A good way of getting to Slovakia is by boat from Vienna, as it brings you to the centre of Bratislava. Despite the rough edges Bratislava has plenty of charm. Street cafes, narrow passageways and varied architecture (the contrast between the old and new Bratislava on opposite sides of the river an example) provide interest and entertainment - an excellent destination for a weekend break. We stayed in the Boat Hotel on the Danube which was reasonably priced and well situated. You shouldn't feel any motion sickness either.
For journeys outide Bratislava the train is a good way to travel. It is very cheap and mostly on time. They are also often crowded (almost everyone with a back back), and don't sit in the departments with signs of children on the doors if you don't have any - it is for families, and doesn't mean no kids. You will be asked to move. The train station is quite a trek from the centre of Bratislava - about 30 minutes walk, but there are plenty of smoky buses.
We caught the train between Bratislava and Zilina for the Mala Fatra National Park, a journey of about three hours.
Zilina is an pleasant town with an attractive town square (and the ever present Tesco's) but not full of exciting things for tourists to see or do. It is however a good starting point for the Mala Fatra national park. We caught a bus to Vratna, and although the timetables are a little difficult to follow we succeeded un ending up at the right place.
We banked on there being accommodation available and fortunately it worked out ok - but there isn't a huge amount of available within easy reach if you are on foot. We ended up in the Chata Vratny - the Chata being a kind of Slovakian hostel - and while basic it was of excellent value. And the food wasn't bad at all. (The Slovakians love their pork we were to discover).
The hostel was ideally situated for the wonderful hikes, which include forest walks, open ridges, paths that scramble up peaks and those that hug rivers and falls.
Mala Fatra is also full of birds, wildlife (including allegedly bears and wolves, although all we saw was chamois goats) and stunning scenery - all in an area that is magically empty - truly off the tourist trail. The trails themselves are all well marked by colour and times, which proved to be very realistic.
After three days we caught the train to Poprad which took about four hours and then caught an electric train up to Stary Smokovec (another 30 minutes), an ideal base of the High Tatras. The town is also a popular winter ski resort and has a reasonable range of bars and restaurants.
The Tatras and its trails are majestic and the views from the top of Lomnicky Stit.(via cable car) were worth the bitter cold winds. You can also take treks that go away from Stary Smokovec and catch the electric train back.
On the down side the trails were considerably more crowded, and a member of staff on the electric railway attempted to rip us off (we were saved by two very kind English speaking Slovakians who took pity on us).
After two days in the High Tatras we headed back west for two hours and left left the train at Liptovsky Mikulas . It is easy to catch a bus from there into the Demanovska dolina valley - which is an access point for the Low Tatras and Jasna.
Jasna has Slovakia largest skiing area but as a town it was distinctly odd. A town is far too generous a term, as in reality it was just a collection of hotels. The skiing may be good but I wouldn't count on much of social scene. However for two days hiking it was fine and the walks were fantastic, giving wonderful views of the park.
Despite language difficulties Slovakia is a charming beautiful country that is easy to travel in independently, and for walks, scenery, birds, animals it excels. And you can drink heaps and eat well for less than a tenner!
And I have decided that a good rating on my original op was too miserly for a place I recommend so willingly.
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Advantages: Fantastic city, plenty to do and see, beer still relatively cheap Disadvantages: City is loosing some of its authencity by becoming Westernised with the likes of McDonalds popping up
Oct 2nd, 2003
(Oct 10th, 2003)
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