Slovakia. A Little Bit of Everything
It is difficult to talk about a country in which there was less than a week, but on the other hand, it is an independent pastime (when all the nights are in the same hotel) that allows you to learn more about the country than everyday excursions with guides.
So, we rested in the hotel "City Hotel Park 3 *", the Low Tatras region, the Republic of Slovakia. Approximately 250 km from the border with Ukraine.
The hotel is not bad, 3 *, built in 1993, without European renovation. In my opinion, the only "stationary hotel" in the city, because all the rest in the city and its suburbs are private 2-3-storey estates, converted into mini-hotels.
Meals HB - breakfast buffet, dinner - first and second courses, without drinks. For additional It is not possible to order a fee in the hotel restaurant, only in the lobby bar.
The rooms are of a normal size (I took TRPL for the first time), without a refrigerator (and why should he, if the temperature outside is below 0), but with a TV and a balcony.
The hotel has a SPA center, a sauna, a beauty salon, a clothing store and an insurance company. No souvenir shop
At 8 km from the city there is a ski park "Kubinska Hola", you can get there either by taxi (tariffs 1.0 -1.3 E per 1 km) or by the sightseeing bus itself. There is no urban transport in the city, there is intercity transport, about it later. There are 3 lifts in the park, the first one takes you to the middle of the mountain (so to speak), the other two are parallel - to the very top.
The cost of SKY-PASS: from 6 E for 1 lift, up to 22.50 E for unlimited for the whole day. There are also subscriptions for 2 and 4 hours of skiing (the top point of the lift is located at an altitude of 1346 m). The park has a rental point for ski equipment and several hot food outlets (a barbecue dish from the grill, french fries and vegetables will cost 10E)
If skiing is not exactly your interest, then there are no other entertainments, with the exception of the water park (and there are such in almost every more or less large city in Slovakia) in Dolny Kubina.
The city has a small old center, with a pedestrian square, where expensive shops with a claim to boutique style are located, but they are not open on Saturday and Sunday.
The Orava River flows through the city, through which 2 pedestrian bridges were built: one covered wooden not far from the hotel (with lighting and souvenir kiosks located on it) the other metal-concrete suspended cable-stayed (obviously, so as not to be damaged during floods).
Of the sights an hour's drive from the city - the castle "Oravski grad" (bus stop "Orawski Podzamok"), buses run from the central bus station Dolny Kubina (located just below the shopping center "TESCO") immediately behind the railway tracks or from the stop "Aleja Svobody") - interchange at the entrance to the city.
It is better to check the schedule at the hotel reception, although there is a schedule at the stops, but it is not easy to figure it out.
The ride takes about 20 minutes, the fare is 0.80 - 1.00 E, depending on the bus company you are traveling with (intercity transportation in Slovakia is carried out by different carriers, each of which sets its own tariffs). The entrance to the castle is 6 E, the resolution on the photo is 3 E. As the group gathers, the tour is conducted by a local guide in Slovak, but you can understand. The ticket price includes a brochure about the castle in English, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak or Hungarian. Obviously, tourists from other countries are not welcome here : -(
The castle is not bad, although in some places it is under restoration. The panoramic views of the surroundings are impressive, opening from the second highest tower of the castle, where the tour itself ends. Duration - about one and a half hours.
In summer, there are 2 more attractions not far from the castle: a ride on a retro train driven by an old steam locomotive and rafting on the local river.
If both active recreation and attractions have lost interest, there is an opportunity to go shopping.
International chain stores present in the city
TESCO and LiDL, as well as the Czech-Slovak CBA.
Prices for foodstuffs are approximately Ukrainian, for manufactured goods - somewhat lower than ours. Many brands of goods of European manufacturers are made in Europe, and not in China.
There are also purely Slovak clothing stores "KiKo", perfumery "dm", shoes, household appliances, sporting goods, goods for children.
Built as a separate shopping complex next to "TESCO".
Moreover, such an arrangement of these stores (at the entrance to the city) is inherent not only for Dolna Kubina, but in general for all the cities of Slovakia that we passed along the way.
Slovakia is located far from the main tristic routes, so the non-winter tourist infrastructure is poorly developed there. In particular, parking lots on the motorway are available only in the area of the large cities of Presov and Poprad. In the area of the latter, by the way, the high-speed autobahn ends (in the future - its construction to Bratislava), the road from Poprad to the Tatras region is of good quality, but very serpentine, although work is already underway to build tunnels through the mountains.
Railway transport is very developed in Slovakia. In addition to the international highway from the west (to Vienna) to the east (to Uzhgorod), there are many local railways in the country, on which communication is carried out by regional 2-3 wagon trains (an analogue of our electric trains). The nearest railway station to Dolny Kubin, located along the route of the Kyiv-Bratislava train, is st. Ruž omberok (18 km).
What unexpectedly surprised me - Slovakia turned out to be a very industrial country, in every settlement without exception there is a plant, factory or power plant, and, oddly enough, everything works. Abandoned dilapidated buildings were not to be seen. In one of the towns, they even drove past a working bus factory.
Furniture production is very developed in Slovakia, there are shops selling furniture ("Nabytok") even in the smallest village.
Obviously, if such a product bought for the future is in demand, then the population feels confident in the future. Although, judging by the number of ads for the sale of houses and apartments in cities, this statement can be argued
