It had been 4 months since returning home from Asia and the travel bug had returned in full force. I’d come home with a new found love of mountains and nature that I don’t think I’d ever had before. I then spent the summer putting that into practice. For probably the first time in my life, I WANTED to hike and climb mountains and do anything for a nice view. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not a seasoned, experienced hiker but I’ve definitely seen myself become a little braver and my fitness levels have skyrocketed.

This led up to me frantically searching sky scanner for the cheapest ways to get back to the mountains (and away from the UK) during my reading week.

The cheapest flights for my available dates were to Bratislava. I had previously been to Bratislava in 2022 and had found it to be one of the main places which inspired me to travel in the first place.

From there, I booked my return flight and research the best places to stay if I wanted to visit the Tatra mountains on the border between Poland and Slovakia. It was a direct train to Poprad then 2 tram journeys to a place called Tatranská Lomnica. I booked 2 nights there then also, in a moment of spontaneity, decided to book two nights in Prague too.

This meant that my itinerary for this trip was the following:

Fly to Bratislava after university and arrive at night.
Early the next morning, get a 5 hour train to Tatranska lomnica
Spend 2 nights there and get a 5 hour train back to Bratislava for one night
Get an early 4 hour train to Prague
Spend 2 nights in Prague then get an early train back to Bratislava
Have a single afternoon in Bratislava before flying home early the next morning

It all was about as beautiful and chaotic as you’d expect. As any other person who decides to live this kind of lifestyle for fun, the main thing that got me through was thinking to myself “it’s all for the plot.”

The day comes

I arrived at my hostel in Bratislava for about 9pm on the first day. The people volunteering there and the patrons were extremely welcoming and lovely. It would be really great if that energy persisted throughout the rest of the trip right? And it’d be even better if I could go back to that same hostel in a great location with fantastic people right?

In the meantime, I went to a Mexican restaurant. I know, I’m in Slovakia eating Mexican food? Last time I’d come to Slovakia, someone had shown me this place called Mezcalli and I think about it regularly. I specifically remember trying a mushroom taco and thinking ‘I need this in my life every day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.’

It didn’t disappoint 10/10 food and service. Let me know if you want more in depth reviews of the food on this trip.

The next day, I woke up at 5:30am to head to Tatranska Lomnica. The 5 hour train journey was interesting to say the least. I was sat by the window seat on a 4 person table. At the beginning, there was a lady sat opposite me who had no shame jamming out to whatever music she was listening to. I also watched her eat 3 bananas consecutively before she left.

Then an older woman got on and took her spot. The lady was extremely sweet and, though she didn’t speak any English, kept offering me things. She gave me an entire sandwich which was some combination of cream cheese, cured meat and pickles. I really enjoyed it actually.

She had noticed that I was constantly taking photos of the views outside. Near the end of the journey, the mountains came into view on the other side of the train and she tapped me on the shoulder and gestured for me to take a picture through the window. Then she spoke to the people sat in the chairs by that window and asked them to move so I could take a photo. I was embarrassed but ultimately grateful.

The first glimpse of the Tatra mountains

After getting off the train at Poprad, I got two tram journeys to Tatranska Lomnica. The skies were clear blue and the trees were full of orange and yellow leaves with random spots left of green. The trees zoomed past through the window of the tram as I looked in every clearing to see if there were any bears.

In my research, I discovered that Slovakia is FILLED with bears.

The fear of bears, in fact, scared me so much that I refused to go around dark corners or areas in this well-lit, popular tourist town. Even in the day, I was looking over my shoulder.

When I got to my accommodation, I had a well-needed rest, got my camera ready and went for food. The town was really unassuming. Just a small, quaint tourist town in remote Slovakia. Which made it all the more impressive when tall towering mountains stretched behind old wooden buildings.

After having Mexican food in Slovakia on day one, I promised myself I would try at least one authentic dish. When travelling in Eastern Europe in 2023, local food was something I neglected so I wont do that from now on. One dish that’s popular in Slovakia is garlic soup. Good thing I didn’t have any vampire friends with me. Trust me when I say there was a lot of garlic, it was almost spicy with how garlicky it was. On top of that, I ordered another dish, thinking that would be an appetiser. Instead, I was full up from my bowl of garlic puree and now had another dish coming. Sheep cheese gnocchi with bacon.

Slovak gnocchi - or Halushki - is slightly different to the gnocchi from Italy that you may be used to. I would know, as my biggest fail in life was the time I tried making homemade Italian gnocchi which turned into homemade potato cakes. Slovak gnocchi is thinner and made in a different way which isn’t too rich on the senses. The texture is softer and less chewy to balance out the creamy sheep cheese and crunchy fried bacon pieces. Something about it felt nostalgic too. All in all, I’d give the garlic soup a 6/10 - very tasty but I’m not accustomed to that much garlic so about halfway through my eyes were watering - and I’d give the gnocchi 8/10.

Slovak Gnocchi with Goat’s cheese and fried bacon pieces

The main issue while I was here, I’d stayed in a private room and hadn’t met anyone throughout the entire trip. I, personally, don’t like the idea of hiking alone. Especially in bear country (I know that’s the USA. Slovakia has Approximately 1200 to 2500 bears, not even making it to the top 5 countries in Europe with bears. However, it is still known by the locals and anyone who visits that there is a big population of bears and I was even told stories by locals in Bratislava about seeing bears, especially around the area I was visiting.) Not only that, as much as I had researched the very popular hike, I knew there was some areas that were particularly rocky or included climbing down a ladder etc. I just knew, based off the person I am, that doing it alone wouldn’t be safe. That’s not to say that if it’s something you want to do then you can’t. Just know your experience level, do lots of research, let people know where you are etc.

Instead, I opted to just get the cable car to the top, walk around the general area to get some photos and come back down in the cable car. If I say, met someone in the hostel or found a guided tour to go with, I probably would’ve done the walk as scary as it looks. Sometimes things like that don’t work out and that’s ok. I still had a lovely time and saw some nice views, plus it gives me a good excuse to come back one day with someone else and more experience.

The cable car was stunning showing 360 views of amazing autumn foliage, mountains and hidden gems like lakes etc. At the top, there were 2 young foxes that everyone had gathered around to see.

After a few hours of walking around the different routes and taking photos, I went back down the cable car, stopping to take photos at the first cable station. Then I got the tram to another town called Stary Smokovec for a delicious cauliflower steak with the most perfectly done boiled potatoes.

Then I went on my balcony and admired the sky filled with bright, twinkling stars that expanded across the tall shadows of the mountain range.

The next day, I woke up and said goodbye to jagged edges of the nearby mountain tops, surrounded by bright blue skies. Then, I hopped on the 6 hour train back, with a stop in Poprad on the way.

I arrived back in Bratislava in the evening and went straight to my hostel. It was different to the first one I went to in Bratislava and, though lovely, unfortunately wasn’t very social. The bar was closed and the common areas were completely empty. The people in my room were rude and didn’t speak to me at all, whispering to each other and making it very clear that they weren’t happy seeing me there. Oh well, its just one night.

I set off at 5:30am AGAIN the next day and arrived in Prague at around 11am. I dropped my bags straight off at my hostel and, with my camera, made my way around the city, viewing all the sites I remembered from last time and more. I managed to get everything I wanted to see out of the way in case I was too tired the next day.

Taken from the famous St. Charles Bridge

This happened to be the case after I went on a fantastic pub crawl, met some amazing people and really felt the effects the next day. So unfortunately the next day was a write off but I don’t regret it at all, it meant I was well rested for the next day.

I spent the morning the next day on the train back to Bratislava, again followed by spending the rest of the day exploring. Bratislava is one of my favourite places for it’s historical old town juxtaposed by impressive contemporary architecture, plethora of landmarks and activities and the nightlife. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of the nightlife this time but I’m sure I’ll be back one day to have another night out.

I had a great time on this trip and it was exactly what I needed, with a mixture of mountain views and cityscapes to explore. My travel bug is satiated. For now.

-xoxo Elisha

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