Accidentally Wes Anderson
Accidentally Wes Anderson; a scentence that perfectly describes my visit to Slovakia. A country where one can experience sceneries as one sees in movies like the Grand Budapest Hotel. Let me welcome you in the Slovakian parts of the Tatra Mountains. A world of a time gone by, where grand and majestic hotels still sparkle next to the brutal archicture of the Soviet times..
Talking about Grand
We start this tour in the village of Tatranská Lomnica, where one can discover The Grand Hotel Praha. A hotel that perhaps is the grandest hotel of Slovakia. A yellow Art Nouveau beauty, built in 1905. Those were the days when this small village was a resort for the European aristocracy. I hardly can imagine any hotel that comes closer to the scenery & style one sees in movies like the Grand Budapest Hotel.
Tatranská Lomnica
The village also offers one of the highest peaks of the Tatra Mountains. It takes three lifts to bring you to the top, which marks a hight of 2634 meters. Once you arrive on the top you will get 50 minutes to enjoy the stunning views over a frozen world. Don’t forget to warm yourself up with a bombardino before you make your way down again.
Trainride
The villages around the Tatra mountains are all connected by a trainline. We took the trainride from Stary Smokovec to Strbske Pleso. A 45 minute trainride that took us through the mountains along pine forests and wonderful views. Our destination, a former winter resort from the Soviet Era, offered us views over a frozen lake and endless forests. I couldn’t imagine a better place that reflects Slovakia so well; beautiful nature, grand history, brutalist architecture and above all friendly people
The end of a chapter
Within 5 days we travelled through 3 different countries. We strarted and ended this tour in Budapest. Where Zakopane on the Polish side offered the more polished experience of the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia was rough and grand at the same time. An honour to travel through places that have seen so much of history. But our tour is not over yet, another episode will follow with a focus on Budapest!
RmariusB “A window on the World of Living Well”