"Happy New Year in the new EU" a Slovakia Travel Page by kit_mc

BRATISLAVA - train to - POPRAD - bus to - LEVOCA - bus to - SPISSKE PODHRADIE - bus to - KOSICE - bus to - BARDEJOV - bus to - KOSICE - sleeper train to - PRAGUE

We spent 6 days in Slovakia after visiting the Czech Republic and Vienna and this was the most interesting part of our trip to this region. As one of the 10 new members of the EU that joined in May 2004, and perhaps one of the least economically developed areas of the Union, I was quite keen on going as far into the eastern reaches of the country as we could. Bearing in mind time constraints and the fact that we were also feeling the effects of a nasty flu virus that we couldn't seem to shake off, we managed to cover a fair amount of terrain.

In the end, we travelled what is probably a very well worn tourist route, although with it being the middle of winter there weren't that many other tourists about. Slovakia has some quite beautiful landscapes to hike through in the summer and no doubt when trees and flowers are in bloom the towns are that little bit prettier, but in the winter some of the views were really quite dramatic, haunting even, with the Tatra mountain range rising up through cloud and mist in the distance.

If you are a western European or non-European, this part of Europe is all the more interesting. You can see the remains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the grand buildings of the larger towns or the early renaissance architecture of the smaller villages, all in various states of repair. Some areas have obviously been restored with care while others really do seem stuck in a time warp. The legacy of the communist years is visible in the various post-WWII monuments and the massive housing estates of grey tower blocks looming on the outskirts of the bigger towns.

Slovakia is to some degree often viewed as the 'poor relation' of the Czech Republic. It has traditionally been more conservative, strongly Roman Catholic and agrarian based. But with the fall of communism and membership of the EU, things are sure to continue to change at a dramatic pace. After all, it's the 21st century here too - mobile phones everywhere, credit cards can be used in many places and cash machines are plentiful. Budget flights to Slovakia from the UK can be booked through Easyjet and SkyEurope.

These statues in Bratislava are part of a monument to the ill-fated Slovakian uprising against Fascist and Nazi rule.

We arrived in Bratislava by train from Vienna on the 30th December and gave ourselves three days there to do a bit of sightseeing and to see in the New Year in some style staying at the Carlton, 'apparently' the best hotel in the city. From there we went on to Levoca, via Poprad, using trains and buses, spending a night in Levoca before the next day's journey onto Kosice.

On the way to Kosice we stopped off for a couple of hours in Spisske Podhradie to check out the amazing views of the castle and walk through Spisske Kapitula. Our last full day in Slovakia was spent in Bardejov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a quaint and well restored old town, about a 90 minute bus ride north of Kosice towards the Polish border. Then it was back to Kosice and onto the overnight train to Prague for the flight home to London.

All in all, this was one of the most interesting trips I've undertaken. One of my highlights was just arriving in Bratislava train station at night. With its poorly lit platforms and ageing trains with traditional compartment style wagons, for me it was like something out of a spy movie from the Cold War era. I expected someone to come up to me and whisper, 'The night owl awaits the visit from the white rider behind the dark castle gates...' Or something. The initial experience of truly arriving at the far reaches of the European Union was emphasised by the three soldiers on leave, winding their way down the platfrom dressed very formerly in real 'East European' army dress. Long coats, flat caps, dress uniform, the lot.

Bratislava (the capital) and Kosice (Slovakia's second city) in particular I really liked. I think perhaps Kosice gets my vote as the biggest and most pleasant surprise. I had expected a place that was much more run-down, more stereotypically 'Eastern European', as this place is really way out towards Ukraine, but the old town and main square and street are really lovely. It's great to see such a pleasant old town that is truly lived in. This is the main area that most tourists are really likely to see and only a few minute's walk from the train station.

The cathedral in Kosice in the main square is well worth a peep inside. It's a truly magnificent Gothic structure from the outside, step through the door and there are the remains of frescoes, some beautiful stained glass windows and the general aura of an aged place of worship.

I'd say that Bardejov is more worth the trip than Levoca, especially if you're pressed for time. I'm sure there are many other places well worth a visit in Slovakia, but as usual, one only gets so much time off work for holidays...

I guess my only complaints were that many museums and other places of interest were closed, either because it was so close to holiday season or simply because it was the winter. Also, train and bus timetables tended to be quite incomprehensible to foreigners. It was rather difficult to understand what the little symbols would translate into English. 'Only runs first Sunday after a full moon while the sun is in Taurus', is my guess. Certainly that was the case for the bus between Poprad and Levoca!! On the whole though, while people were not overtly friendly, locals were generally polite and helpful, food was cheap and generally tasty and it was nice to feel like I was enjoying a piece of Europe that few others have made the effort to visit.

One thing I must say is that even where buildings, streets, stations might be very worn out by age and overuse, things were still very clean. I was really amazed by how little litter there was on the streets.

Two other things to bear in mind -

Perhaps brush up on your German before visiting. I found using a mixture of English, my school-boy German and a few key words of Slovak to be rather helpful. German is more frequently used as a second language than English.

As mentioned above, bus timetables in particular can be a bit of a nightmare to comprehend here. If you know your itinerary beforehand, or have time to check into an internet cafe before you go to the bus station, I'd strongly recommend checking the following site for both Czech and Slovak bus and train schedules: www.idos.cz