September 14 - from Prague CZ to Bratislava SK

As usual we had a nice breakfast and then boarded on the bus to Brno, the 2nd largest city of Czech Republic.   We went directly to Punkevni Jeskyne that is just over 25km northeast of Brno.

Punkevní jeskyně is the most extensive cave system that contains interesting stalagmites and stalactites and are well lit with passageways. A highlight of the area is a boat tour along an underground river and it took us to the Macocha Abyss, a 138 m deep pothole, open to daylight. We also had a chance to take a cable car ride to see the Macocha Abyss from the top.  There is a tale regarding a mother-in-law pushing her daughter-in-law down to Macocha Abyss, therefore it has a nickname of mother-in-law cave.

After lunch we headed to Bratislava, SK.  Bratislava is the capital of the Slovak Republic, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries, and it and Vienna are the two European national capitals closest to one another, at less than 60 kilometers (37 mi) apart.

The 1st attraction we saw was the Grassalkovich Palace that is a palace and the residence of the president of Slovakia.  We were not impressive with the palace and we joked about the Sugar Land City Hall is more impressive than this one.

The next stop was the Bratislava Castle.  It features with Castle building (the Palace) which is a massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a quite isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava. It is an outstanding feature of the city. The outside walls and inside corridors contain fragments of old Gothic and Renaissance construction elements.

Then we visited Slavin War Memorial that commemorates fallen soldiers during the liberation of Slovakia in World War II.

Then we visited the Old Town Hall that is one of the oldest stone buildings in Bratislava, and the oldest city hall in Slovakia. One of its attractions is a cannonball embedded in the tower wall, shot by Napoleon’s soldiers in year1809 during bombardment of the city from Petrzalka.