We say goodbye to Slovakia with a short virtual trip that includes the highlights of the places I learned about. I tried creating this in Google Earth thinking other people would be able to enjoy it as a tour. But I couldn’t find a way to publish it, so what I’m going to do is provide each link to Google Earth separately. To enjoy it best open Google Earth on a separate tab and go back and fourth between this website and Google Earth viewing the different links that interest you. I also created a video if you don’t have time. You can see it right below.
Ready? Buckle in! We are going up mountains, through castles and down caves! We’re going to Slovakia!
Bratislava
Now we will see an 360 aerial view of its beautiful capital city Bratislava. The castle you see is the Bratislava Castle a symbol of Slovakia.
To read more about this castle and others go HERE.
You can see the garden of the castle and move around it in this link:
Now let’s head to St. Martin’s cathedral:
And now we’ll venture into the Old part of the city through Michael’s Gate. After you enjoy it turn around and walk down the street. It is very picturesque with many stores and restaurants.
This is the Old Town Hall. You can follow the arrows and walk around.
Before we leave Bratislava I want to share Slovakia’s national dish with you. It is called “Bryndzové Halušky” and it is like potato dumplings covered in cheese with bacon pieces on top. You can see my attempt at making this very unique dish HERE.
Tatra Mountains
Now let’s go get some really good fresh air in one of the most beautiful places in Slovakia. Slovakia has various mountain ranges, but the Tatras part of the Carpathian Mountains are probably the most beautiful.
“The Tatras are protected by law by the establishment of the Tatra National Park, Slovakia and the Tatra National Park, Poland, which are jointly entered in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. In 1992, UNESCO jointly designated the Polish and Slovak parks a transboundary biosphere reserve in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, under its Man and the Biosphere Program. (Wikipedia)
Ready for a climb? the biggest in Slovakia? Let’s head to its highest peak: Gerlachovský štít, informally referred as Gerlach. It is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the whole 1,500 km (930 mi) long Carpathian mountain chain.
Yes, it is breath taking! And if you turn around you will see a man who is honoring someone he lost. It is so beautiful!
Dobšiná Ice cave
And from the very top we will now dive to the underneath, to a beautiful ice cave! There are about 3,800 caves that weave through Slovakia. Only about 400 have been explored and only 12 are open to the public. Imagine that they have so many that “spelunking” or exploring caves as a hobby is one of their leisure things to do in the South of Slovakia!
Sadly Google Earth and Maps can’t take us under. The closest is the entrance. So I am placing a video that shows a family in this cave and in this cave’s general area.
Isn’t it impressive? That tunnel would really creep me out!
Near this cave is the town where the artist I chose to learn from was born: Ružomberok. His name is L’udovít Fulla. You can read about his art style and my project based on his artwork HERE. This is what his gallery looks like:
While we are on the realm of art, this is another form of art: dance! Slovakia’s traditional folk dances are filled with the rich history of its country and all the people that made it theirs. One of the most famous traditional companies, if not the most famous is called: Lúčnica. I will share two videos… first the ladies and then gentlemen!
I wish I would have had more time to enjoy Slovakia’s music scene. I would listen to Slovak music when I worked on the crafts and when I was looking for music for my videos. These are some artists I discovered. I really enjoyed this group called Hrdza. Their music is happy and their videos were so wholesome!
This Christmas piece was so beautiful! The people… !
I also liked Katarína Máliková. This piece is so beautiful!
My last post was about Slovakia’s official language: Slovak Slovenčina. To enjoy practicing its alphabet or learn a few short useful phrases go HERE.
And now I will say “Dovidenia” for now Slovakia!
My Virtual World Trip 