The Capital of the Slovak Republic BRATISLAVA, also referred to as the Beauty on the Danube can not only boast interesting history but it also is the centre of the most dynamically developing region of central Europe at present.
BRATISLAVA (population 425,500), situated in the south-west of Slovakia stretches on both banks of the Danube and in the foothills of the Little Carpathian Mts. Thanks to this favourable position it was always a commercial centre. Today the historic places witnesses to the rapid development of the young Slovak Republic. In spite of its exciting history, Bratislava is one of the youngest Capitals of the world and its population is also very young. The modern metropolis is opened to Europe and to the world as proved by the increasing number of foreign visitors of most diverse countries. They are attracted by the cosiness of the rather small city that nevertheless possesses a throbbing social life and historic charms combined with the most recent trends. Palaces, modern shopping and trade centres, admirable arts of the Slovak cooks and brewers, friendly people and various international cultural or sport events, exhibitions, and business opportunities are the reasons why it is worth of visit.
One of the city dominants which can be seen from far distance is The Castle of Bratislava. The most attractive part of Bratislava is the Old Town where the most historical sights as well as cultural institutions are concentrated. Its tiny lanes offer an ideal atmosphere for romantic walks to those who love to follow signs of history in the middle of modern world. (http://slovakia.travel/)

The smallest High Alpine mountain range in the world is a paradise for hikers and climbers. There are ten peaks of 8,500 ft or more, the highest one being Gerlachovsky stit at 8,711 ft. Because there are no roads in but only around the mountains the Tatras are a quiet and unspoiled refuge for people who want to enjoy pure nature.

Hungary’s south-easternmost city truly deserves its nickname "Town of Sunlight", due to its 2,100 hours of sunshine per year at its location on the junction of the rivers Tisza and Maros. However, the water also left its traces. In 1879, a flood from the "Blond Tisza" nearly completely destroyed Szeged in one single night. Of the 70,000 inhabitants only 35,000 remained in the town and at the surrounding farmsteads. International aid then helped to create a new city with magnificent Eclectic and Art Nouveau buildings. Berlin, Vienna, Paris, Brussels, London and Rome worked together so that this town, looking back on a long history, could come to life again. Until 1883, a new city was born in record time, totally marked by the Eclectic style. After that, the town counted 85,569 inhabitants in 1890. The builder of the new town was named Lajos Tisza, and he was honoured for his great feat with the title of a Count. Today the city has about 163,000 inhabitants and is famous for ist food products, most of all paprika and salami („Pick“). (www.darmstadt.de)

Ptuj is the oldest city in Slovenia. In 103 AD Roman Emperor Traian granted city rights to the settlement that had been here since the Stone Age. Over the centuries the town became important and wealthy; in 450 AD it had about 40,000 inhabitants. For centuries it competed with Maribor, 26 km upriver, in both crafts and commerce. But in the mid-19th century the railway from Vienna to the coast was built through Maribor and Ptuj found itself on the siding.
The town’s main attraction is the mighty Ptuj Castle; together the Dominican and the Minorite Monastery it shapes the Ptuj townscape. Other sights worth seeing are monuments, the City Tower and the City Hall. Around Ptuj is one of Slovenia’s best-loved wine regions, producing an excellent range of white wines. Ptuj Wine Cellar is the oldest wine cellar in the country!

Although small by international standards Graz, with 270,000 inhabitants, is Austria’s second-largest city and the capital of Styria. It has a number of interesting sights and a beautiful historic center which is listed as a World Heritage. It’s a perfect place to linger a little, have a coffee and enjoy the atmosphere. Another attraction – believe it or not – is the gym where ex-Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger used to work out before his career took off.
Schwarzenegger, probably the most famous Austrian of our time, was born in 1947 in a village just outside of Graz. Here he started his one-of-a-kind career that took him from bodybuilding to film to politics. A museum in his birth house in Thal tells his life’s story. A must for Arnie-Fans!

Precipitous limestone peaks, green forests and mountain pastures, mountain huts with fabulous views and the turbulent, foaming river rapids which give this high Alpine region its name await you in the Gesäuse National Park.

For centuries the Gesäuse has been famous for its breathtakingly beautiful, inaccessible scenery. Ever since Alpine sport began, the name Gesäuse has been synonymous with unique outdoor experiences for hikers, climbers, water sports enthusiasts and ski tourers. Over millions of years the waters of the Enns have deeply eroded this mountain range. In the process it created a gorge with steep walls soaring up to 1,800 metres into the air. The Gesäuse is home to the last unregulated sections of this great Alpine river, starting at the entrance to the Gesäuse, where the gentle Enns turns into white water. It drops more than 150 meters over the 16 kilometer gorge.
In 2002 the norhernmost part of the Ennstaler Alps was declared a National Park. (www.nationalpark.co.at)

We meet Europe's second longest river in its early stages. Flowing through 10 countries - more than any other river. The waters of the Danube and time have created a deep canyon in the limestone of the Schwäbische Alb. As we ride along the curvy road that follows the river many castles look down upon us from the white cliffs. Make sure to keep an eye on the road!

It all began back in 1703 when Duke Ferenc Rakóczi II sent a present to King Luis XIV of France (the Sun King): wine from his vineyard in Tokaj. The Sun King loved the wine and famously said: “Vinum Regnum, Rex Vinorum”, which means “Wine of the Kings, King of Wines”. Tokaj wine went on to conquer Europe and became the favorite drink of contemporaries like Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Voltaire, Goethe and Schubert.
Later Tokaj wine was all but forgotten and behind the Iron Curtain it was nothing but cheap booze. But after the wall had fallen things turned around for Tokaj and its sweet, heavy wine that is made from a special variety of grapes and the fungus that lives on them. Azús, or Eruption, is the best, the most famous and the most expensive. You should definitively take a bottle home!

If you close your eyes and think about Hungary, what do you see? Probably wide-open, flat grassland with light-colored longhorn cattle, cowboys in billowy trousers flicking their whips, Gipsy musicians fiddling away on their violins, and typical draw wells, all under a pale blue, cloudless sky. You see what the Hungarians call Puszta.
Puszta means bare or empty. It was first used in the 15th century and meant land that was not inhabited but used, in this case for grazing. Back then the land looked different, much greener with more trees, not as barren as today. In the 1800s the river Theiß – or Tisza in Hungarian – was regulated with dams and canals to keep it from flooding the land every year. But no flooding meant no nutrients for the soil which was depleted quickly. The Puszta slowly disappeard.
In 1973 the last remaining part of prime Puszta, Hortobágy, was finally protected as a National Park, Hungary’s first and in 1999 it was awarded World Heritage status by the UNESCO. It’s an amazing biotope: out of Europe’s 400 or so bird species 344 (!) have been spotted here in the past 20 years.

Sighișoara is a small city in the Transylvania region of Romania, with a history dating back to the 1100s. Back then, the Hungarian king was begging Saxons to move to this part of the world in order to help defend his borders. German craftsmen and artisans took him up on it, and what resulted is today a fairy-tale-like fortified city in the heart of Romania.
It's no wonder this whole place is a UNESCO World Heritage site. With cobbled streets, colorful buildings, and a pedestrian-friendly Old Town, it's difficult not to fall in love with Sighișoara. Yes, it's a touristy place. And yes, it can feel a bit crowded in the summer. But it's still well worth a visit.
Along with being an old Saxon city, Sighișoara also has another claim to fame: being the birthplace of Vlad III (also known as Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, and Vlad Dracula). Vlad's father was ruler of nearby Wallachia, but was in exile in Transylvania when Vlad was born. Vlad's birthplace is still there, marked with a placard and now home to a very kitschy restaurant called “Casa Dracula.” (www.dangerous-business.com)

Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula, is a Transylvanian Count with a castle located high above a valley perched on a rock. This character is often confused with Vlad Țepeș (Vlad the Impaler), sometimes known as Vlad Dracul, who was a Walachian Prince with a castle, now in ruins, located in the Principality of Wallachia. Because Bran Castle is the only castle in all of Transylvania that actually fits Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s Castle, it is known throughout the world as Dracula’s Castle.
Bram Stoker never visited Romania. He depicted the imaginary Dracula’s castle based upon a description of Bran Castle that was available to him in turn-of-the-century Britain. Indeed, the imaginary depiction of Dracula’s Castle from the etching in the first edition of “Dracula” is strikingly similar to Bran Castle and no other in all of Romania.
Dracula – as he is perceived today – is a fictitious character whose name derives from the appellation given to Vlad Țepeș, the ruler of Wallachia from 1456-1462 and 1476, and who, for largely political reasons, was depicted by some historians of that time as a blood-thirsty ruthless despot. (www.bran-castle.com)
“Vlad the Impaler”, as he is known today, most likely never set foot in Bran Castle, but that doesn’t diminish the experience. This castle, built around 1400, will set you imagination on fire.

Transfăgărășan may be difficult to pronounce but loads of fun to ride. We’re talking about Romania’s most famous and most spectacular road, a mountain pass across the main range of the Carpathians, connecting Transylvania to the Walachia. It was built between 1970 and 1974 mainly for strategic and military reasons, across 860 bridges and viaducts. 6,000 tons of dynamite were used and – officially – 40 lives lost. The 151 km (94 miles) long road culminates at Bâlea-Pass, 2042 m (6,700 ft) above sea level.
The road was made famous in 2010 when TopGear took three supercars and a helicopter and produced a stunning video there. Jeremy Clarkson & Co awarded it the title “Best driving road in the World”. Let’s go and check if it’s great for bikes, too!

Construction of the most spectacular Gothic-style castle in Romania started in 1446 on the orders of Iancu de Hunedoara (Ioannes Corvinus in Latin, Hunyadi János in Hungarian). The on-site Roman fortress was built over several times but always served defensive purposes until Iancu upgraded the fortress and transformed it into a stunning Transylvanian castle.
The beautifully preserved structure features a sumptuous Knights' Hall, an impressive drawbridge, high buttresses, inner courtyards, a chapel and some 50 rooms resplendent with medieval art.
In the castle's courtyard you’ll find a 100-ft. well dug into stone, in the 15th Century. Legend says that the wheel was dug by three Turkish prisoners who were promised freedom for the job. 15 years later they found water but the promise was broken and the prisoners were executed.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, Hunedoara was one of the main iron extraction and processing centers in Transylvania. Swords and spears manufactured here during this period were renowned across Europe.

Imagine Hollywood building a castle for a movie: it would look like this one. Dating back to the 16th century and sitting on a sheer rock, it´s just picture-perfect! The access path circles the hill and is guarded by 14 gate towers. There is also a lift leading up to the castle…

The Arnold Schwarzenegger birthplace in Thal/Graz is not only the official, but furthermore the only museum worldwide that is bearing his name and is supported by the man himself.
The museum is located in the former forester’s lodge of the Herberstein dynasty. Since 2011 you can visit the place where it all began. Here you can follow the footsteps of the probably most famous Austrian.
Numerous exhibits show his remarkable career, including his most important stages of life like his childhood and adolescence, becoming the world’s best bodybuilder, biggest movie star and the Governor of California. Go face to face with the Terminator himself – Enter the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger! (www.arnieslife.com)

Tiny, twisty little roads through vineyards and orchard, over hills dotted with churches, wineries and the occasional castle. Beautiful houses, surrounded by flowers. Fantastic panoramic views around every corner. In short: it is a picture-perfect paradise. There are several designated tourist routes in the area, for instance the Southern Styrian Wine Road along the Slovenian border or the Saustal Wine Road a bit further north.
2,000 years ago the Romans noticed that the climate in southern Styria was very good for growing grapes. Styrian wine was even exported back to Rome! Today there are 13 different varieties cultivated here; the specialty is the co-called “Schilcher”, a light rosé.