DECEMBER 2002

The third stop in our Europe tour was Slovakia. We took a night train from Budapest to Kosice. First advice on the train came from the security guards: “There are gipsies around, watch your bags and lock your door before you sleep!” Very useful! Fore of us slept in the same compartment, doors locked, valuables under the pillows!!!

However, instead of gypsies, we were woken up twice, first by Hungarian and second by Slovakian passport control officers, unlock the door, show passports and tickets, lock the door again and try to sleep until the next one comes!

Finally we arrived in Kosice and took another train to the little beautiful town, Presov. Our friend Eva came with her mother to pick us up from the train station. At night we had a really nice traditional Slovakian dinner (thanks to Eva’s mother!) with her family and try to plan our next two days in Presov.

Next morning we decided to go to skiing on High Tatras, the highest mountain in Slovakia. There are many skiing resorts in High Tatras and they are remarkably cheap by western standards. Some slopes may charge as little as 10 pence per trip up the hill, while the most expensive Tatra resorts sell all-day lift passes for around £5. We paid about £10 per person for all the equipments for a full day.

The guys said that they never done skiing before. So, having done some skiing before in Turkey (only a few times!) I decided to give them a little skiing lesson.

“Keep your legs together or you will eat snow!”, “if you can’t stop, just fall down”, “here is how you ski backwards” and all other appropriate advice for the amateur skier and we hit the slopes!

I don’t know how many times we fell or hit someone, but skiing is real fun until you feel the pain in your knees and thighs. After three hours of skiing we decided to stop, otherwise we could spend all night at home which you would not want in a country that has great pubs, beers and boasts of its beautiful women. Presov is widely accepted as the “Pretty Women Capital” of Slovakia.

After dinner, we hit the streets of Presov. The town has a beautiful architecture and town centre. Presov’s main square has a fantastic atmosphere because of its lack of traffic. Although two roads pass through, one has been converted into a pedestrian zone and the other admits buses only. The absence of autos makes a remarkable difference in ambience.

After visiting a couple of pubs, we went to a night club mostly visited by students. It was a cosy place with small wooden tables on the side, a big dance floor in the middle and the most important thing, only a couple of men inside!!! The drinks were so cheap (15p a beer, 30p a tequila etc.) and we were the only foreigners there, buying drinks for everyone. I cannot remember how much we drunk, but we left the club in the morning. What a great night it was! Next day I woke up really late, had a quick shower and breakfast, check out from the hotel, say goodbye to our friends and off we go to Prague!!!

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