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Home Page > Travelogues > Slovakia (a.k.a. Slovenska) Quick Access for this Page -- [ Introduction ] [ Travelogues By Region ] [ Links ]
Click on the colored areas of the map to access a travelogue. The colors indicate different regions of Slovakia -- scroll down for explanation and introduction for each location. (Original map comes from the CIA World Factbook) Introduction. At a time
when several former Soviet republics turned violent (such That is changing. Slovakia is set to join the European Union with Czech, and its other major border countries of Poland and Hungary. Although much of Slovakia is still agrarian, its capital Bratislava has rebuilt heavily, and its Tatra Mountain regions in the east (part of the Carpathian range) is starting to draw European tourists looking for new and less expensive sights to see. Slovakia is also vastly underrated as a nation of castles and history. Bratislava Castle itself is one of the most striking examples of Austrian castles, perched alone high above the Danube River. The city of Trencin in the northwest is a classic Austro-Hungarian city with a lovely white castle above it that is centuries old, for example. (How strikingly odd it seemed that Trencin was not even mentioned in the Slovak tourism website until 2002. Oh well, they're learning.) Kosice and the Tatras are the prime entries on my "list" for Slovakia, but getting to them is tough from Germany except by plane. People have also recommended to me the southeast city of Kezmarok and the Danube region bordering Hungary. Travelogues and Features. The coloring of the locations on the map above indicate different locations in Slovenia, as shown below.
Links. The below links connect you to external sites in a new window. All links are official sites sanctioned by the national, state, or local governments unless otherwise indicated. These links will open to the Slovak-language home page, which will offer an icon or link to an English-language section (normally limited content). If an English language link is not available, click on the "Turystyka" section. This is for the tourism page, which should have English content available. Pages where English content was not readily available is marked "in Slovak". Links updated 10 January 2006.
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as
Yugoslavia), the former Czechoslovakia also divided, but completely
peacefully. Born were the Czech Republic (or "Czechia") and the
Slovak Republic or Slovakia, created with only one point of contention -- the
Czech's decision to continue to use the flag of the former joined nation.
Since that time, the Czech Republic became a rapidly progressing nation fueled
by its prominent Bohemian
history,
while Slovakia was viewed as being a step behind. 
just
a short drive east of Vienna, and used to be where members of the
Austro-Hungarian royalty were crowned, and now sports more flags and
national monuments per square kilometer than many capitals. The
castle and the old city walls are very well preserved, and the interior of
the old town is among the most lively and wonderful I have seen.
Other unique structures include the Slavin National Monument and Russian
Cemetary over the city and the Novi Most bridge with its flying-saucer
shaped restaurant.
th
industrial towns, but among them are some fabulous historic sites that are
great excursions from Bratislava. My personal favorite is 
