About Slovakia

Here are some interesting facts about this European country that you probably didn't know...

Official Country Name: Slovenska Republika (The Slovak Republic)

The flag includes three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak emblem (a cross Lorraine atop 3 hills in a shield; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue) centered on the hoist side. It was adopted as the flag of the Slovak Republic on March 1, 1990 in Czechoslovakia. The seal was added on Septembere 3, 1992.




Slovakia's location in Europe:

















Map of Slovakia:




















The Slovak Republic was an official country on January 1, 1993. Before then, Slovak people have been ruled by stronger political forces, such as the Czechs of the Czechoslovak federation, the Magyars of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the sovereigns of the Habsburg Empire. Although the history of Slovakia is expressed as being a country for less than a decade old,
Slovaks have existed as a civilization for over 1500 years.

Day 2: Arrival to Slovakia

On February 3rd, we arrived in the Bratislava airport at around 12:30 p.m. In total, the flight was about 14 hours long. After going through customs and picking up our bags at the carousel, my two friends, Emily Kidd and Emily Holop, and I found a bus that would take us to our car rental location. We picked up our minivan that was the perfect size for all of our bags, and we drove over to the Hotel President. On the way we saw the busy streets of Bratislava shopping centers. Emily Holop refused to put down her camera. Luckily all three of us were not tired, and instead restless, because we had gotten a lot of rest on the plane. As Emily Kidd drove cautiously on the left side of the road, the car was filled with delight at the great city we had arrived in. We finallly arrived at the hotel which was a small hotel located in the city centre right near the Crowne Plaza. We checked into the hotel and got our room keys and settled into the perfect room which has three rooms, a television, air conditioning, a safe, and a kitchen. After getting comfortable in our room and unpacking, we decided to eat lunch in a small cafe called the Café Maximilian which was a cute little cafe in Main Square that is famous in Slovakia for its chocolates. Unfortunately, after leaving Café Maximilian, Emily Kidd started to feel queasy and had gotten a bad case of food poisoning from the airplane food. Me and Emily Holop rushed her to the hospital where she was given treatment and medicines. The hospital was the Nemocnicas poliklinikou Ruzinov, and luckily Emily Kidd was better in no time. At night, we ate dinner in the Staroslovenska krcma which is an old Slovak pub in which during the winter, customers eat in a decorated cellar. The food was great and Emily Kidd was not feeling queasy at all. Afterwards, we walked around the Polus City Center which was a very modern shopping center with bright lights and lots of souvenir and clothing shops. Emily Kidd bought a cap which she will use when the weather is especially cold. I bought a small antique statue for my parents. Emily Holop however had a shopping splurge and bought three fur jackets. We had a great time meeting people despite the language difference. After shopping, Emily Kidd and Emily Holop were so exhausted, that I drove us home on the 15 minute drive to our hotel. We fell asleep almost immidiately after walking through the door. Emily Kidd was so tired she feel asleep on the floor.

Day 7: Second Day in Zuberec

The past few days have been crazy busy and it hardly seems that during the time we are awake we're not doing something exciting. Now that we are in Zuberec, it is a completely different experience than the city. In the morning we awoke very early and packed a picnic using food we had bought from the town country store. We drove for a while from our hotel, the Milka Pension until we reached our destination of the Rohace lakes. The lakes are so beautiful, we couldn't believe it. We were bundled up because it was very cold outside, but we wanted to stay outside and eat our lunch anyways. Next we visited the Rohace waterfall which is hard to get to becuase it requires a difficult hike in the Rohace mountain. It was well worth it because the view was amazing. We were surprised that no one was around. When we were finaly done enjoying the view it was getting late, and it was about time for dinner. Emily Holop drove us home where we changed into our night clothes, and went into town. We ate dinner at the Penzion Timea, where the food is all homemade and delicious. Afterwards we shopped a little in the cute town around the restaurant. By now, Emily Holop had spent a lot of money on shopping and had very little to spend, but this didn't stop her from buying a dress. Emily Kidd did not like spending a lot of her money, but she was feeling a little daring and bought jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater, and boots. I also bought a pair of suede boots. In one of the stores we met a man who lived in the United States and spoke English. He told us of how he had gone to Slovakia on a week-long trip, just like us, and had instantly fallen in love with it.

Day 8: Day in the High Tatras

We woke up in the morning, packed our suitcases, and hit the road. Our destination for the day would be the High Tatras. After 1 1/2 hours, we arrived at our hotel where we checked into the room which was a beautiful suite located in the attic with three rooms and great furnishings. Our first stop was at the Museum of Tatras National Park. It was founded in 1949 and is the oldest national park in all of Slovakia. Of course, the national park itself was to big for us to completely see. The museum taught us all about the park's history and the expositions that occurred on the premises. There was a small cafe by the museum where we enjoyed lunch. We than visited the botanical gardens within the park. We couldn't believe the diffferent flowers we saw within the park. Every color of the rainbow could be seen in the gardens. The nice part of Slovakia is not only the beautiful scenery, but also the clean, refreshing, and crisp air. Emily Kidd said she could live in the gardens forever, and took a lot of persuasian to convince her to leave. When we finally did, however, we went back to the hotel to relax a bit, and then prepared for dinner. We went out into town, and it was very cold compared to the other nights, and enjoyed some hot soup, hot chocolate, and warm dishes. We loved walking on the snow covered streets of the small town near our hotel. When we finally went home, we watched a movie and got warm from the fire.