Slovakia (+ Warsaw)

Now that the 4th quarter has begun at CBS, I only have 1 class that I am currently taking. As a result, I have more time to travel during the week, so some of my recent trips have been longer. My first longer trip was to Slovakia: I flew into Košice, took the train to Bratislava, and then (on my way back to Copenhagen) I spent some time in Warsaw, Poland.

Overall, my Slovakia trip was very relaxing, and slower-paced than some of my previous trips have been. I think this was partially because I had more days in Slovakia than my past trips, but also because Slovakia is a relatively small country. For instance, the Košice airport is the second-largest in the country, and it only has 6 gates! The Bratislava airport is the biggest; it has 13 gates. Being from California, that was pretty shocking to me.

But anyways, I started in Košice...mainly because I was able to get a reasonably-priced flight. It was pretty cool, but the Old Town area is relatively small; you don't need to spend many days there; you can do most of it in 24 hours. Even so, there is some interesting things to see; one of my favorites was the gold coin vault in the East Slovak Museum (see pictures below). The Cathedral of Saint Elizabeth was interesting as well; it's pretty hard to miss, it's right in the center of Old Town Košice. They ask that you don't take pictures, so unfortunately I only have photos of the cathedral's exterior; it's very pretty inside though!

But, one of my favorite parts of the trip might have actually been the train from Košice to Bratislava. The two cities are essentially at opposite ends of the country, so you get to see a lot of the Slovakian countryside along the way. Everything was so green! But, the train ride takes about 5.5 hours, so bring something to keep yourself busy, if you decide to do so.

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Bratislava is often considered one of Europe's "more boring" capitals, but I actually loved it! I agree that it doesn't require very many days to see most of the famous spots, but that doesn't mean it's boring. I liked Bratislava because it had a very charming Old Town area, but also had more of a modern city feel, even if the city itself is on the smaller side compared to other European capitals. Bratislava Castle was probably my favorite thing I did in Bratislava; but be warned, there's A LOT of stairs! After visiting the castle in Prague, I thought it wouldn't be that bad; honestly, I think Bratislava Castle is worse (only in terms of stairs, the rest is great!). You'll definitely get your steps in, and the layout of the museum is surprisingly confusing for such a square castle, but it's actually very interesting and definitely worth the price of admission. Also check out Freedom Square, it's a super nice park.

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And finally, there's Warsaw. I wasn't planning on visiting Warsaw originally, but if you're flying out of Bratislava you're basically forced to connect in Poland anyway. So, I took the opportunity to visit. I flew into Warsaw Modlin, which is actually about an hour north of Warsaw, but the combined price of the plane ticket and the Uber was about equal to what it would have been if I flew into Warsaw Chopin (located just outside of the city). The benefit to flying into Modlin, though, is that you can check out the fortress before heading into Warsaw. I actually liked the fortress a lot more than I thought I would, there's a great view of the river from the nearby trails!

Now, I'd like to make this abundantly clear: to fully experience Warsaw, it will take a few days. Warsaw is a much bigger city than Bratislava, and I knew ahead of time that my 1.5 days of exploring Warsaw wasn't going to be enough. I would absolutely love to go back though, as I actually really liked it there. Because my main focus was Slovakia, I wasn't too worried about not having enough time in Warsaw, it was just an added bonus. But, I didn't really know what to expect; I ended up really loving it there. For a city of that size, Warsaw is very clean. The Old Town is nice, but unlike some of the other European cities I've been to I feel like Warsaw offers more to see beyond its Old Town as well. Warsaw's Old Town is actually mostly rebuilt following WWII; not to say it isn't worth seeing, but Warsaw's history is also present outside of its Old Town area.

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A lot of Warsaw's main attractions are its museums, as the city has a very unique history. Because I didn't have much time in the city, however, I didn't really do any museums. Instead I mostly wandered the gardens, waterfronts, and city squares. That's part of the reason why I want to go back, so I can properly explore the museums. Also, there's a ton of delicious food in Warsaw that I want to try (speaking of food, I forgot to mention Bryndzové Halušky, Slovakia's national dish, absolutely delicious!).

Overall, this trip was more slow-paced than my previous ones, at least for Slovakia. Warsaw was a bit rushed because I knew it wouldn't be enough time to see everything; I will make plans to return someday! So, even if a city might seem "boring" that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't worth seeing; just devote less time to it, and make it one of many stops along your way instead! That's all for now, but there's a lot more to come!

Thanks for reading!