Bratislava – small capital with big contrast

Bratislava shocks many Westerners. The city's overall esthetics is hardly charming at first glance compared to other nearby capitals, with its graceless blocks of flats which line the major highway from Vienna. But emerging from the Communist concrete you will find an bustling, suprisingly pleasant city which offers a unique look at Central Europe's glorious and tragic past.
Boldly calling itself the heart of Europe. Bratislava may actually deserve the title, considering its storied and prosperous history. Many of Europe great empires have vied for control of this important trading post Celts, Romans, Avars, Ottomans and even the French under Napoleon, fought important battles here. Austrians. Hungarians and Slovaks traded bits of language and culture while sharing a common history as part of the Austrian- Hungarian Empire. In those years, Bratislava brimmed with a cosmopolitan vigor Ironically, the past 50 years under purely Slavic rule destroyed much of the city's inter- national stature. The iron curtain fell just west of Bratislava at the Morava River, cutting the city off from the west. Today, architectural
scars like the SNP Bridge with its flying saucer top, the clunky Slovak National Gallery building and the TV tower on nearby Kamzik Hill serve as painf ul reminders of those dark years.
But since the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The city has stormed back to reclaim its rightful place as a regional business and culture center Brightly painted houses and former palaces line the narrow streets of Old Town which now vibrate with briefcase-toting business people and backpack-slinging travelers. Foreign businesses like IBM, Volkswagon and Coca-Cola have set up shop around the outskirts of town as foreign investors begin to take Slovakia more seriously.

Bratislava today
Things are looking up with the new millenium. Many of Old Town's historical buildings sport shining new faces, though work is far from complete. Indeed, locals have grown accustomed to dodging sandpits and weaving around construction barriers. Despite the noise and commotion, the center bristles with energy, particularly on warm summer days. Meanwhile, new buses and trams occasionally give locals another reason to smile.
You can ponder recent developments over a beer or coffee in one of many pubs and cafes sprawling out onto the sidewalks during the warmer months For visitors to Bratislava, The Dubliner Irish Pub just off the Main Square (Hlavné Námestie) at Sedlárska 6, represents a great place at any time tomeet others who speak a bit of English.

The High Tatras – Central Europe`s „Mini Alps“

The Vysoké Tatry, or High Tatras, are Slovakia's bear-tooth necklace. Jagged teeth of granite just out of the modest surrounding hills and curve through northeastern Slovakia along the border with Poland. With a total area of just 341 square kilometers (131 square miles), the Tatras are the smallest range of alpine mountains in Europe. In fact, you can see the range from end to end, as the Bratislava-Košice train passes through Strba and Poprad its small scale and dramatic scenery have prompted many visitors to dub the range 'the mini-Alps." The compact High Tatras chain sports more than 20 peaks reaching above 2.500 meters elevation 18.325 feet) over 100 crystal blue alpine lakes and numerous waterfalls. Hundreds of kilometers of well-marked trails connect a network of mountain chalets scattered throughout. Many chalets, or „chaty“ offer full room and board in the heart of the mountains for cheaper than you can stay in the resorts below
The range's three most celebrated peaks, from west to east, are Krivan (2.494 meters/8.313 feet), Gerlach peak (2.655 meters) and Lomnický Peak 2.632 meters). All are national symbols, but particularly Kriváň crooked old man found on the back of the 20 halier coin Gerlachovský Peak, the highest in the range, is a gruelling climb accessible only with a guide. The biggest tourist attraction though, is the 25-meter gondoia ride from Tatranská Lomnica Lomnický Peak which offers an unbeatable view on a clear day.
All Slovaks readily associate the mountains with their homeland: painted wooden houses, hillside farms producing bryndza sheep cheese and the legendary hero Janosik. The recent history is rooted in the mountains: partisans of the anti-Nazi uprising were hiding in the mountains. Even the national anthem - Thunder Over the Tatras- praises to the peaks. No range casts a more prominent shadow over the villages below than the High Tatras.
Those shadows are often elusive, however, since the weather in the High Tatras can change by the minute Always bring rainwear. check in with the Horska Sluzba (Mountain Rescue Service) before heading off into the high country. Never even consider leaving the marked trails!

Piešťany – Luxurious health spa beside Váh

Nestling in the lower region of the Vah river in western Slovakia is the world-famous spa town of Piešťany. The town's wonderful natural riches include hot springs of healing thermal waters, which reach temperatures as high as 70 degrees Celsius, and enormous deposits of curative sulphur mud. Since time immemorial, the curative effects of these thermal springs and the sulphur- bearing mud have attracted people form far and wide, especially those suffering from rheumatic problems.
Historians have established that sometime between the 11th and 12th centuries a monastery existed in "Old Piešťany". The original site can be seen today in the garden of one of the houses on Defusanska Street. The name Piešťany is derived from the Latin "paskan" (sand). The town was so called by the earliest settlers probably because their settlements were build on the sand deposited by the overflowing waters of the Vah River.
Fairytale history
The spa has a fairytale history, which claims that the healing powers of the waters were discovered when a big, beautiful and lame peacock dragged itself to the banks of the river below the village of Banka and was miraculously cured. Another tale says that the medical effects of the local waters were discovered by the legions of ancient Rome on their northward marches during the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The presence of these soldiers has been verified from specific inscriptions on rocks on the grounds of Trenčin castle, situated a little to the north. It was said that the Romans dug hollows in areas close to the Vah, whereupon hot water started to flow, the soldiers then immersed themselves in the water, and discovered that it had an almost immediate curative effect. Word then spread, and so began this truly magnificent spa complex.
Winter family legacy
It was in 1889 that Alexander Winter and his sons obtained a contract to take over the spa. This Jewish family wanted to put Piešťany on the map as one of the world's foremost spas, and in 1912 the facility's largest and most luxurious hotel, the Thermia Palace, was completed.
One of the first guests at this fine complex was the Bulgarian Czar, Ferdinand I, who stated that such a hotel could not be found elsewhere in all of Europe. In 1917, three monarchs- Austrian Emperor Charles I, German Emperor Willhelm II and the Bulgarian Czar met here to discuss further course of the world war.
At the beginning of the world war 2, in 1939, the Winter family was forced to sell all their investments in Piešťany to a German consortium. Ľudovít Winter then moved to Bratislava where he was subsequently rounded up by the Nazis and sent to the Terezin death camp north of Prague. He survived and after the war returned as an old and broken man to Piešťany.
Today, Slovak Therapeutic Spa at Piešťany includes a hotel complex with a total capacity of 2.300 beds. All the hotels are categorized as first-class, and all bedrooms are modestly but tastefully furnished and have telephone. radio, color TV with satellite programs and a refrigerator upon request All rooms have splendid balconies, many with attractive garden views over-looking the lovely grounds.
There are indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools. Many of the available treatments will do you a power of good even if you do not have any specific aches or pains. However, if you suffer from arthritis or have problems with your back, hips or joints then a course of treatment could work wonders for you. The hotels are connected by corridors to the spa facilities and to the consulting and examination rooms of medical specialists.
Each hotel has a number of restaurants which offer typically hearty central European fare, but which do not provide haute cuisine. Drinks are reasonably priced, and wine lists include some palatable local red and white wines.
Piešťany itself is a charming town in one of Slovakia's wealthier areas. Extensive reconstruction work has been done on old town buildings and every summer, the town braces itself for a wave of tourists. Open air concerts and films, water-skiing competitions, horse riding stables and a lively nightlife make this town more than just a spa holiday. Whether walking in one of Piešťany's quiet, shaded parks or sailing on the river Váh, visitors have always rated Piešťany as one of Slovakia's most beautiful and tourist-friendly destinations.