If you get on a bus from downtown Bratislava and ride northish for about 20 minutes you'll be in the town of Devín. These days, Devín is one of Bratislava's pricey suburbs (although not particularly the part shown in this picture right here), in part because it's on the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers. That fact also means that during the Communist era Devín and especially the castle were almost completely off-limits; Austria's on the other side of the Danube, and people tried to get across the river and into the West.
We, of course, went to see the castle. It's on a bit of a hill, just as it should be, and is right at the aforementioned confluence. (The nice blue water is the Danube, while the silty water feeding into it is from the Morava.) On the castle grounds there are some assorted bits and pieces other than just the main castle ruin. There are the foundations of a fourth-century chapel, which I confess were pretty boring, as well as scattered foundations of small houses and workshops and things. It reminded me of Eddie Izzard's discussion of archaeology in "Glorious": they always find "a series of small walls" (about 1:55). So t
hen I had that phrase stuck in my head the rest of the time we were there.
Unfortunately, the upper castle is closed, I fear indefinitely, because of structural damage from the earth shifting. In the parts that are still open you can throw water down the well and listen for the splash, which was quite amusing, and look at an exhibit on archaeology in general and the excavation of the castle site.
The tower above was on the Slovak 50 halier coin. It's a symbol of the Slovak nation. 
It was a very pleasant visit, and I'd be most interested in going back at a future date when the upper castle is open. The next time you're in Bratislava, head on up to Devín. I was more satisfied with its castle than with Bratislava's.
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