Roadtripping Slovakia from west to east
Hello there! Finally, I am back and I am bringing you an overview of our road trip across Slovakia. As many of you don't know (no offence, I have seen the clueless faces many many times) Slovakia is a small country in Central Europe. No, it's not Slovenia. Yes, it's a normal developed country, member of EU and NATO and what not.
The reasons that make it ideal for any kinds of road trips are that:
1) you can land in Vienna or maybe even Bratislava or Kosice
2) it does not take more than 6 - 7 hours to get from one side to the other
3) it is so compact it gives you many options when it comes to the trip duration
To be more specific and not only citing the facts (should I add some survey results here? That support my hypothesis? :D) I will tell you about our trip.
Our starting point was Bratislava. We have not done any sightseeing this time, we focused on the important things only - food and drinks :D. As there was an Italian Market in the centre we gladly joined and had some arancini and canolli and prosecco, of course. It wasn't packed, so we sat on the bench and enjoyed the atmosphere.
The next day we started our journey. Our final destination for the day was the village Batizovce. However, we planned a few stops. The first one was a small thermal pond near the village called Kalameny. It's 33°C warm, quite shallow and sulphury-smelling. There were some people there when we arrived which was fine as we had expected that. What we had not expected were the horse-flies. It started when we were changing near the car (no-one in the parking lot at all) but the funniest moment (for others, not for me at that time) must have been when I, wearing a swimsuit more suited for the #yachtlife than the thermal spring, was trying to get in the water, shooing the horse-flies away while not trying to get my hair wet. I was getting a bit crazy as they were everywhere and being in the water did not help at all. We spent maybe 20 minutes inside when people started coming in. That was when it became a lot less inviting so we left (in our bathrobes, planning to change behind the car again). The short (but intense) way back got a lot more "fun" when we realized we need to use both our hands to shoo the horse-flies away. Same scenario when we were trying to change, just one of us at a time because the other was shooing those small idiots away (Telchac got accidentally hit by his wet swimsuit, courtesy of his caring girlfriend :D). All I can say to sum up is that we were glad when we got in the car (and managed to get the last horse-fly - that was trapped in the car - out of it). If I wanted to go back there, I'd most definitely choose winter - no horse-flies, fewer people (I suppose) and the amazing feeling of sitting in the hot water when there's snow around you.
On this trip, we were either chasing the storm or the storm was chasing us. On the way from Kalameny we finally caught up with each other and the rain was so heavy that we were "speeding" 50km/h (on a highway) :D. Either way, we made it and enjoyed our next stop with the sun on our faces - yeah, it cleared the moment we stepped out of the car.
No more mysteries, our next stop was famous Salas Krajinka. I guess there's no person who passes by without stopping. We didn't go to the restaurant because we had our special gourmet plans for the evening but we absolutely had to have something from their bakery (also traditional Slovak cheese shop is highly recommended ;)). We ate some pastry (called buchta in Slovak) and took some for later. Amazing as always and again, highly recommended ;).
No other stops planned, only our final destination (for the following two days) - Batizovce and its amazing Gasperov Mlyn. We chose this because Telchac dug it out from somewhere and we were promised a fantastic tasting menu which you do not know in advance only after you sit down. They (thumbs up for this) ask you if there's something you don't like or don't eat (I am extremely picky TBH) but, me pretending that I do eat everything, no problem there :D, I decided not to say anything (in hindsight BIG BIG RISK :D). Unbelievably, except for half of the first course, I managed to eat everything - that's why I said it was a gigantic risk, considering I don't eat raw tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, anything with head, eye, leg or tail (including fish), or tongue, sausage, sardines, I'm not keen on lamb or mutton, and that's just the top of it. I don't know how they planned it so perfectly that I ate basically everything. And everything was amazing!!!!! So again, highly recommended (no, this is not a paid advertising, I swear :D)
The weather being as it was, we couldn't do any hikes despite the location being very good for that. But not only that, as we found out. The area is full of caves so we got in the car and I was asked to put the address in the GPS. Just then we understood that despite being in the same car, each of us was going to a different cave. Telchac to the Demanovska Ice Cave and I to the Dobsinska Ice Cave, both amazingly beautiful and fairly close. After Telchac checked everything from the temperature in each of the caves to the distance from the parking lot to the entrance (which only took about 20 minutes :D), we (please pronounce he :D) decided to go to the Dobsinska Ice Cave. During the ride there I unconsciously sealed our fate by proclaiming that we needed to make it for the 12pm tour which meant we needed to get from the parking lot to the entrance in 20 minutes max (estimated time was 25 minutes). Well, it wasn't a good idea. We made it, that is true, and we still had time to catch our breaths (literally) because we had 10 spare minutes :D that's how stupid I was :D. Also, we had time to talk about why I needed to go for the 12pm tour when we didn't have any plans after this :D. But as love conquers all, even the stupidest of ideas, obviously, we entered the cave hand in hand.
The cave was perfect, considering the summer has started, there were some structures still standing (which, as we learned, might not be true in August). The walk back down was calmer and slower and still rain-free. We were really lucky when it comes to rain, the forecast was not good for those days and the sky looked like it was going to rain any minute meaning we were going to be drenched any minute.
Our rain-escaping had one small flaw - Strbske Pleso. You know, even in the hardest of times you need to improvise-adapt-overcome :D so we went into the first sports equipment shop that we saw (fortunately for us, there are loads of them in that area) and bought two raincoats. At this point, I would like to stress that we had bought the cheapest, simplest ones they had - light purple and plum (any guesses who bought which?) which made us look like we were wearing two garbage bags :D. However, there were almost no people because of the rain (just the drizzle) so nobody could see us! Every time I go to the High Tatras, I absolutely and inevitably have to take a walk around this lake. This time I even suggested boat-rowing but for some reason, Telchac did not approve :D.
Another day, another place - Spis Castle - one of the largest castles in Europe. On the way there, the weather alternated between rain and sun. After we got out of the car Telchac had suggested to go back and wait while the rain ended. It was a good thing we didn't do it. Again, the sky was sending clear signals that the downpour was going to start sooner than soon. Miraculously it did not rain. We were both subconsciously looking for places to hide when the rain started (a castle is really an ideal place for that) but we were a bit nervous as everywhere, there were signs that in case of a storm you should be at least 3 metres away from any railings. Well, it didn't rain, I suspect, deep down Telchac wanted it to rain.
We stopped for a quick bite in Saris Park. I didn't know the place and I usually do not talk about restaurants here but I was surprised in a really really good way. Traditional Slovak meals, cooked to perfection. If you want to try something that you probably won't get anywhere else, this is the place. And I guarantee that you will not be able to choose (that's why we had 4 main courses :D).
Our last stop was Kosice. The second largest city in Slovakia, completely different than Bratislava. We spent two days here, walking around, eating and enjoying the weekend. And no, it did not rain (only on our way back, when it - again - poured cats and dogs).
I could go on and on about what to see, where to go and what's a must-do here but I am afraid I could bore you to death. And since we are really happy for you, our readers, I will not do that. As promised by Telchac, in two weeks, I will talk about our "tropical winter" so if you're curious then you absolutely must come back. C U then (and there)! ;)
The reasons that make it ideal for any kinds of road trips are that:
1) you can land in Vienna or maybe even Bratislava or Kosice
2) it does not take more than 6 - 7 hours to get from one side to the other
3) it is so compact it gives you many options when it comes to the trip duration
To be more specific and not only citing the facts (should I add some survey results here? That support my hypothesis? :D) I will tell you about our trip.
Our starting point was Bratislava. We have not done any sightseeing this time, we focused on the important things only - food and drinks :D. As there was an Italian Market in the centre we gladly joined and had some arancini and canolli and prosecco, of course. It wasn't packed, so we sat on the bench and enjoyed the atmosphere.
The next day we started our journey. Our final destination for the day was the village Batizovce. However, we planned a few stops. The first one was a small thermal pond near the village called Kalameny. It's 33°C warm, quite shallow and sulphury-smelling. There were some people there when we arrived which was fine as we had expected that. What we had not expected were the horse-flies. It started when we were changing near the car (no-one in the parking lot at all) but the funniest moment (for others, not for me at that time) must have been when I, wearing a swimsuit more suited for the #yachtlife than the thermal spring, was trying to get in the water, shooing the horse-flies away while not trying to get my hair wet. I was getting a bit crazy as they were everywhere and being in the water did not help at all. We spent maybe 20 minutes inside when people started coming in. That was when it became a lot less inviting so we left (in our bathrobes, planning to change behind the car again). The short (but intense) way back got a lot more "fun" when we realized we need to use both our hands to shoo the horse-flies away. Same scenario when we were trying to change, just one of us at a time because the other was shooing those small idiots away (Telchac got accidentally hit by his wet swimsuit, courtesy of his caring girlfriend :D). All I can say to sum up is that we were glad when we got in the car (and managed to get the last horse-fly - that was trapped in the car - out of it). If I wanted to go back there, I'd most definitely choose winter - no horse-flies, fewer people (I suppose) and the amazing feeling of sitting in the hot water when there's snow around you.
On this trip, we were either chasing the storm or the storm was chasing us. On the way from Kalameny we finally caught up with each other and the rain was so heavy that we were "speeding" 50km/h (on a highway) :D. Either way, we made it and enjoyed our next stop with the sun on our faces - yeah, it cleared the moment we stepped out of the car.
No more mysteries, our next stop was famous Salas Krajinka. I guess there's no person who passes by without stopping. We didn't go to the restaurant because we had our special gourmet plans for the evening but we absolutely had to have something from their bakery (also traditional Slovak cheese shop is highly recommended ;)). We ate some pastry (called buchta in Slovak) and took some for later. Amazing as always and again, highly recommended ;).
No other stops planned, only our final destination (for the following two days) - Batizovce and its amazing Gasperov Mlyn. We chose this because Telchac dug it out from somewhere and we were promised a fantastic tasting menu which you do not know in advance only after you sit down. They (thumbs up for this) ask you if there's something you don't like or don't eat (I am extremely picky TBH) but, me pretending that I do eat everything, no problem there :D, I decided not to say anything (in hindsight BIG BIG RISK :D). Unbelievably, except for half of the first course, I managed to eat everything - that's why I said it was a gigantic risk, considering I don't eat raw tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, anything with head, eye, leg or tail (including fish), or tongue, sausage, sardines, I'm not keen on lamb or mutton, and that's just the top of it. I don't know how they planned it so perfectly that I ate basically everything. And everything was amazing!!!!! So again, highly recommended (no, this is not a paid advertising, I swear :D)
 |
| Courtesy of Gasperov Mlyn |
The weather being as it was, we couldn't do any hikes despite the location being very good for that. But not only that, as we found out. The area is full of caves so we got in the car and I was asked to put the address in the GPS. Just then we understood that despite being in the same car, each of us was going to a different cave. Telchac to the Demanovska Ice Cave and I to the Dobsinska Ice Cave, both amazingly beautiful and fairly close. After Telchac checked everything from the temperature in each of the caves to the distance from the parking lot to the entrance (which only took about 20 minutes :D), we (please pronounce he :D) decided to go to the Dobsinska Ice Cave. During the ride there I unconsciously sealed our fate by proclaiming that we needed to make it for the 12pm tour which meant we needed to get from the parking lot to the entrance in 20 minutes max (estimated time was 25 minutes). Well, it wasn't a good idea. We made it, that is true, and we still had time to catch our breaths (literally) because we had 10 spare minutes :D that's how stupid I was :D. Also, we had time to talk about why I needed to go for the 12pm tour when we didn't have any plans after this :D. But as love conquers all, even the stupidest of ideas, obviously, we entered the cave hand in hand.
The cave was perfect, considering the summer has started, there were some structures still standing (which, as we learned, might not be true in August). The walk back down was calmer and slower and still rain-free. We were really lucky when it comes to rain, the forecast was not good for those days and the sky looked like it was going to rain any minute meaning we were going to be drenched any minute.
 |
| Courtesy of our archive ;) |
Our rain-escaping had one small flaw - Strbske Pleso. You know, even in the hardest of times you need to improvise-adapt-overcome :D so we went into the first sports equipment shop that we saw (fortunately for us, there are loads of them in that area) and bought two raincoats. At this point, I would like to stress that we had bought the cheapest, simplest ones they had - light purple and plum (any guesses who bought which?) which made us look like we were wearing two garbage bags :D. However, there were almost no people because of the rain (just the drizzle) so nobody could see us! Every time I go to the High Tatras, I absolutely and inevitably have to take a walk around this lake. This time I even suggested boat-rowing but for some reason, Telchac did not approve :D.
Another day, another place - Spis Castle - one of the largest castles in Europe. On the way there, the weather alternated between rain and sun. After we got out of the car Telchac had suggested to go back and wait while the rain ended. It was a good thing we didn't do it. Again, the sky was sending clear signals that the downpour was going to start sooner than soon. Miraculously it did not rain. We were both subconsciously looking for places to hide when the rain started (a castle is really an ideal place for that) but we were a bit nervous as everywhere, there were signs that in case of a storm you should be at least 3 metres away from any railings. Well, it didn't rain, I suspect, deep down Telchac wanted it to rain.
We stopped for a quick bite in Saris Park. I didn't know the place and I usually do not talk about restaurants here but I was surprised in a really really good way. Traditional Slovak meals, cooked to perfection. If you want to try something that you probably won't get anywhere else, this is the place. And I guarantee that you will not be able to choose (that's why we had 4 main courses :D).
Our last stop was Kosice. The second largest city in Slovakia, completely different than Bratislava. We spent two days here, walking around, eating and enjoying the weekend. And no, it did not rain (only on our way back, when it - again - poured cats and dogs).
I could go on and on about what to see, where to go and what's a must-do here but I am afraid I could bore you to death. And since we are really happy for you, our readers, I will not do that. As promised by Telchac, in two weeks, I will talk about our "tropical winter" so if you're curious then you absolutely must come back. C U then (and there)! ;)