was built in the 13th century, nowadays only some ruins are left. I added some pictures on here. With some imagination you can see how it used to be. If not, along the way there are a bunch of signs with drawings of the original state and if that isn't enough you can buy postcards, pictures, magnets and other crap in the souvenir shops. Yes, even in the middle of nowhere you can find these shops with a sh**load of stuff that you actually don't need, lol. 

Back on board we left right away to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
We arrived around lunch, ate on the ship and then left with the group on a city tour. This city is seen as the most important city of the country in terms of economy, politics and culture. We started with a sightseeing tour in a small bumpy old train. The guide only spoke German but I'm proud to say I understood everything :-D 
Bratislava contains a nice mix of past and present. On the one hand you can find many historical buildings that portray the rich history of the city, but on the other hand it has a really vibrant city centre thanks to the universities and urban youth culture. After our bumpy ride we got off in the old city centre for a slow walk, passing some really nice buildings, streets, fountains and squares. I honestly am willing to come back here, I'm sure there is so much more to see in this city, and the rest of Slovakia for that matter. 
Bratislave is also (just like Belgium) known for its chocolate. So of course I, as a self-proclaimed 'chocoholic', had to try this :))) I was immediately pleasantly surprised because we received a small glass with melted chocolate. And everybody who knows me knows that I always say "There's only one thing better than chocolate.... which is melted chocolate" ;-) On top of that it was 80% cacao, so perfect in my opinion! 
After the tour we stayed a little longer in the city center and had some ice cream.  Then I took off to the ship by myself, the others stayed a little longer. So far it is the hottest and sunniest day of our trip (+/- 30° Celsius!). So I wanted to enjoy this by working on my tan on the sundeck of the ship with some good music in my ears.... my type of holiday! :)))

Around 9pm we left Bratislava to set course towards Budapest, where we will arrive in the morning. Another city that I am really looking forward to!

That's it for now. Goodnight! XxX