Žilina

When you get on the train from Vienna to Žilina you leave behind the enormous, majestic buildings and enter a country underrated as a tourist destination. It has everything you need to be entertained, fed and watered throughout the year for less money than the usual haunts. I was happy to be here and get the chance to see with my own eyes all I had heard about from Matt and Sam; to meet the people, see the places and try all the food and drink.

I was looking forward to seeing the architecture of Slovakia because Matt had told me so much about it. Žilina did not disappoint; concrete, communist-style apartments are painted in bright, gaudy colours and balconies overflow with summer flowers. Many people live in large two-storey houses that are rendered and painted (sometimes in very bright colours such as lime green). Other homes are made of wood in the more traditional style, but I never saw a bricked house like we have at home.

For me, arriving in Žilina had similar feelings to arriving in Jakarta to see relatives except (of course) that these relatives were not mine. Matt didn't keep his Australian Rotary Club happy while on exchange (i.e. by not keeping in regular contact), but it was certainly not the case with his host families and friends in Slovakia. I had already met Petra in Prague but now I got the chance to meet the rest of her family while we stayed at their home.

We rocked up to their front door with no warning because we did not have Vlado's number. Only the dog, Bruno, was home...dang. Now what. We dumped our stuff and headed to the local shopping mall. Who would have guessed that we would bump into Vlado when he was grocery shopping. That evening we enjoyed some fantastic pizzas and home-made gelato from the local Sicilian chef (who married a Slovak).

Vlado and Zuzana (Matt's host parents)

We spent the weekend catching up with two of Matt's host families. Vlado and Zuzana fed us a banquet for breakfast with bread, cheese, vegetables, eggs, coffee and juice. We took a scenic drive through the Malá Fatras, munching on Korbáčiky, a string cheese, as we went. We stopped at Oravský Hrad and took a tour through the castle. We also visited Skanzen, which was similar to the Skansen in Stockholm, to see the traditional Slovak lifestyle. Lunches with both host families included an aperitif, soup and mains. I had a taste the Slovak liquor Borovička, which is made from juniper, as well as the herbish Fernet. Sam, I tried kapustnica and I really liked it.

Traditional Slovak Houses Displayed at Skanzen

During the week Matt and I slept-in everyday and watched Discovery Science at night, which is why we got behind on our blogging. Matt cringed a lot when the documentaries were describing anything in his field and we both shook our heads during Mythbusters. We did catch up with another friend of Matt's for beers and langoš. Freshly fried langoš with crushed garlic, tartar sauce and cheese tastes amazing; kind of like a late-night kebab at home. More relaxing followed when Matt took me to the Aphrodite day spa. We had a big lunch, enjoyed a honey massage, swam in the mineral pools and tried all five saunas. What a life!

The only non-relaxing thing we did all week was go for a hike in Jánošikove Diery with Miša, Matt's host sister. It was a stunning place to go and the landscape is completely different to Taman Negara. The hike was more difficult than others I have done and had 'scary heights' often. A bit more of this and I should be OK for the Inca Trail. Right?

Miša and Bluey Taking in the View During our Hike

Jasná

When we arrived in Jasná my sore throat became a cold. I spent a few days not doing anything except walking to the only operating chairlift (and lunch options) and back to Hotel Liptov. It is a good walk to do each day to get fit and we should get used to walking up hills. We also went up to Chopok to enjoy the view. The mountains are very green and dominated by pines - it must look very sparse in winter. I would like to ski/snowboard here in the future.

Panorama of the View from Chopok (Click to Enlarge)

While I was sick Matt spent a day downhill bike riding and tore holes in some of his clothes. We are both glad that I didn't give it a go based on the trail and reactions of other people trying it, but Matt had fun. He didn't hurt himself that day, but he did rip off some skin when sliding down a waterslide at Aqua Park Tatralandia.

Matt's Gross Cut

Tatralandia was a fantastic water park; it had a sauna world, hot sulfur pools, indoor and outdoor heated waterslides, a rope course, eateries, music (though a lot of euro-techno, urgh) and deckchairs. The 'Tornádo' waterslide had a vortex that you spun around and around and around in until you dropped into the next section. Following the example of many Europeans, we decided that the saunas would be good for my cold. These saunas beat those at Aphrodite hands down because they were bigger and released more of the special ingredient (i.e. salt, menthol and spices, steam). Matt regularly jumped into the 12°C pool to cool off but I chickened out and used the tepid showers.

Outdoor Heated Waterslides at Tatralandia

While staying at Hotel Liptov I was reminded of the popularity of a particular hairstyle that I first noticed in Lübeck, Germany. It seems that mullets  have become the latest craze. Maybe it works well with the baseball caps or as part of the snowboarder look. After all, the snowboarding culture and fashions of Europe have been derived directly from the skateboarding culture of the USA. We also got used to euro-techno music over breakfast and a slightly inebriated receptionist to greet us in the morning (he had had a big night and there were more staff than occupants during the week).

Košice

We traveled by train further east to Košice and stayed one night so that we could catch a train to Budapest, Hungary. Even though Žilina is almost directly north of Budapest, there is no direct train (or bus) connecting the two and you have to travel via Košice in the east or Bratislava in the west. Stupid.

Košice is a nice town to visit for a short time due to the picturesque town centre where many people come to get married. We stayed at Penzión Platz and ate a very satisfying Italian dinner. We spent the evening taking photos of a large fountain that was lit by multicoloured lights and moved in time to the music playing in the garden.

Košice Fountain

I can certainly see myself coming back to Slovakia. I sure hope so.

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