Štúrovo (Párkány in Hungarian) is the southernmost town of Slovakia, just opposite Esztergom. It can be visited simply by crossing the Danube River on the Mária Valéria Bridge (about 500 meters) which separates the two countries. The town was first mentioned in year 1075 and is important in the history of both Hungary and Slovakia. It also hosts the biggest aquapark in Slovakia.

So this is the bridge seen from Slovakia towards Hungary, with the Esztergom basilica in the background.

On the bridge, still in Hungary. Note the Slavic way of stating the name in huge letters, very East-European.

Standing exactly on the border. Schengen area, no checks, nothing.

Looking back to Hungary. Note the more stylish and relatively simple way of stating the name of the country, more similar to the Western Europe. Details matter for the attentive eye…

You feel instantly that you’re no longer in Hungary. Slovakia has a distinctive communist-era flavor, sadly similar to my native Romania… The signs are bilingual because there is an important Hungarian minority. Again, sadly, southern Slovakia has the same ethnical tensions as Romania in Transylvania, and the rumor goes that the Slovaks are more openly anti-Hungarian than the Romanians. Traumas of the past still kept alive for reasons I fail to understand…

Esztergom seen from Štúrovo.

The end of the bridge on Slovakian land.