View from Veľký Inovec Mt.

One does not always have to go to the higher mountains in Slovakia to make nice hiking tours. There are many easier hiking trails throughout the country. One is to Chata na Veľkom Inovci (Chalet on Veľký Inovec).
Veľký Inovec is a mountain top of 900,6 m., part of the mountainous region of Pohronský Inovec, not far from the town Zlaté Moravce at the border of West and Central Slovakia (120 km east from Bratislava).
The Chalet is an excellent goal, as one may rest there for a while, enjoying the great view on the surroundings with some simple food and drinks.
The best way is to start on the crossing between the villages Obyce and Jedľové Kostoľany at the tourist sign under the hill Včelár (503,3 m) , and to follow the green trail from there (on the top of Včelár grows very unique high white grass which is protected by state law). The first part goes through a forest with oak and beech trees until you reach broad meadows called Obycké lúky (1,50 h). There one has to look well for the blue trail.
This one continues its way up to Veľký Inovec (1,10 h). The top is shown by a coloured coat-of-arms of Slovakia on a rock. On a clear day one sees from here far into the mountains of Štiavnické Vrchy.
After resting at the Chalet, one has several choices to continue his tour. The easiest way is to follow the road down to Veľká Lehota, or to follow a broad trail all the way down through the woods. All in all an easy hiking journey of about 6 hours for people of all ages and conditions.
In case you are interested, we are able to provide you a hiking map.

Ski-park Jasná, Low Tatras

Ski-park Jasná is suitable for all kinds of winter sports, for beginners to professionals. The best time of the season is January and February. One avoids the busy season of school holidays in Slovakia that last from the end of Februari till half of March; moreover prices of accommodation are a bit lower then.

You will find hotels and pensions in all categories. In the hotels it is mostly possible to hire skiing equipment and to buy a ski-pass with discount. And if you would like to take a break from skiing, you may always relax in the thermal and aqua parks of the surroundings.

Beware that you are obliged in Slovakia to have snow tyres at snowfall. If you are arriving with public transport: there is a good train connection from Bratislava to Liptovský Mikuláš, and from there a free bus is leaving to the ski-park each half hour.

Prosiecka dolina Valley, Liptov Region

In Liptov are also many well indicated hiking paths. You will easily find hiking-maps in most bookstores and at the turist information. One of the most beautiful hiking paths leads through two valleys, Prosiecka and Kvačianska dolina. The tour which starts and ends in the village Prosiek is not too difficult; it is 17 km. long, lasts max. 7 hours en there is a difference in hight of 350 meters. First one follows the blue route, then the red one, and from the village Kvačany, the yellow route.

The path runs through narrow valleys enclosed by rough mountains, through deep forests, past ravines and waterfalls, and sometime one needs to climb ladders. There are wild animals here you won’t see (though they might see you), like bears, wolves and lynx. But most particular on this route in the valley Kvačianska dolina, are the water-mills from the beginning of the 19th century which were once used as saw-mills. After their destruction in the Second World War and expropriation during communism, they have now been wonderfully renovated by volunteers. Even the water-wheel is functioning again, so it is as if the water-mill regained at least symbolically its original function.

The water-mills make a nice rest during your walk. Here you may sit at the brook with its water rushing wildly. Sometimes there are quite some people doing the same, but that doesn’t really matter, as they all have in common respect for the splendid nature and for the mills, which have become national-technical monuments. And the young people working there gladly provide you with information about the mills. Their effort and devotion proves that there is still much to hope for in this world.

]]> http://blog.amazing-slovakia.com/liptov-region-hiking-slovakia/feed/ 0 http://blog.amazing-slovakia.com/rimavska-sobota-slovakia/ http://blog.amazing-slovakia.com/rimavska-sobota-slovakia/#comments Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:06:10 +0000 abram http://blog.amazing-slovakia.com/?p=250

The Gemer-Malohont Museum, Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia

There are many majestic buildings standing in the province town of Rimavská Sobota (24.000 inhabitants). They were mostly built at the beginning of the 20th century, when the town became the most important centre of food industry with the largest cannery of the country. Nowadays in the summer the town attracts many young people who come to visit popular cultural festivals as a theater and music festival in June and a festival of amateur arts and artists in August.

Furthermore there is an observatory, a gallery of modern art and an impressive cemetery for those fallen in the First World War. And there is one of Slovakia’s oldest museums, the Gemer-Malohont Museum, with a surprisingly rich collection, illustrating in detail the region from the Bronze Age until today. Quite peculiar is an unimpaired Egyptian mummy of a woman and her sarcophagus, brought to the museum at the beginning of the 20th century by a traveller of the regio who visited Egypt at the time. The name of the woman is Tasheritnetia and she is from the 22nd till 26th dynasty between the years 945 and 525 before Christ. There is also a vase in which the intestines of the deceased were put.

Also very particular in this museum is the only permament exposition in Slovakia of the history of the Roma.  By learning more of each other’s origin and culture, one creates mutual understanding and tolerance. The initiative started a few years ago and the exposition is rapidly growing. A very noble objective.

Rimavská Sobota is not being mentioned too much in tourist guides, still it is one of Slovakia’s most exclusive towns, and really worth a visit.

The Classicist House with Memorial Room of Franz Schubert in Zeliezovce, Slovakia

The memorial room is located in a humble, classicist house bordering a large park. In the park there stands a decayed palace which belonged to the noble family Esterhazy until 1945. But it was in the house, which was gardenhouse and guesthouse of the family Esterhazy, where Franz Schubert (1797-1828) stayed in the years 1818 and 1824. Invited by the noble family he gave music lessons to the children. Of course he was charmed by the daughters, especially Caroline Esterhazy, to whom he dedicated his Octet in F major op. 166 D 803 (1824).

The rustic rivier Hron flows past the town and through the park of the Esterhazy family there is a little brook, which might have inspired Schubert in composing his Trout Quintet (1819).

There is not much in the museum that reminds of Franz Schubert, but together with the park and the desolate palace one experiences a pleasant tranquillity here of a romantic past. Still, it wasn’t always as quiet in those days. Schubert complains in one of his letters of the dozens of geese held in the parc by the Esterhazy family, making noice as of a chaotic choir.

The Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava

But most unusual are the decorations of the choir banks in the sanctuary. On the banking arms are represented several animals, which is extremely exceptional as animals are mostly banned from churches.
The animals are made from woodcarvings and the author is Johann Hutterer (1835-1907), an Austrian who lived in Pressburg, as Bratislava was being called until 1918.
On the banking arms he depicted positive and negative animals: positive animals like the rooster, chicken, pelican, ram, lamb, cat, elephant opposed to negative ones like the monkey, fox, mouse, bear, chameleon and snake.

The fox is a symbol of the false prophet (Ezekiel 13:4). Maybe the foxes in the St. Martin Cathedral are symbolizing the Hussites, some of whose victims are believed to be burried in the cathedral. Others say that these foxes symbolize the false prophets when the cathedral became Protestant for two years in 1619.

It is exactly these lovely details which make the cathedral in Bratislava an unique monument in Europe.

Saint Elisabeth Cathedral, Kosice, Slovakia

An important exposition of late Gothic art from Slovakia is being held at this moment in Paris in the Musée national du Moyen Age (in the Quartier Latin). The exposition will last till 10th January 2011 and is unique in Europe, as it is the first time Slovakia is presenting its Gothic art outside its borders. France is the cradle of Gothic art, so it is not surprising that this exposition is held there. More than 300.000 visitors are expected and for sure this will finally make Slovakia’s history and rich culture widely known.

The Gothic style has come to the present-day territory of Slovakia only in the 15th century, and especially in the east of the country there are many towns that have been built in these late middle ages and where up to the present much has been preserved. This is where the so-called Gothic route lies, which leads past towns, villages, churches, castles and fortifications. In the second town of Slovakia, Kosice, not far from the border with the Ukraine, we find one of the largest Gothic cathedrals of Central-Europa.

One says that modern Europe ends there where the Gothic style has reached. It is therefore maybe not surprising that the eastern border of Slovakia has become the outer border of the EU as well. Slovakia was always part of modern Europe.

A visit to above-mentioned exposition is a wonderful introduction to your visit of Slovakia.

September, wine month in Slovakia

Slovakia is a wine country. The vineyards are along the southern border with Hungary on the southern slopes of the Carpathian mountains. The grape-harvest is in September and directly after are the harvest feasts. Then you may find everywhere the very popular very first wine, called must (in Slovak: ‘burciak’), fermenting grape-juice containing about 6% alcohol. Must is excellent with heavy, typical meals of autumn, like goose or duck, as it neutralizes fat.

6% alcohol seems not te be a great lot, but the high fermentation – the activity of which makes the drink warm in a glass or makes bottles explode from its pressure – is quite treacherous, because also in the stomach it continues. First one becomes pleasantly drunken, until one suddenly encounters the man with the hammer.

Take the next day off and keep the curtains closed.

See also: Wine tasting in the water-mill from the 17th century near Bratislava.

Less known are cycle trips from Bratislava to small Austrian villages just across the border. The cycle-paths here are in excellent condition. From the border crossing Jarovce or Petrzalka you will cycle through rolling vineyards to the village of Prellenkirchen (+/- 20 km), and just outside the village there is the so-called Kellergasse or Cellarstreet, centuries old wine-cellars standing in a row of which some are open, where you can drink excellent homemade dry wines and eat honest, cold meat and cheese dishes. 

The way back to Bratislava is quite tough then, but once in Bratislava, the wine will have been oozed out of your body.

Trekking bikes for rent in Bratislava

On the Krivan Mt., High Tatras, Slovakia

From the High Tatras there is easy access to many sights and towns in the surroundings, also thanks to the fast developing highway system in Slovakia.

Historical towns in the east like Levoca and Kezmarok are an one hour drive, and so is the castle of Spis.

And the High Tatras itself are compact and small; there are many different paths leading up and around them, and several lifts take you almost all the way up. Not everyone has to be a mountaneer to be able to hike there.

West of the High Tatras one reaches the Low Tatras in a bit over an hour, to visit the caves in the valley of Jasna or the picturesque village of Vlkolinec, which is on the cultural heritage list of UNESCO.

Down from the High Tatras is the somewhat greyish town of Poprad, where there is an extensive Aqua Parc, which is best visited off-season during weekdays as it can otherwise be quite crowded.