Zilina

It took me a few weeks to get to Zilina, but finally 3 weeks ago I did it! The train from Bratislava takes 2 or 2,5 hours depending on if you take IC train (faster) or R train. The price is 10 to 13 euros. In IC trains, also in 2nd class, you get a free bottle of water! 1st class ticket is only a few euros more and there you also get tea or coffee. I took the IC train 2nd class ticket. I took this pic from the train, but I have completely forgotten the name of this castle :D
Edit: I have been informed this castle is Trencin:)

My friend met me at Zilina train station, even though I was waiting for him at the wrong place. Typical of me… The weather was quite nice all weekend and it was so nice to be outside after just sitting in the office all week. My previous visit to Zilina was over 5 years ago, don't remember that much of the city but it has changed a lot. On Saturday afternoon we walked to the castle. Budatin castle, as it is called, was built in the 13th century, and of course it has been renovated several times since that.

Some pics of Zilina

On Sunday we took the train to Strecno to visit the castle there, logically named Strecno Castle, or . It is only 10 mins train ride from Zilina, and the castle is not far from the station. It is just a bit uphill… note to self; you are totally out of shape! The view from there was just amazing and as you can see, it was very clear day. The first recorded mention of this castle is from 1316, and it is national cultural heritage of Slovakia. If you want to know more about this castle, here is a link to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stre%C4%8Dno_Castle

Below the castle they have Paseka, a reconstruction of a medieval village. They have several houses there; fisherman’s house, baker’s house, healer’s house and the shelter for pilgrims.

On Sunday afternoon I took the train back to Bratislava. The train was really full on the way back to Bratislava, had to stand first, and I already thought  have to stand the whole 2,5 hours (R train), but luckily I got a seat after about 30 mins when some people got off. At this point I already had 16 000 steps for the day according to my activity bracelet, so I did not want to stand any longer :D!

Zilina really is great place to visit if you like any outdoor activity. It is close to mountains, so you can go hiking, skiing, camping, rock climbing, paragliding etc. There are also rivers (Kysuca and Vah, which is the longest river in Slovakia) so you can go canoeing too. In Zilina not as many people speak English as in Bratislava I think, or at least I got this expression on my short visit. I guess it is because there are not that many foreigners, tourists or expats, there so people don't get to practice their English that much.

In my previous visit to Zilina we went to Vratna Valley to hike in Mala Fatra mountains, here's a few pics from there.

A week after that, 2 weeks ago I took a 4 day weekend, and went to Poprad, to the High Tatras to get some fresh mountain air. I will try to do my post from there this weekend, but don't hold your breath waiting for it :D. I am also writing a post about settling in to Bratislava, and all the things you have to get done when moving here. And next weekend I am going to Sofia, Bulgaria, just for the weekend though. So more posts to come, stay tuned...