At the foothills of the Small Carpathians

Yesterday, we rented a car for the first time (a Scoda--ever heard of it?) and drove to Trencin which is just an hour or so from Bratislava.  Our drive was lovely since we weren't on any sort of timeline.  We drove off the beaten path and actually found a back road lined with wild apple trees (Bonnie!!) which I kept saying, "we have just got to pick some" but, didn't.  We foundour way to Trencin which is known for its amazing castle which towers over the city (and I am sure for many other things too.)  But as tourists, we cozied our way up to the castle through winding cobblestone streets.  Up, up, up.  And when we didn't think there was any more up to go, we went up once more.  The view from atop Trencin castle is amazing.  After winding down at a cafe at the top with a Zlaty (our new favorite beer) and some Zmerzlina (ice cream), we ended our blue sky day adventure in Taravna--a short drive on the way back to Bratislava.  Shockingly, this sleepy little town reminded us of our journeys in Latin America and we just can't place why.  We enjoyed our favorite dinner of some pizza (yes, it is true...and it is just so tasty you would be jealous all of you Charlie pizza eaters!) Taravna's claim to fame is that it is one of Slovakia's oldest cities and it has the most old churches. We just enjoyed the drive there and the fact that the restaurant on the main square had a kiddo play area that the kids enjoyed while we enjoyed ordering our food and waiting for it.  Got to love it.  Now, why hasn't someone thought of that in the States?