Mud spa at Thermia Palace Hotel in Slovakia (Photo: Eddie Gerald, Editor: Julia Kirzner)
When I asked Dana Karnova, the spa sales manager at Ensana Hotels and head of business strategy in the Middle East, "What's on top of the news for you this week?" she thought for a long time, and at the end of her passing, "Your flight!" It so happened that in those minutes when the missiles from Gaza were launched into Israel during Operation Shield and Arrow and the headlines in Israel were quite depressing, we boarded the inaugural flight of Overseas (under Arkia) to Slovakia.
The Slovak woman who fell in love with Israelis abroad, and came here to learn Hebrew
When we landed a few hours later at the small and very intimate airport (it is important to note without the long lines that characterize European airports) in Piestany, it seemed that we were witnessing a historic event on a local scale. It began with the Selene ceremony (spraying jets of water from fire engines on the plane), marking a significant event in aviation and in our case the inauguration of a new line, and continued with local wine generously poured for concerned passengers who had just stepped out of the belly of the plane, with WhatsApp alerts or breaking news about the locations of missile hits and interceptions beeping from their pockets. The small orchestra playing and singing traditional Slovak tunes quickly calmed the atmosphere and filled the air in anticipation of what was to come.
A historic event on a local scale. The ceremony for the inaugural flight in Slovakia this month (Photo: Slovak Tourism Board)
Built on a steep hill above the town. The ancient fortress in Trencin (Photo: Walla! editorial board, Eddie Gerald)
26 thermal spa resorts
We reviewed what Trnava can offer the Israeli tourist, who desires a trip to a small European country in a good place in the middle, to which until now we have not had direct flights. In general, Eastern European countries have always been considered a preferred destination for organized trips for people who craved travel to their ancestral regions, most of whom are usually older.
Slovakia offers much more than a roots trip. It has green natural sites with impressive mountain ranges and ancient fortresses, overlooking lakes and small streams with hiking trails at different levels. Young Slovakia, which gained independence in 1993, also has a rare healthy natural resource. These are the spa baths.
Spa baths is an old business that has existed in Europe since the days of the Roman Empire, and has been a thriving tourism industry for centuries. Blessed with more than 1,300 sources of mineral water and hot springs, Slovakia took this natural medical resource seriously and built 26 thermal spas on these springs, effectively crowning it a spa country.
Natural sites, impressive mountain ranges and ancient fortresses. Cachtice Fortress in Trnava (Photo: Walla! editorial board, Eddie Gerald)
Slovakia has a rare natural resource - spa baths. Spa at Thermia Palace Hotel in Piešťany (Photo: Walla!, Eddie Gerald)
Spa Island
The most suitable place to recover is in an area called the "Spa Island" in the city of Piešťany, famous for six spa hotel complexes built around thermal springs. These springs contain natural minerals, such as magnesium, sodium and sulfur, which have been discovered to have medicinal properties and can help treat a variety of medical problems, such as muscle and bone pain.
The first spa was established in Peštani in 1822. Today the city has about 2,400 beds for visitors of various levels of luxury. We stayed at the 5-star Thermia Palace spa hotel, the flagship hotel of the Ensena chain, which runs several spa hotels in Europe. The hotel was built in Art Nouveau style in 1912 and has been restored to its original splendor in recent years. Most of the interiors have been preserved, including weighty crystal chandeliers, stucco carvings on the ceilings and ornate windows. Staying at the hotel takes guests straight to that period and one can easily imagine the historic meeting that took place there in 1917, when three kings (Wilhelm II of Germany, Charles of Austria-Hungary and Ferdinand I of Bulgaria) met at the hotel and coordinated various moves during World War I.
Spa programs at the hotel are varied, however, before starting treatments and bathing in the various pools, it is mandatory to consult with the hotel doctor. It will be determined according to your medical condition, the length of stay in the mud baths and which pools to enter, what types of medical massage to be performed, recommended nutrition planning, etc.
In addition to wellness programs and stays in mud pools and sauna under ornate Art Deco windows, guests can enjoy a wide range of leisure activities including a gym, tennis and golf courts and jogging in the surrounding landscaped gardens.
After a relaxing spa treatment, enjoy a night out at the local Heaven Bar, located on the roof floor of a small hotel, a few minutes' walk after crossing the bridge over the River Vah. Since I was very tired, I don't remember what liquor we were served, just the sight of a round jar with steam and in it a kind of local gin, which was impressive enough for me to remember the experience and professionalism of the bartender.
The doctor will determine the length of stay in this bath. Mud spa at Thermia Palace Hotel (Photo: Walla!, Eddie Gerald)
You will receive information about the type of massage and recommended nutrition planning. A spa treatment at Thermia Palace Hotel (Photo: Walla!, Eddie Gerald)
Central Europe at its best
Since you can't lounge all day in mud and sulfur baths, the area offers interesting hiking trails. One of them is the picturesque town of Trencín with its impressive medieval castle built on a steep hill above the town. It's Central Europe at its best, but without the tourist crowds around. Most of the town is pedestrianized, and attractions are concentrated in the old town around the main square, Mierove namestie, in the center of which stands an ancient memorial column commemorating the plague that struck the town in the Middle Ages.
The Jewish connection to the place can be found when you see the structure of the old synagogue, a few minutes walk across the main square. Most of the Slovakian Jewish community was destroyed in the Holocaust and with them an ancient local Jewish heritage since the 12th century. The synagogues were destroyed or turned into local houses of culture. This is what happened to the synagogue in Trencin, which no longer serves as a place of prayer but as a center for cultural events and a public space for temporary exhibitions. What remains is to look from the outside and be impressed by the unique structure that combines Eastern and Byzantine style. Viewed from the street, the green dome of the synagogue competes with the other ancient buildings in the area.
Designed for pedestrians and the attractions are concentrated in the Old City. Trencin (Photo: Walla! Editorial Board, Eddie Gerald)
The synagogues were destroyed or turned into local houses of culture. The Old Synagogue in Trencin (Photo: Walla! Editorial Board, Eddie Gerald)
6,000 roses of different colors
You can start or end your visit with Hotel Elizabeth in the heart of the city. The hotel is built under the cliff on which the ancient castle is located. Evidence of the hotel's historic location can be seen if you ascend to the terrace named after the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, from which you can see through a glass window an ancient Roman inscription carved by the Roman legions of Aurelius in 179. Perhaps these warriors just wanted to leave a stamp on the hotel's guestbook and recommend the entry-level restaurant run by the talented and award-winning chef Daniel Mark, who put together dishes with varied flavors, smells and textures that included creamed asparagus soup and veal shoulder roast, whose soft taste melted and stayed in the mouth for many days afterward. The local red wine with the long name Pavelka Elizabeth Svatovavrinecke, served between the dishes, was the prelude to subsequent winery visits.
Slovaks drink a lot of wine, but Slovakia's wine consumption is far above the production capacity of local wineries. One of the small wineries fighting this gap that we visited is located on the Chateau Krakovany near Piešťany. The estate's dimly lit wine cellar offers varied wine tastings of locally produced wines from other regions of Slovakia in different styles and varieties. You can start with sips of wine and cheese refreshments and finish with a traditional Slovak meal in the restaurant on the estate, just don't ask for coffee or tea too late because the kitchen closes with the precision of an astronomical clock at exactly ten o'clock at night.
We tasted another wine at the Medolandia estate complex in the village of Dolna Krupa near Trnava, whose name reminded me of a fairy-tale mansion. At the winery on the estate you can take a wine tasting tour produced from bee honey, in diverse flavors and different alcohol strengths. The on-site souvenir shop offers other by-products produced from bee production. Next to the estate is a garden and a large rose nursery where about 6,000 roses of various colors grow.
Perfumed by the honey wines we sipped down, we sat down to eat at the Akademia bistro bar in Trnava. The restaurant combines traditional Slovak cuisine with an innovative and modern culinary approach. The local beer (about 7 shekels per glass) and gin and tonic drinks did their job, and when the head is spinning, try to get rich at the small casino in the city of Olympic Casino Trnava. I am not a fan of this genre of recreation, but it exists for those who want it.
Varied wine tasting of locally produced wines and other regions of Slovakia. Krakow Mansion (Photo: Walla! Editorial Board, Eddie Gerald)
Wine tasting made from bee honey. Medolandia Mansion (Photo: Walla!, Eddie Gerald)
About an hour and a half drive to Vienna
If you didn't want a health spa and you're not the target audience for this issue, there are still many advantages to the only flight to Slovakia today and landing at the small airport in Piešťany, and that is its strategic location. From the airport you can reach the Tatra Mountains (about two hours drive), the capital Bratislava (about an hour) and Vienna in nearby Austria (about an hour and a half). Slovakia is not yet on the map of the average tourist. Now, with a direct flight we will have easy access to a country that wants to embrace the Israeli tourist warmly. The affordable prices of accommodation and food, beautiful natural sites and excellent medicinal (spa) facilities will surely contribute to this mutual embrace.
Accommodation and food prices are affordable. A meat dish at the Akademia restaurant in Trnava (Photo: Walla! editorial board, Eddie Gerald)
Next to the estate lies a garden and a rose nursery. Medolandia Mansion (Photo: Walla!, Eddie Gerald)
Prices
Flights to Slovakia: from $ 299 per person.
Spa package: 4-star hotel per week including flights, baggage, transfers + 2 treatments per day on half board basis: EUR 1,474 per person in a double room Package including water park: from EUR 849 per person in a double
room + 1, including flights, baggage, 7 nights on bed and breakfast basis. Morning, car and water park at the hotel
Organized tour: comprehensive tour with an emphasis on the Tatra Mountains, 7 nights half board - from EUR 1,390 per person in a double room.
Fly & Ride package: from EUR 499 per person for 3 passengers. Includes: Flights and car for 7 days
All-inclusive package: Splendid 3* AL Hotel by Ensana, from 899 euro per person in a double room + 1
including flights, 7 nights all inclusive and car.
The writer was a guest of Overseas Tourism of the Genesis Group and the Slovak Tourism Board.
- tourism
- World Travel
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Tags
- Slovakia
- Tours in Europe
- Spa