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"The Story of a Tornado" by Veronika Kocourková follows a family of four air molecules. As the hot sun warms the Earth, the molecules grow and soon enough they no longer fit into their house.

Irish filmmaker Alan Holly's "Coda"was the grand prize winner at Fest Anča, which wrapped up last Sunday in Žilina, Slovakia.

In this guest post by Vodník author Bryce Moore, Bryce continues to share his favorite things to see, do, and eat when visiting Slovakia.

What to See

In my last post, I gave a rundown of some of Slovakia’s best castles. But Slovakia’s more than just castles:

Bratislava is the capital of the country. It’s a gorgeous old city, and it’s only 45 minutes away from Vienna–they make excellent cities to tour together. Bratislava has much of the same refined culture that you see in Vienna, but it’s at a fraction of the price. (I once went to the state opera and got box seats for $4. Prices have gone up significantly since then, or course.) Check out the markets in the old square, where craftsmen from around the area come together each day to sell their wares. Great stuff.

Tatra Mountains, Slovakia

Banska Stiavnica is a fascinating old mining city. It’s a drive to get there, but once you arrive, you find a city that’s essentially been left alone for the last few hundred years. (One of the tragedies of many places in Slovakia is that Communists made it a point to tear down or change a lot of the historical landmarks. Banska Stiavnica must not have been deemed important enough to warrant Communist attention.) It’s got mines that are over 700 years old, a series of reservoirs, fantastic old churches–and some of the steepest hills I’ve walked up and down. Bring your hiking shoes! (And make sure to check out the Chateau in St. Anton, a town right next to the city. It’s honestly better than any of the attractions I went to in Vienna. Much more authentic—it really gives you a sense of how the Hapsburgs lived.

If you’re more into nature and the outdoors, head north into the Tatra Mountains. Great skiing, rugged mountains, beautiful streams. You’re set no matter when you visit. Just be ready for not a lot of civilization, and a whole lot of green.

Or, to see how life used to be in Slovakia a long time ago, check out Cicmany. Practically the whole village is an example of folk architecture.

What to Eat

If you’re anything like me, no trip is complete without sampling all the goodies you can get your hands on. Slovakia has plenty of great things to eat. One of the most traditional dishes is halusky–basically potato dumplings with cheese and bacon sauce. Absolute heaven. Their bread is fantastic–go into any bakery and just get a sampling of all they’ve got in there. (Better not be on a carb diet!) I’m also a huge fan of their bacon and spiced sausages. Then again, I’m a fan of bacon and spiced sausages, period. For sweets, try wafer cookies and, of course, ice cream. European ice cream blows American ice cream away. Much richer and smoother.

What to Remember

That’s a quick rundown of some of the highlights. To end, I just wanted to add a few cautions. First up, English isn’t spoken as much as you’d like it to be in the country. A lot of the youth speak it (though they’re naturally a bit intimidated at times, talking to native speakers), but many of the tours will be Slovak-only. They do offer English translations of the tours, typically on pieces of paper you can take around with you to read while the tour is going on, but be prepared to be confused sometimes. That said, most Slovaks I’ve met are very welcoming, and more than happy to work with you to help you get what you want or get to where you want to go.

Bratislava

Second, the country’s infrastructure is not yet up to par with what you might be used to here in the States. The highways don’t connect everywhere yet, and many times, the only way you can get somewhere is by taking smaller roads. Then again, the public transportation is great. You don’t need a car in Slovakia. You can take the bus or train most places you want to go. In fact, public transportation is often a great idea from a financial perspective, too, since gas is really expensive – somewhere around $9/gallon.

If you’re flying into the country, your best bet is Bratislava airport, or perhaps Vienna. You can also fly into Prague and drive, but that’s a good three or four hour trip. Slovakia is part of the EU, so they use the Euro. While most of Europe is pretty expensive compared to America, Slovakia’s prices are still very reasonable these days.

And . . . that about sums it up. I love the country, and I hope more people discover it soon. If you’re going and have some specific questions, shoot me an email or send a tweet my way at @bmoorebooks. I’m happy to help how I can. And if you want a better idea of what it’s like living in Slovakia from an American perspective, give Vodník a read through.

Happy trails!

In this guest post by Vodník author Bryce Moore, Bryce shares his favorite things to see, do, and eat when visiting Slovakia.

When I was asked to write a brief guest blog post about traveling to Slovakia, the first question that popped into my head was, “How do I keep it brief?” I’ve been to the country many times, and I absolutely adore it. There’s so much to see and do—although there are some things you have to watch out for if you’re not accompanied by a native Slovak speaker.

First off, let me say that this is just really for western Slovakia. I have yet to be over to the eastern half of the country, and I don’t know much about it. In many ways (from what I’ve been told, at least) the eastern and western sides are like two different places. Eastern Slovakia has a much bigger influence from Hungary. Western Slovakia is influenced by Austria and the Czech Republic. Surprising, in a country that’s significantly smaller than West Virginia. But then again, it’s Europe. Things work differently over there.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let me dig right into the meat of the topic: why should someone want to go to Slovakia? A better question would be why wouldn’t someone want to go to Slovakia? It’s a beautiful country, filled with mountains in the north, plains in the south, and rolling hillsides in between. It’s got dense forests, wild rivers, and some of the most awesome castles you can think of. The food is fantastic, the people are friendly, and it’s an area most Americans haven’t even heard of. (Seriously. Try writing a book that takes place in Slovakia, and see how many people ask you where that is again.)

(Oh–and one final note before I begin. A lot of these Slovak words should have diacritic marks in them to be spelled properly. I’m leaving them out for ease of typing and web browser compatibility. Click through to the links to see the proper spelling.)

First up, let’s take a look at some of the castles:

Hands down, the most elegant one is Bojnice. It’s a gorgeous, completely restored castle, inside and out. From what I was told when I toured it the first time, it was used by some of Disney’s Imagineers as part of the basis for Cinderella’s castle, and I believe it. The town also has a zoo, if you’re looking to spend the day.

Bojnice castle

Orava Castle is much more along the lines of a fortress. Towering over the Orava river, it’s built in three distinct levels, each with their own fortifications. It’s also fully restored, and was even used as the shooting site for some of Nosferatu, one of the most famous vampire movies ever made. Really impressive, although a bit of a drive to see it. Did I mention it’s rumored to be haunted?

Orava Castle

Cachtice is the ruins of the old home of Elizabeth Bathory, the Countess of Blood. She was found guilty of killing local villagers (some claim hundreds) and bathing in their blood or torturing them. Real pleasant woman. And she was walled into her castle chambers as punishment for her crimes. She was the basis for some of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the castle ruins themselves were used in some of the movie Dragonheart, with Dennis Quaid. Creepy place, but beautiful views.

Cachtice Castle

Finally, I have to put in a huge plug for Trencin Castle, although I suppose the entirety of Vodník is really a great ad for the castle and city, too. It’s one of the best castles I’ve ever been to, and they have regular events in the evening over the summers, as well as week-long festivals in the city and up at the castle, recreating everything from medieval jousts to Roman gladiator matches. And my brother-in-law stars in a few of them! One of the advantages of having a brother-in-law who’s part of a historical reenactment group is you get to play dress up at the castle when you come to visit. Here I am in a lord’s outfit, complete with sword:

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part II of Bryce’s Guide to Slovakia where he talks about the most important part of travel – the food!