Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, and with a population of about 450,000, the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states. Vienna and Bratislava, the nearest capital cities in Europe (only 60 km) were once connected to an electric tram.

The city received its contemporary name in 1919. Beforehand it was mostly known in English by its German name, Pressburg, as it was long dominated by Austrians and other German-speakers.

Bratislava lies in the north temperate zone and has a moderately continental climate. During the summer the temperature can rise to 30 C, sometimes even more. During the winter, the temperature is about 0 C, but at night, and they can go lower than -10 C. If it snows, the snow cover will not last longer than a few days.

On the eastern bank of the Danube is the old historic part of the city, while in the west the new modern part. Bratislava has always been one of the main cultural centers of Central Europe.

What to see in Bratislava:

Bratislava Castle is one of the most prominent structures in the city. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transitional period between the Stone and Bronze ages and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia. A stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Devín Castle is the ruined and recently renovated castle in the borough of Devín, on top of a rock where the Morava River, which forms the border between Austria and Slovakia, enters the Danube. It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites and contains a museum dedicated to its history. Due to its strategic location, Devín Castle was a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state. It was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809. It is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.

Rusovce mansion, with its English park, is in the Rusovce borough. The house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an English neo-Gothic-style mansion in 1841–1844. The borough is also known for the ruins of the Roman military camp Gerulata, part of Limes Romanus, a border defence system. Gerulata was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.

Parks and lakes. Due to its location in the foothills of the Little Carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the Danubian floodplains, Bratislava has forests close to the city centre. The largest city park is Horský park (literally, Mountainous Park), in the Old Town. Bratislavský lesný park (Bratislava Forest Park) is located in the Little Carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors, such as Železná studienka and Koliba.

Bratislava's zoological park is located in Mlynská dolina, near the headquarters of Slovak Television. The zoo, founded in 1960, currently houses 152 species of animals, including the rare white lion and white tiger. The Botanical Gardens, which belong to Comenius University, can be found on the Danube riverfront and house more than 120 species of domestic and foreign origin.

Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania and as well the heart of Albania's cultural, economic and governmental activity. According to official estimates, there are about 420 thousand inhabitants in Tirana. Established in 1614 Tirane became the capital of Albania in 1920.

Tirana was founded in 1614 by Ottoman general Sulejman Pasha, who built a mosque, a bakery and a Turkish bath. He named the city Tehran, in honor of his military victory at Tehran in Persia (now Iran). However, there are early means of a castle in Dajti mountain, named Tirkan, in the sixth century, in the writings of a Byzantine historian.

The small town was chosen for the temporary capital of Albania (as a compromise between the South and North Albania) by the provisional government in January 1920. In November 1944, the communist government of Enver Hoxha was established in Tirana after the liberation from German occupation.

The urban population, which was estimated to be only 12 thousand in 1910 increased to 30 thousand in 1930 and even 60 thousand in 1945. despite years of foreign occupation and war. During the 1950s, Albania has experienced a period of exceptional industrial growth, with an increase in population to 137 thousand in 1960. In the late 1990s, Tirana experienced the fastest population influx, because Albanians from the north of the country in large numbers migrated to the capital in the hope of a better life.

In 2004, Edi Rama, the mayor of Tirana, won the award for the best mayor of the world. Many agree that this contributed to his vision of Tirana as a clear project to change the city's facade, to one's taste perhaps even gaudy and clashing colors, but apparently well received by foreign media and the inhabitants of the Albanian capital city.

The reason of these drastic changes were drab which prevailed in Tirana until Rama's arrival, because the city during Enver Hoxha was extremely rusty, and all the buildings in the city have lost their facades, which has affected the general mood in the city.

Despite problems Tirana has a visible progress. The construction of the first real tourist attraction, as one of the longest cable car in Europe, which it can reach the second highest peak in the vicinity of Tirana, started. The cable car was made but there is still a shortage of quality supporting facilities. Another attraction is the rotating restaurant on top of the highest building. Unfortunately, potential and existing attractions still not valorized.

Please note that we received reports regarding travelers being scammed by local hustlers on Tirana bus station. All bus lines from BusTicket4.me are official and without any possibility of passenger fraud.