Central European treasures: The Slovak Tatras

One of the trends I’ve seen emerge from Covid-19 is people choosing to pick more national parks and more destinations surrounded by nature. I’m not really referring to my German, Czech and Slovene counterparts, as they pick places like this, whether Covid or not. I’ve seen this happen with more North American and Western European people who I know were not really originally that outdoorsy. I think it is a great thing.

A destination that sticks out in my mind as the perfect choice for that would be the Slovak Tatras in Eastern Slovakia. I went there in the fall of 2018, right before I left Prague. I want to kick myself for living next to such a beautiful country for over six years and not giving it much of a chance, aside from Bratislava a couple of times and a week conference/ summer school in Banksa Bistrica, which was also visited in 2018. Many Czechs enjoy coming to this part of Slovakia for their holidays. It’s peaceful, and the Slovak mountains have more to offer than the Czech ones. I am glad I finally decided to do this before I moved away.

There are countless hiking trails. I did over 50 km of hiking in just a couple of days, which for me is a lot. They have different trails of varying difficulties. They measure the distance in minutes, which I kind of hate. I would prefer to see the actual distance. I have a complex where I feel too pressured to make it in the time given, even though the posted time usually tries to overcompensate. It’s a common custom in many other countries, but I still kind of hate it.

You can get around the area pretty easily. Most people get to Poprad, Slovakia, which is the gateway to the Slovak Tatras. From Poprad, you can find the electric railway connecting many of these trails and mountain towns with chalets and resorts. A couple of these mountain towns remind me of some of these touristy semi-white trash places in the Appalachian, such as Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. You see sort of the same type of fare. However, I won’t knock on them too much. I was able to use the sauna in one of these resorts and stuff my face with some Halusky in Štrbské Pleso after a day of hiking and felt like a million bucks.

Some other towns are a little more empty and peaceful. I stayed in a small town called Ždiar, which has probably one the best hostels in Europe. It’s called the Ginger Monkey hostel. It was recommended to me by a cousin and a couple of other friends who worked in these party hostels in Budapest and other places in central Europe. While these kinds of hostels have not been my style for a while, I immensely enjoyed it. The staff is a lot of fun. It’s in a sleepy town called Ždiar. You need to get there by bus, but it is pretty straightforward. It’s also at a practical location on the main road between Poprad and Zakopkane, so if you are driving or hitchhiking, it is an easy place to stop.

If you are looking for a more “Covid safe destination” in Europe for this year, I will give Eastern Slovakia a chance. There are a lot of activities you can do outside that help with social distancing. Slovakia has been one of the better countries with covid. Travel in Slovakia is a bit restricted now, but the restrictions should ease sometime in the next couple of months. This is also a good destination if you are having a tough time or transitioning and want to spend some time reflecting. Covid has caused a lot of us to take a new direction in life, whether it is a welcomed new direction or not. I went alone for a long weekend when I was undergoing a new chapter of life. While I socialized some with the people at the hostel, I spent a lot of time hiking alone thinking. I felt a little more assured with myself after that.

Many travellers tend to go either over to Poland or Hungary after spending time in the Slovak Tatras. I would actually recommend going an hour east to visit Kosice, Slovakia. You get more of a glimpse into Eastern Slovakia. It used to be a melting pot in central Europe of Slovak, Romani, Jewish and Rusyn cultures. It’s probably one of the least expensive cities that uses the Euro currency. You can also get back on track to wherever you want to go next as it is only an hour out of the way. It’s close to the famous Spiš Castle.