At Christmas I had 5 days off, so me and my friend decided to get to the mountains somewhere. We were looking for places both in the Tatra mountains and the Mala Fatra mountains, and ended up in Terchova in the Mala Fatra mountains. That area is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, but very much unknown outside Slovakia. That might be a very good thing too! We rented a 2 bedroom very nice apartment, attached to a family home but still very separate from them, so we had total privacy. We had walking distance everywhere and it was very comfortable, and the price was also reasonable.
The best way to get there from Bratislava is to take a train to Zilina, and then bus to Terchova. Terchova is in the Zilina district in northern Slovakia. The weather is of course unpredictable at that time of the year (when isn't it?) and we had some rain (and also snow!!) but also some sun, so it was ok. Main thing was just to relax and go somewhere instead of just staying at home. Hiking in the mud was not so much though :D We did some hiking and spent a lot of time on that comfy couch watching tv and cooking good food. I did the cooking mostly, my friend did the dishes, good deal!
If you are looking for great place to hike, remember this place, you won't find much better place to go! These pics are in no particular order, for some reason they download in different order than I click them.
There pics I took from the train on our way back to Bratislava
And then the covid-19 update... Things are definitely better here now, numbers have gone down A LOT. Daily new cases is about 200 to 300, and the death count increases about 20 or 30 a day anymore. So things are opening up... There is no curfew anymore, terraces are open and I think next week also restaurants open indoors. Mask is no longer mandatory outdoors, but indoors (shops and busses etc) you m must have FFP2 respirator still. They used to have color codes black, dark red, red and light red, but I guess that was not enough, so they added orange, yellow and green. They have a huge list of services, and every color has their own restrictions in everything, and the color depends on the district you live in. Until then I was able to follow the rules, now I don't have a clue what they are anymore! No district is on green yet, but next week some will be on yellow, and I think only a few are dark red.
Then the vaccination, holy FUCK!!! I registered for vaccination, then I wanted to add more places where I could go take it, but couldn't sign in. My friend (local, because of the language), called to health service's service number, and first they complained why am I getting vaccine here because I am a foreigner. Then he couldn't find my registration. My friend called again, and IT cancelled my registration, that was the advice I was given by others who had the same issue. Then I registered again, at this time it had been about a month from my registration. I was on my first trip outside Bratislava when I got message that I have appointment in 4,5 hours (they say they will let you know 2 days in advance), so I had to cancel it. Cancelled and registered again.
Then in a week, a week ago, I got a call from health services, first they complained that I don't have insurance. Yes I do, it is mandatory here, I have public health insurance that covers vaccination. They said the problem is my identification number, rodne cislo, is incorrect, in my insurance card it starts with 15, and it has to start with your birth year, in my case 71, and that I first have to get new insurance card with correct rodne cislo, and then register again. So they cancelled my registration. I asked how come I then got even the appointment if it was wrong, the answer was "I don't know", but she said they would have denied the vaccination if I had been there. Ok... so I messaged my insurance company that I need a new card with correct rodne cislo. Their reply was that I probably made a mistake in registration. No I did not. They called me and insisted about the registration, even though the issue has NOTHING to do with the registration, the registration was fine. They kept saying I must have put the number from insurance card (the wrong one starting with 15) to rodne cislo in registration. Which I didn't because IT IS NOT POSSIBLE IN THE SYSTEM! I said that at least 5 times but she just kept going... I even yelled at her that she is not listening, then she said she will listen, and interrupted me in 5 seconds. The result; I am not getting a new insurance card, they will do nothing (she said she will confirm and get back to me, never did), so I can't register again, can't get vaccine here.
I read in the local foreigner's group that many received the same phone call, so they are cleaning the waiting list from foreigners. And all this happened right after they stopped using Astra Zeneca, but I am sure it is just a coincidence. Just some hospital managers have said they put citizens first and forget the foreigners, but sure it doesn't matter... I have read so many examples how health services here don't like foreigners at all but this is the first time I am experiencing it myself. But, a friend of mine told me I would get it in Romania, because they vaccine everybody who wants it, and I also my residence permit is still valid. I might get it also in Ireland, since I have my PPS card.
But, then I checked, Romania is open for Slovakia! Already last summer my plan was to spend some time in Romania, and now I am going to do it this summer. Hopefully in a month I will be in Romania, spending some weeks there, working from there, meeting my friends and seeing my favorite places... First stop will be Brasov (duh), then I am planning on visiting Finland, and then maybe back to Romania, to Constanta by the Black Sea for a while. In Brasov I would also get my vaccine. So that is what I am planning now, it is good that I can work anywhere as long as I have my laptop and internet. I still have a "few" issues to solve and figure out, but I am sure it will be ok :)
I thought this would be a short post, and it was short about Terchova, then I started ranting about vaccination :D
Since I am so lazy in posting here, you can check my pics right away in my Instagram www.instagram.com/nomad.riitta
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