This statue, guarding the entrance to the castle, shows 9th Century Moravian ruler Svätopluk, whose empire encompassed Slovakia and the surrounding lands. 

As recommended in our Rick Steves guidebook, we skipped the castle interior, instead enjoying the fantastic view of the Danube and SNP Bridge from the castle's balcony.

This communist-era bridge is one of Bratislava's major landmarks. We took this photo from the grand balcony of Bratislava Castle. Behind the bridge, you can see the communist suburb of Petržalka, a planned community of uninspired, prefab buildings.

This is part of the 15th-century town wall that once encircled the city. Pieces of history were scattered all over Bratislava. We were grateful to have brought our Rick Steves guidebook, as we would have overlooked many sights like this.

"The Peeper", Čumil, peeks out from a manhole, surveying passersby. This quirky statue and tripping hazard was installed by the city in 1997 as part of a plan to spruce up the area.

This statue of a beloved local man about town, Schöner Náci, was installed in 1997. He perennially doffs his top hat in front of Café Mayer. Lindsey couldn't pass up a photo-op with the statue.

A Hans Christian Andersen statue stands at one end of a leafy pedestrian boulevard called Promenade Square. At the other end is the Slovak National Theater, shown in the left-most picture of this page's header. This tree-lined street was the prettiest in town.

With multiple outposts in Old Town Bratislava, Luculus ice cream was a special treat on a hot day. Lindsey got her favorite, hazelnut, to nibble as we walked. Here, we've made our way to St. Martin's Cathedral, one of the city's most important landmarks.