It rained all night, which cooled things off a bit the next day. We checked out of our apartment and drove west for 25 minutes passing through the suburbs of Budapest. This section of the city was very Eastern European in appearance mixed with an occasional modern building housing a company or business. Just outside the city stands the largest Flea Market in Central Europe. The market was quiet because it was Sunday morning.

It contained the normal items one sees at a flea market: porcelain, pots and pans, jewelry, old clothes, and various knick-knacks. What made this Market unique were all the old Soviet Union items: Communist posters, magazines, military supplies, and propaganda. The boys each purchased a Soviet medal and Seamus found an old WWII surplus Russian Air Force hat in excellent condition! Faywen even found a little comedy/tragedy theatre pin and I found a piece of Hungarian embroidery.  It rained off and on while at the market. But it didn’t dampen our spirits as we explored each row of booths. Almost nobody spoke English, though I did communicate via a bit of German with the older vendors. Overall it was a fun time seeing what folks collect in Central/Eastern Europe!

About a 30 minute drive from the flea market was Memento Park. The park was opened in the late 1990’s and it contains old Soviet and Communist statues from around Hungary. After the collapse of Communism in 1989, the Hungarian people decided to gather and establish a public park as a  “Memento” or keepsake of their Communist past. I was impressed that the Hungarians had such foresight to realize they needed to preserve even the “bad” part of their history!  

The statues and plaques were fascinating to look at. Many were in disrepair, rusted, or disassembled during the fall of Communism. I particularly liked the “Glorious Revolution” statues and the iconic Lenin statues.  The entire garden like park was surrounded by a wall and had an eerie quality. The statues were also a humbling reminder of the corruption of government and the suffering of the common civilian. I believe it will be a place the kids will never forget.

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We ate lunch at a McDonald’s just off the motorway.  McDonald’s restaurants are popular in the old former USSR countries. They seem to be everywhere in Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Hungary. However, unlike American McDonalds’ the Central European versions are much cleaner, family friendly, and offer a LOT of healthy food options! The Hungarians made the best “picture perfect” burgers I’ve ever seen!

After lunch we drove north and into Slovakia. Bratislava, the capital, is just over the border from Vienna and the detour only added 30 minutes to our travel home.  I‘m so glad we decided to go that path home. We visited Devin Castle, which is in ruins. It’s just west of Bratislava and sits on a hill overlooking the Danube River and the Morava River, which empties into the Danube at the river bend.

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Devin Castle was one of the prettiest castle ruins I’ve every visited. It reminded me of Urquhart Castle in Scotland lying along the hillside ridge with the ruined tower keep built into the rock cliff.  Like Urquhart, Devin was destroyed by gun powder explosions. Napoleon Bonaparte blew up the castle in 1809. There was a small museum inside the Keep as well as a courtyard with Medieval games for kids and adults!

The breeze was cool on the castle ridge and afforded us breathtaking views of the Danube River valley and gently rolling foothills! The small Morava River passed through luscious green farmland before opening into the Danube just below the Tower Keep.

There were two sections to the castle. The Keep and inner wall were from the 13^th century and the outer courtyard and buildings were built in the 15^th century. There were practically no other people on the castle grounds and so we able to take amazing photos of the ruins set against the green grasses and setting sun accented by a thunderhead off in the distance. Devin Castle was well worth the detour and a lovely way to end our trip to Hungary and Slovakia.