A Day Trip to Hrad Devín
August, 2017
You don’t have to spend all that much time with me to figure out that I would much prefer to live out the rest of my days in an urban jungle rather than the actual jungle. Don’t get me wrong- I’m not advocating that we pave paradise and put up a string of parking lots. We obviously need to place a greater focus on protecting our natural landscapes than we currently do, but just as I feel more at home grooving to the hustle and bustle of New York City, when I travel I find cities infinitely more appealing than the countryside.
But even I need a break from it all now and then, and sometimes an excursion is just what the travel gods order. Bratislava is a fairly laid-back city, but a day trip to the small village of Devín is a must if you’re in the area. Monday was the only day I had to free to make the small journey, and I was warned by my hostel staff that the exhibition in the castle was closed on Mondays, but I decided to make the trek anyway.
In order to get out to Devín you first need to go to the bus station under Most SNP on the Old Town side of the bridge. The ticketing system can be a little confusing if you don’t know how far your destination is from the city center. You need to know which zone your stop is in and approximately how long it will take you to get there. That will determine the price and you can buy the tickets from little machines around the bus station. You still have to validate the ticket once you get on the bus or face a fine if caught by an inspector. I was having a little trouble figuring out which zone to select and someone kindly helped me out, but to get to Devín you need to pay for Zone 2 and pay for 30 minutes of ride time. This came out to 0,90€ and you can’t argue with that!
I was told I could either take the 28 or 29 line, and a 29 arrived shortly after I got there. You take the bus to the last stop (Hrad Devín) and the castle is right there. Devín itself is a cute little village of about 1,000 people, nestled right in the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers.
The castle offers some spectacular views of the rivers and surrounding countryside. On a clear day (you can see forever) and into Austria and Hungary.
One of my favorite things about visiting the castle grounds was that they are attempting to reintroduce free-grazing sheep, goats and donkeys to the area. My parents tell me that I wanted a pet donkey (named Ernest!) when I was little, and I admittedly could have spent the whole time with Slovak Ernest and forgotten to go up to the castle.
I’m ultimately so glad I could only visit the castle on a Monday because I practically had the whole place to myself. Missing the exhibition wasn’t a big deal and the ticket on this off-day only cost 2€. Many of the ruins date back to the 14th Century; archaeological digs are ongoing and new portions of the castle are still being uncovered.
This is the Maiden Tower, which is completely isolated from the rest of the ruins.
Once again, the joys of having the place practically to myself on a Monday!
Once I had wandered around to my heart’s content I made my way back to the bus stop for a 29 Bus to return me to Bratislava. Make sure you have another Zone 2, 30 minute blank ticket to validate for the ride home.
My side trip to Devín made for the perfect zen afternoon, but I was ready to get back to the city for a nice meal, some beer and a little fun.
