Trencin - Slovakia

Ahhhhhh Slovakia - you are beautiful!   We studied the route where we were going today and the times involved while drinking our champagne the night before.  Originally we were going to go to Trnava then Trencin on our way to Prague, but we soon realised we had 5 hours of driving from Bratislava to Prague.  We made the decision to only go to Trencin which is one hour away, then another four hours to Prague where we had to catch our plane back to the Netherlands at 3.30pm.  So Trnava we will have to come back to you another time! 

To fit Trencin in we were up at 6.30am, checked out and on the road by 7.00am, just as the sun was just coming up.  We arrived at Trencin at 8.00 and parked the car just behind the town square.  The ticket machine ate all our money, but didn't issue a ticket, so Anne went off in search of an ATM while I wandered around the square.  I found this great fountain (turned off for winter), of a man in a top hat climing out of a well.  It was rather intriguing, and have since found that it relates to the legend of the Vodnik.  However the only google reference of the legend I can find is from Prague...

'The Vodniks are the elf of the waters, creatures with a green body. Some of them live under the Moldau. Usually they are nice people but don’t get them angry because they are very touchy. Sometimes they have fun turning over the boats of lovers or fishermen but they also have the noble duty of preserving the souls of people who die in the floods of the river.

A vodnik used to live in a pond out of the city and moved later to Prague under the Charles Bridge because the wheels of a wagon had made turbid the waters of his previous home. On his way to Prague he met a merchant who was telling him about the pond and the dirt water. This man had idea he was talking to the vodnik from that pond…. The following day the wagon had to pass by the bridge so it was a good chance for the vodnik to revenge. The cry of the merchant was useless and he got caught in the floods of the river. A hat and a rose stolen near the pond the day before were the only things left about this merchant.'

After finally getting a ticket from another machine to display in our car we started heading for the castle high up above the township. We found a local bakery on the way and got some breakfast.  Very yum and very cheap.  We munched on the way up.  And up.  First up 92 stairs, to the start of the path up to the castle...

To rest, I occasionally stopped to take photos!  It was the only way I could reach the top. Anne was miles ahead of me!

Beautiful views on a stunning autumn day!

Number 19.  (Are there 19 castles?)

Old doors...

Still going up and through archways... (I think Anne is already inside the castle! )

And up....

Another stop to take photos of the beautiful view of the city down below...

The river Vah flows through it.  The population of Trencin is approx 56,000.

Oh look!  Finally I'm at the castle door.  I found Anne sitting on a seat waiting for me just inside!

A sign about the the Rotunda of the castle dating back to the 11th Century.  None of my photos turned out of the Rotunda which was behind glass and the glass was too reflective! However this is the oldest part of the castle.

The courtyard.  I try to imagine a typical day sometime in the 11th century with castle staff wandering around here! The Trenčín castle, experienced not only war and terror, but also hosted kings and queens from almost all over Europe.

The Matus Tower...  was built by the family Matus Cak of Trencin sometime in the 14th century.  It is extremely well preserved.  Later on, gothic palaces were joined to the tower.  These are: the Matus palace (that was later destroyed); the Lodovit palace; the Barbara palace and the Zapolsky palace.  If you're interesting in reading more about the history of Trencin Castle - you can find it all here.

I should explain here that we had a guide of which we paid 4 euros for, and which included a tour of the 2nd floor of the 'palace' and the Matus Tower.  I wasn't aware of what just what was involved until I got up to the palace.  I managed to survive the walk up to the top of the castle, and even up the steps of the 2nd floor of the Palace.  But then I had to walk up 5 floors of medieval steps to the top of the Tower.  Now that killed me!

A view from the steps of the palace of the soccer stadium down below...

Birds eye veiw of the town...

Going up...

At the top of the Matus Tower were incredible views over the city.  It was still early morning, and there was fog about too.

Way up high - I can't believe I made it..

Autumn over the castle grounds...

I took a few photos, then realised that if I didn't start down before everyone else, I would be holding everyone up.  So I started down again almost immediately.  I left a good 10 minutes before everyone else, yet we all arrived at the bottom at the same time. Mind you, I did stop a few times to catch my breath and take some more photos...

Old ropes down the wall for me to hold onto...  (I had to come down these stairs backwards in parts as they were pretty steep)

The tower from the bottom...

Anne looking at the view.  I kept this photo because of the pigeon flying above!!

At the top of the steps to the entrance of the 2nd floor palace.  It was a museum inside with old weapons on display.

On our way down again...

Back out the castle door...

A watch tower...

Through the archways...

A leftover ruin from a castle that has seen better days...

Back down the way we came...

Down towards the 92 steps....

Old castle walls with lots of pigeons...

I swear the building smiled at me as I left.  Are those two eyes and a nose?

We reached the bottom and I could barely walk.  I was so much in pain.   Not only my foot but my back as well.  Anne rushed in and got me some stronger painkillers while I went to the car to collapse!  On the way I found this sculpture outside the Pardon Newspaper office.  I thought it was quite clever!

We then drove four hours to Prague airport through gorgeous countryside and little towns and villages.  We arrived around 2.00 and wondered if our plane would even take off as there was thick fog all over Prague.  No problems though, and we got back to Amsterdam around 8pm.  Unpacked and hit the sack early!