We made a trip to Eastern Slovakia in early March in a bid to embark on a long awaited new season of travel after a long period infested with covid restrictions. Apart from splendid sunny weather travel was easy with good infrastructure, reasonably priced accommodation and good food.
Eastern Slovakia is supposed to be the less affluent part of the country but, in fact, it does not look poor at all. They have clearly used EU subsidies well, town centres are wonderfully renovated. This part of the world used to belong to the Austro Hungarian-Monarchy until about a hundred years ago and localities bear the hallmarks of this historic period with pretty, small town buildings. There is plenty of culture and public edifices look particularly well looked after.
There is an easy going, relaxed mood around these places and young people speak good English. Some of the elderly communicate in German but there are quite a few signs in English, too. The food is standard continental fare with a few very local Slovak specialties that go down very well after long walks in town centres. Beer, the Czech-Slovak equivalent of water, is inexpensive and of high quality.
The gentle, rolling hills provide a pretty backdrop to towns and the majestic High Tatra mountains present themselves a destination in their own right.
There are few foreign travelers particularly at this time of the year but overall, this area is still a hidden gem on the European tourist map. Subjects for photography abound with locals not at all protesting when their picture is taken. Opportunities are rich for taking shots of historic monuments and moody town centre photography and there is no reason to be concerned by getting run over by a car while composing. Most of town centres are pedestrian zones with nice restaurants and cafes around many corners for those becoming tired after pressing the exposure button too many times.
