As you will know if you follow me on twitter or instagram, a while back, I was lucky enough to be invited on a press trip to visit Košice in Slovakia. I was travelling with the gorgeous Abi (My Girls On Tour) and Laila (Laila Loves & Meet The Vloggers) – I hadn’t met either of them before this trip and I can firmly say now that they are both absolute dreamboats!
I covered the whole trip in a pair of vlogs over on youtube which I will put in at the bottom of this post, but I have also been meaning to write a blog post about it for ages – so here we are:
Exploring the Beautiful City of Kosice: The Fifteen things not to miss!
- Drink some Horachka
(That is how it pronounced….I have no idea how it is spelt!) A traditional Slovakian drink – A Flaming shot of palm liquor and honey which was actually really nice, if a little strong! - Visit the Singing Fountain
It is exactly what it says on the tin, a fountain that sings; and if you go at night, the coloured lights look absolutely stunning too!
- Visit the Kulturpark
This was a project for the European Capital of Culture 2013 and is seriously cool, with magnets and mirrors, projectors and robotics – it kept us entertained for hours! - Climb the Wooden Observation Watchtower
After a lovely walk through the woods you get to the bottom of this tower, and then you climb your way to the top. The views were incredible, and it really wasn’t that tough a climb, if a bit wobbly at the very top but I imagine that is due to it being made of wood… We even found a playground when we got back to the bottom again with a zip-line; definitely not designed for adults but we all had a go! http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/attractions/watchtower - Give your legs a rest on the little street train
The cobbled streets can tire out your legs, but the little street train stops at regular intervals down the main street, so hop on and take a ride! - Visit the Tabačka
An old tobacco factory that has been turned into a creative space for artists of all forms (theatres, galleries, offices, studios etc). They also have a bistro that uses it’s profit to support the creatives who work there! - Take a trip on the Children’s Railway Steam Train
This train is not only a good little trip, but the ticket inspectors are all local children, who punch the tickets as well as getting to help with the operation of the train, changing tracks etc – they love it so much too, it was so lovely to see – we got a cheeky invite into the engine of the train too which was hotter than the sun but amazing to see! http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/attractions/children-railway
- Have a pint at Hostinec
The oldest bar in central europe which opened in 1542 – amazing food and also, a little one for you tea-addicts like me, they have English Breakfast Tea!!! - Take a Selfie with your Zodiac Sign at the Zodiac Fountain
Apparently that’s the tradition, though I didn’t realise selfies had been around long enough to be part of a tradition….clearly I’m getting old! - Visit the Light Up Umbrellas
I really hope these are still there! When we visited I had a google before we went to see what we should definitely see, and these were on there – well worth a visit and a photo! (There is also a bar just above them which has a bar made entirely out of books!) - Drink some Lemonade
All around Kosice, on every menu there are hundreds of different varieties of “lemonade”, it’s one of those little traditions. We had about 4 different flavours over the 2 days we were there – including “Lime & Coconut”, “Orange & Strawberry”, “Ginger & Mint” and “Strawberry & Elderflower” which was my favourite!
- Take in the local market traders
We even saw a man carving an Angel out of a tree, using a chainsaw (which he then taught me to use – terrifying!) Apparently he also made one for the pope! - See the Treasure of Košice
In a proper treasure vault with a serious safe door in the East Slovak Museum lies thousands of golden coins, each numbered so you can see where they were from etc; seriously worth a visit! http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/art-and-culture/museums - Indulge in some local cuisine
The National Dish of Slovakia is “Bryndzove Halusky” which is potato dumplings in a sheep cheese sauce with bacon, sour cream & chives on top – yum! You can get it in a lot of the traditional restaurants so make sure you give it a try! - See the City from the top of the church tower
Visit the biggest church in Slovakia and climb the 200 steps to the top of the tower – the view is amazing and you can also ring the bell at the very top!
This was a press trip, and so the trip and all our costs were covered for us, however all views and recommendations as always are my own!
Thank you to the team at Visit Košice for the invite, for making us so welcome and for showing us around your fantastic city! I’ll be back!
For more information about Košice, have a look at the Visit Košice website!
Here are my two vlogs from the trip too – hope you enjoy:
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