Budapest and Vienna are huge cities, with much of the architecture from the golden age of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, late 19th century. In between these is Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, which became independent of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Bratislava is much small, and more Medieval, although many of the old buildings have since been refurbished in newer styles. The old portion of the city is quite compact – you can walk across the area in maybe ten minutes – but is well worth a day spent in looking at the shops. The Christmas markets are also in full swing.