Princess for a Day

The final country on our whirlwind tour of Europe was Slovakia. Getting there was no picnic thanks to the permanent state of construction on Polish roads. Once we hit Slovakia, however, it was smooth sailing. Despite being at least three hours behind schedule, we were thrilled to check into the Grand Castle.

This was our one splurge stay during the trip and we had been looking forward to our night in this restored castle for weeks. Even walking to our room for the night was a bit of a medieval trek. We walked through arched corridors, up the wooden stairs of an old tower, only to have to walk down a set of stone stairs a few minutes later. In the half-light of dusk, every detail of the castle appeared well preserved.

The room we booked turned out to be massive. The first room we entered was the kitchen we ended up eschewing in favour of the rather disappointing hotel restaurant. Through a large wooden door was a bedroom fit for a princess and her prince. All around us, the original stone of the castle’s tower surrounded us and seemed to echo the memories of the people who once dwelled within these walls.

Up a pair of stairs was a huge sitting room with a low domed ceiling. There were numerous low-set arched windows spilling the last rays of the day’s sun into the shabby chic room. Between the bed and all the seating in the living room, a group of 4-6 friends could easily have stayed there to share the cost of the sumptuous room.

The icing on the cake was the large bathroom situated down another few stairs from the sitting room. The only downside to the luxuriously appointed bathroom was the typical European-style claw tub, which had not been retrofitted for people who preferred showers. (Confession: I do prefer baths but we were on a time crunch.)

When we finally awoke the next day, we spent the better part of the day exploring the region surrounding this beautifully restored castle. We walked through a lovely park popular for its natural hot springs and past a ski lift that promised endless hours of winter fun. But we couldn’t tarry for long because we had a long-standing appointment with the city of Bratislava.