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ski central | travel | the guardian jump to content [s] jump to site navigation [0] jump to search [4] terms and conditions [8] sign in | register text larger | smaller home nov 13 2007: today's paper jobs back to online version search: guardian unlimited travel web travel home | find a place | types of trip | readers' tips | short breaks | hotels | restaurants | book a trip | offers ski central there's a fairytale charm to the ski resorts of slovakia. and, contrary to popular belief, they do have lifts and the food doesn't taste grim at all ben rawlence the guardian saturday january 21 2006 powder dream ... in the tatras, you can escape the crowds of the alps. photograph: joe klamar/afp in 1904, during the twilight of the austro-hungarian empire, a bank sponsored the building of a major hotel in the slovakian tatras mountains to rival "the luxury hotels of davos, montreux or the côte d'azur". the bank was betting on an explosion of interest in winter sports and four years later completed an electric railway up into the mountains from the valley below. the bank's investment breathed life into the mountain villages of the tatras, and created a winter playground that is once again, just over 100 years later, welcoming visitors from all over the world.the high tatras national park, straddling the border between slovakia and poland, is dominated by forest and has a fairytale ambience to it. the tall wooden hansel and gretel chalets with turrets and pitched roofs heavy with snow look good enough to eat. here and there, the former communist regime has left its mark in the form of concrete apartment blocks, but when the horse-drawn sleighs jingle by, you can almost imagine princesses and archdukes wrapped under the furs.the best way to navigate the tatras is still by train. we arrived at the station at the bottom of the range - poprad - on a sleeper from prague, but the journey from bratislava is less than four hours. the three main ski resorts on the slovakian side: strbske pleso, stary smokovec and tatranska lomnica are a half-hour ride on the electric railway up the mountain from poprad.since the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, eastern and central europe's elite are rediscovering the tatras. so far, however, few brits have taken the chance to escape the crowds of the alps and the pyrenees. i only met two british people during a week. i initially thought this might be due to the small number of lifts or fears of dodgy food.the food turned out to be great, although there are indeed comparatively few lifts. however, as each resort is only a 15-minute train ride round the mountain from the next, you can ski in a different resort each day. of the three, strbske pleso has rather suffered as a result of its reputation among the ukrainian elite as the klosters of the tatras - we found it hard to move for blacked out 4x4s and hordes of designer-clad beginners. but the other two were surprisingly quiet. strbske pleso and stary smokovec have good nursery slopes suitable for beginners. more challenging skiing is to be had above tatranska lomnica, at a bowl called skalnate pleso: only half the bowl is pisted and the other half is a powder dream. this being slovakia, it is not always clear when you are on the piste and when you are off, so one run offers multiple ways to the bottom. while the lower slopes were mostly taken up by well turned-out ukrainians, we never waited for a lift higher up. i'm not sure if it was just luck or if the slovakians see downhill skiing as a slightly vulgar activity, hard-core locals preferring to walk up - and for some slovakians the £10 daily lift pass is still too pricey.in fact, the best thing about the tatras is that skiing is not the only attraction. there is another funicular train from smokovec to the ski area of hrebienok from which you can hire toboggans as well as skis. i spent the first descent mostly on my face, but quickly got the hang of it and was soon racing gangs of children down to the bottom. with trains back up every 15 minutes, you can keep practising till you get it right.on the last day, we went for a hike following one of the many excellently marked trails and were passed by cross-country skiers as well as walkers with backpacks that looked far too large to be daysacks. after hiking for an hour we came upon a little mountain hut, marked by an igloo containing an ice sculpture of the nativity. inside, a guide was welcoming fellow hikers with a large wood fire and a boiler full of mulled wine. apparently wine should not be drunk on its own but washed down with plum brandy. we emerged an hour later, drunk on brandy as well as views of the jagged and spectacular peaks of the tatras themselves and headed downhill. the locals, however, carried on upwards.the high tatras have several mountain hotels that are only accessible by foot. the furthest involves a five-hour walk but the closest is, mercifully, only a short stroll from the top of the toboggan run at hrebienok. the bilikova chata mountain hut sits amid spruce on a terrace with stunning views to the east and the border with ukraine. for under a fiver, you can sample some of europe's finest venison or traditional slovakian fried cheese and dumplings or goulash (made with wild boar or venison). and for under a tenner, you can stay the night in simple pine scandinavian-style rooms, sensibly arranged so that they all share the same view of the mountain.for those who would rather stay in the suites once occupied by the hapsburg royal family, the big hotels in the resorts, the original grand in stary smokovec, and the equally sumptuous grand hotel praha in tatranska lomnica, offer fairytale luxury at bargain prices. true to central european form, both have first-class spas which are available to non-residents for a small fee.exhausted from our hike, we decided to treat ourselves to the hot springs in the evening. as well as a very large complex in poprad called aquacity, there are hot springs all along the valley, with the most renowned at liptovsky mikulás. there's nothing quite like sitting in 38c sulphurous water and staring at the stars with your head in the snow.getting theresky europe (0905 7222747, 25p per minute, skyeurope.com) flies to bratislava from manchester and stansted from £29 one way plus tax. trains from bratislava to poprad-tatry depart hourly. check times on german national railways site (bahn.de), slovak one is unreliable: sk1,000. trains from poprad-tatry to stary smokovec, tatranska lomnica or strebske pleso depart hourly in both directions, sk20. where to stayhotel grand, stary smokovec (+52 4780000, grandhotel.sk) doubles from €105. hotel grand praha, tatranska lomnica (+52 4467941-6, grandhotelpraha.sk) from €97.further informationtanap.sk, slovakiatourism.sk.country code: 00 421.flight time london-bratislava: 2hrs, 10mins.£1 = 54.60 korunas. read full article 1 2 · next page print | share | email share close digg reddit google bookmarks yahoo! my web del.icio.us stumbleupon newsvine livejournal facebook blinklist email close recipient's email address your name add a note (optional) more on… travel winter sports slovakia skiing shopping the guardian guardian saturday travel section related information latest news on guardian unlimited last updated nine minutes ago news bird flu outbreak is deadly strain sport jewell rules out wigan comeback travel top 10 paris hotels book a trip today book flights compare the best flight deals to slovakia book hotels compare the best hotel deals in slovakia guardian holiday offers crete's archaeology and history - 8 days from £599pp new york - 5 days from £499pp travel classifieds free holiday brochures sponsored features care manager staffnurse.com. care manager sector elderly and emi ref pnrls98 sa…. 25,000 - 30,000. temporary pa/committee secretary (£12-£13 per hour… bis recruit. a small and friendly, leading trade association in…. £12-13 per hour. senior project manager railwaypeople.com. purpose of job responsible for the day to day mana…. 60,000 - 65,000. browse all jobs related information related pictures the ski resorts of utah (8 pictures) cold comfort: checking-in off-piste at a swiss igloo village (10 pictures) related articles july 14 2007 the mother of all cycling trips as the professionals race through france, two podgy irishmen embark on their own gruelling tour, across the tatra mountains. by john o'mahony. slovakia july 1 2007 the spa aquacity resort in poprad in northern slovakia is to open a geothermal swimming pool complex this weekend. slovakia march 24 2007 water world skyeurope is introducing a monday flight from stansted to poprad which means you can now go there for the weekend. slovakia january 23 2007 holiday romance stuck for ideas this valentine's day? paul torpey picks the most romantic breaks, secluded hideaways and lavish resorts to sweep your lover off their feet. slovakia january 16 2007 bowled over a book about cricket in eastern europe with a psychic twist? don't be put off by the batty premise, says rory maclean in the first of a new travel books column. slovakia december 16 2006 slovakia's back new fantasy flick eragon has dispelled the murky view of slovakia once created by quentin tarantino to reveal a romantic vista of spectacular valleys, gorges and waterfalls. slovakia december 7 2006 freezing in the name of beauty mat smith dons breathing mask, mittens, shorts and clogs to brave freezing his body in temperatures of -120°c. slovakia's extreme cryotherapy craze proves men and spas can mix. slovakia september 2 2006 best healthy breaks croatia | slovakia | spain slovakia july 1 2006 mons world ljubljana's newest hotel is also one of the coolest. what the mons hotel lacks in terms of location, it makes up for in style. slovakia april 9 2005 super brat ian mccurrach does the rounds in slovakia's capital. slovakia readers’ tips banska bystrica: slovak campsites the slovak tourist board is based in banska bystrica, one of the most fun towns in slovakia, and has lots of information on campsites all over the undiscovered… posted by krissys jul 11 2007 bratislava: slovensko camping map i picked up a great map for free in one of the tourist offices but i think you can order it from the czech cartographer company shocart. it's posted by krissys jul 11 2007 liptovsky hradok: borová sihoÅ¥ campsite - a natural paradise autocamping borová sihoÅ¥ is open all the year round and it's very popular with those who want to explore the high and low tatra mountains or take part… posted by krissys jul 11 2007 bratislava: old danube apartment great price, period look and very central. posted by scipion jun 12 2007 bratislava: slovakia: cyclists' paradise cycling is massively popular in slovakia and the stunning countryside is criss-crossed with a 5,400km network of cycle routes, all well-marked with destinations… posted by krissys jun 9 2007 show all 38 readers' tips send us a tip book a trip flights and hotels | guardian holiday offers about this article this article appeared in the guardian on saturday january 21 2006 on p9 of the travel features section. it was last updated at 12:42 on november 27 2006. license/buy our content | privacy policy | terms & conditions | advertising guide | accessibility | a-z index | about guardian unlimited | join our dating site today guardian unlimited © guardian news and media limited 2007 go to: guardian unlimited home uk news world news comment is free blog newsblog sport blog arts & entertainment blog podcasts in pictures ---------------------- archive search arts books business educationguardian.co.uk environment film football jobs life & style mediaguardian.co.uk money music the observer politics science shopping societyguardian.co.uk sport talk technology travel been there ---------------------- audio email services special reports the guardian the northerner the wrap ---------------------- advertising guide crossword events / offers feedback gameszone garden centre gnm press office graduate guardianfilms headline service help / contacts information living our values newsroom notes & queries reader offers readers' editor soulmates dating style guide syndication services travel offers tv listings weather web guides working for us ---------------------- guardian abroad guardian weekly money observer public learn guardian back issues observer back issues guardian professional

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