Hotel Villa Bianca

Be prepared ! Weather varies on a daily basis

by bollyandy

It is possible to buy virtually anything you need in LM - particularly outdoor gear. Provided that you avoid overprized western brands you can kit yourself out very reasonably. If you like shoes try the Gabor factory shop (near Route 66) in the shopping plaza - very good deals on excellent quality womens and mens footwear There are a couple of pharmacists and the hypermarket Hypernova is open every day and has most toiletries you could need. We have struggled to buy any high or even medium factor suncream - Slovakians dont seem to use it. There is a specialist photo shop at the bottom of the old town square Lots and lots of outdoor shops - the Keswick of Slovakia. If you plan on visiting Tatralandia flip flops and fleeces are useful. It is quite a windy spot and the paths are a bit hard on the feet as you walk from pool to pool.

Liptovsky Mikulas

by bollyandy

"Little town in big valley"

Liptovsky Mikulas is the historic centre of the Liptov Valley on the might Vah - a large river dammed to the East of the town creating a large reservoir used for leisure -Liptovsky Mara. It is surrounded by mountains, the Low, Western and slightly to the West High Tatra with the Mala Fatra to the East. This makes it an outdoor enthusiasts paradise - hiking, skiing, swimming (thermal parks and lake) sailing , mountain biking, riding and kayaking. The European white water canoe championships will take place in LM this year- there is a purpose built facility in the town centre. The heart of the town is the old town square, with museums, restaurants, pavements cafes and shops. Pedestrianised it is a pleasant place to stroll day or night. In the winter the town comes alive with visitors to the nearby ski resort Jasna, many of whom stay in town. There are a few museums and the second largest art gallery in Slovakia. As it is at the hub of rail , road and bus networks there are excellent transport connections which makes it a good place to stay if you have limited time to stay and want to see both the High and Low Tatra. In the nearby Demanovska Dolina there are two excellent show caves - the Freedom cave and the ice cave.

We visited the town by accident - we were staying at hotels in the High and then the Low Tatra but found that whenever we needed to get anywhere else using public transport we always seemed to end up in LM. The outskirts are a little concrety but the centre is very pretty. We liked the place so much we have kept going back ever since.

Camana Cacha at Jasny

by hustaj

Brandon, Roman and I went on a little mission to go snowboarding. Thanks to alot of info from todd we found everything relatively easily by eastern earopean standards. We did not bring nearly enough money to survive. Luckily snowboarding only cost about 8 bucks with rental a day. We waited along time for the bus, and we walked alot too, i cant believe todd walked all the way to the resort from the hotel. It was damn cold. We learned to slide down the street really far in our sneakers. We played alot of ping pong, i suck real bad, roman and brandon ruled it. We were scraping for schilliings and kroners everywhere. We met the american coule from texas who was a guest professor at a school in Kosice, that must be interesting. Brandon became pretty good at snowboarding. The gondola wouldnot fully close, everything there was really low budget. We stopped in bratislava for a little while and ate mexican food and shopped, it was alot of fun. And a much needed break from the constant ridiculum in wien. Luckily I knew a little german, cuz those dudes dont know ***, although roman knows"er ist ein hund, was machst du, wie ghets, and bitte". Brandon calls stephansdom st. stevens.

Wooden Churches

by Patje

"Cultural monuments"

Most of these wooden churches are Roman Catholic and are associated with the Gothic style.
They can be found all over Slovakia.
Nice to see are these of Svaty Kriz, Tvrdosin and Lestiny.
The original church of Svaty Kriz was built in 1693 in the village of Paludza. In 1774 it was necessary to build a larger church and a local carpenter Jozef Lange start the construction.
The church was finished in november 1774.
The area is 1150 square meters and the length is 43 meters.
In 1974 the process of moving the church started.On 22 august 1982 10.000 people attended the conseceration of the church in its new location.