Mark Nicholls visits the mountains of Slovakia and enjoys a memorable high-level luncheon.
What can you do in a ski resort in Slovakia during summer? Simple: savour a sky-high picnic luncheon in a gondola, it’s one of the most memorable mountain dining experiences you’ll have.
What is so fulfilling is the simplicity of the concept; sitting in a ski-lift gondola with a table, comfortable seating for four to six people and enjoy a charcuterie board of delicious meats, cheeses, olives and tomatoes, a fruit bowl, and a couple of bottles of sparkling white wine.
As the doors slid shut, we set off on a 40-minute ride of three laps of the gondola route above the resort of Jasná in the east of the country, from Mount Chopok at 2040m down to the mid-station at Kosodrevina and back… chatting, grazing, and sipping refreshing fizz.
Below, hikers make their way up the mountain while we enjoyed fabulous views from the gondola in the Sky Picnic experience that cost a mere €20 per person.
Unexpected surprises
This was one of a number of unexpected surprises during my summer visit to the central and eastern areas of Slovakia, and the Tatras mountains.
Basing myself at the city of Poprad, about an hour’s drive from the country’s second city Košice, I stumbled across a wonderful summer landscape that offers a huge and relatively-uncrowded outdoor attraction with hundreds of kilometres of hiking and biking routes, history, culture, cuisine, national parks, expansive natural landscape, and excellent value (0.5lt of beer is €2.70, wine €2.50, and coffee around €2).
Before stopping for my sky-high lunch at the Jasná resort, I’d ridden around parts of the Liptovska Mara reservoir on an e-bike. The dam on the River Vah which created the man-made lake in the mid-70s flooded 13 villages with their inhabitants re-housed elsewhere in the region. Today, all that remains above waters of Slovakia’s second largest reservoir is the small shoreline church of St Mary the Virgin.
The route took me along quiet roads, small tracks and across pasture and flowering meadows with downhill stretches and a few ascents where the e-bike’s power assistance was needed.
World heritage
The trail lies in the Cykloregion Liptov, which is surrounded by the Low, Western and High Tatras Mountains and has 850km easy through to challenging bike routes, plus 1185km of marked hiking trails.
“The region is special in the way it combines water and mountains,” explained Katarina Sarafinova from Cykloregion Liptov. “We also have free powerpoints, meaning people who take longer trips can re-charge e-bikes, which can be rented for around €30 a day.”
The wider region also has natural springs, UNESCO World Heritage sites that include caverns, castles, churches and ancient towns and a range of accommodation from five-star hotels to camping, cottages and apartments, as well as lakes, aqua parks and water sports centres.
The area is also home to World Champion skier and Olympic slalom Gold Medallist Petra Vlhova, who still lives near Jasná which has around 50km of slopes.
Rocky road
One of the most spectacular views in this part of the country is from Lomnicky, the second highest peak in the High Tatras range at 2634m. To get there I took a chairlift, gondola and then a small pre-booked cable car on a round trip. While it costs a steep €85, the views are impressive.
Having enjoyed the panorama and descended, I took the rocky road with our group from Lomnicky and followed it across an escarpment before descending into the forest and passing waterfalls to reach Hrebienok for lunch.
The array of summer flowers adding colour to the slopes include mouse ear shickweed, glacier crowfoot and purple saxifrage. You may also still see sherpas on the trails, carrying supplies of around 100kg on wooden frames on their backs.
“They are the last in Europe and supply restaurants with provision,” explained Lucia Blaskova, Director of the High Tatras Tourist Board.
Slow travel
At the Hrebienok restaurant you can get a taste of traditional Slovakian dishes such as Kapustnica, a soup of sour cabbage, sausage and wild mushrooms; or Halusky, which is dumplings with a salty sheep’s cheese called bryndza.
A funicular railway heads down to Stary Smokovec which has enticing hotels, shops and bars, plus the famous source of the Tatranska mineralka, where you can drink the iron-rich mineral water from a fountain.
In winter, the ski resort has around 24km of slopes but is a hiking and biking area from July to October.
“Here, you can enjoy slow travel,” added Lucia. “July is a very nice time to visit because everything is green and fresh, but it is still lovely as late as October.”
Castles and culture
On the journey between Poprad and Kosice, the magnificent Spiš Castle (Spissky Hrad) dominates the terrain for miles around. Built in the 13th century, it has been under the control of a number of royal and noble families over the centuries. It is one of the largest castles in central Europe, but because of its position and visibility, is arguably the most impressive. It costs €16 admission to explore battlements, inner courtyards, fortified walls and hidden corners.
But also take time to admire it from distance to absorb its true scale – head out to the edge of the town of Spišská Podhradie, which sprawls below, and enjoy the façade of St Martin’s Church, wander across open meadow to isolated chapels and look back to appreciate the true dominance of the structure sitting at the crossroads of Europe.
Bell of wishes
Another gem of a town is Spišská Nová Ves with its community theatre, streets lined with restaurants, shops and cafes, and a church with the country’s highest tower at 87 metres. After a wander, we took lunch a leisurely outdoor lunch at Restaurant Nostalgie and simply watched the world go.
But also seek out the Bell of Wishes where a former bell foundry stood. The inscription implores those who pass to pause, ring the bell, and make their wish: “Look up to heaven, tilt your head back, close your eyes and pronounce in thoughts your most secret wish. It will fly along with the bell sound towards the heavenly heights.”
City of culture
Half an hour further on is Košice, Slovakia’s second largest city and a true centre of culture, which shouldn’t really come as a surprise given that it was 2013 European Capital of Culture.
A walk along the pedestrianised street, past the opera house and St Elisabeth Cathedral with its coloured roof tiles takes you to the archaeological museum. Set below ground, it showcases the original city walls.
It’s also worth climbing the cathedral tower (€3) for splendid views across the city, while back at ground level, you can become mesmerised by the so-called “singing fountain” with complex water displays set to classical music. Go back at night for a different perspective with the water illuminated by coloured lights that bring shades of green, blue, pink and purple to the performance.
Another sparkling attraction is at the East Slovak Museum and the Košice Golden Treasure of 2920 coins that were unearthed during construction work in 1935.
Guide Ivana Kavulic said: “What is so appealing about Košice is the atmosphere and the long thoroughfare, where everything is close by. It is also a city that is suitable for everyone; for people who like history, families with children, and it is also a good starting point to reach the High Tatras mountains and six national parks.”
Oldest restaurant
There’s plenty of places to eat in Košice, but it seemed natural to opt for Slovakia’s oldest restaurant and the seventh oldest in the world, according to owner Peter Skripko. The Pivovar Hostinec dates from 1542. The beer is brewed on-site and you can book tasting sessions for €10 in the cellar to sample a range of lagers, fruit-flavoured beers, pilsner lagers, weissbier and IPA with names such as Bluebell, BB Love, Chinook, Hobbit, Prima Donna and Sanct Florian.
The kitchen dishes up fabulous cuisine from wholesome burgers through to starter and main course platters that include beef tartare on local bread, whitebait and turkey liver pate, fish and chips, rare beef on flat bread and rocket, or with vegetables, and deep fried cheese and mashed potato.
Peter said: “We may actually be even older than 1542, but the most important thing is the beer, the atmosphere, the restaurant and the history.”
The eastern region Slovakia has a real diversity during the summer – and as well as being a location for hiking and biking that can rival many recognised alpine resorts, it also offers great value.
Toasting a country with lovely towns and cities, and a wonderful natural and cultural landscape with craft beer in the depths of a medieval cellar, seemed a perfect way to end my visit to Slovakia.
TRAVEL FACTS
Transport: Mark Nicholls flew from Luton Airport to Košice with WizzAir, with a return flight from Poprad and stayed at the AquaCity Hotel.
Visit regiontatry.sk/en; enjoytatras.com; visitliptov.sk/en; visitkosice.org/en
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