Slovakia, the former Czechoslovakia's less glamourous partner, emerged
dishevelled and sleepy after the 'Velvet Revolution' of 1989. Although
it's now holding its own in a rebuilding Eastern bloc, there's a refreshing
absence of Prague-style glitz and clamour.
May, June and September are the prime visiting months, with April and
October as chillier and sometimes cheaper alternatives. Most Slovaks
take their holidays in July and August when hotels and tourist sights
are more than usually crowded, and hostels are chock-a-block with students,
expecially in the Tatras mountain resort areas. Luckily, the supply
of bottom end accommodation increases in large towns during this time,
as student hostels are thrown open to visitors. Centres like Bratislava
and the mountain resorts cater to visitors all year round. Elsewhere,
from October or November until March or April, most castles, museums
and other tourist attractions, and some associated accommodation and
transport, close down.
Practically every day is a saint's day in the Slovak Republic, and 'special
days', festivals and public holidays are widely acknowledged. Public
holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Three Kings Day (6 January),
Labour Day (1 May), Cyril and Methodius Day (5 July) and Christmas (24-26
December). The Bratislava Lyre in May or June features rock concerts.
During June or July folk dancers from all over Slovakia meet at the
Vychondná Folklore Festival, 32km (20mi) west of Poprad. The
Bratislava Jazz Days are held in September.
Bratislava (Pozsony in Hungarian, Pressburg in German) is Slovakia's
largest city and has been the capital since 1969. Here the Carpathian
Mountains, which begin at the Iron Gate of Romania, finally come to
an end. As you arrive at the main train station, you'll see vineyards
on the slopes of the Little Carpathian Mountains, where they meet the
Danube River. The Austrian border is almost within sight of the city
and Hungary is just 16km away. Many beautiful monuments survive in the
old town to tell of its past under Hungarian rule, and Bratislava's
numerous museums are surprisingly rich. Franz Lizst visited Bratislava
15 times, and the opera productions of the Slovak National Theatre rival
anything in Europe. Bratislava isn't as swamped by Western tourism as
are Budapest and Prague (except on weekends when the Austrians invade).
The old city and the castle are the best parts of Bratislava - the rest
of the city is pretty drab. The old city is packed with museums (such
as the Municipal Museum, which comes complete with torture chambers,
and the Museum of Wine Production) and palaces (such as the Primate's
Palace, where Napoleon and the Austrian Emperor Franz I signed a peace
treaty in 1805, and the rococo Mirbach Palace). The castle, built above
the Danube, was a frontier post of the Roman Empire from the 1st to
the 5th century. Since the 9th century it has been rebuilt several times,
most recently between 1953 and 1962. Climb up for the great views and
to check out the very interesting Museum of Folk Music within. The Slovak
National Museum and the Slovak National Gallery on the river are also
worth a visit.
Hviezdoslavovo námestie (square) is a convenient orientation
point, with the old town to the north, the Danube to the south, and
Bratislava Castle to the west. Bratislava's main train station, Hlavná
stanica, is several km north of town. Most of the cheaper hostels and
mid-priced hotels are north-east of the centre. The food market in the
centre of town is a good place to eat; there are ritzier restaurants
in the vicinity of the castle.
Accommodation slovak
