Poprad, Spisska Sobota and Aqua City
If you're planning to stay in Poprad, an industrial town in north-central Slovakia, it's quite likely you're going to Aqua City. This modern water-based resort has been developed since 2002 and is a symbol of the economic renewal of the Slovak Republic. What's more, it has been designed and engineered specifically to make the most of renewable sources of energy - an underground reservoir of water heated by geothermal energy, and solar panels built into the walls of the resort itself. So, you can bathe outside in water at over 30 degrees celsius even in winter, and enjoy a variety of different indoor pools from an Olympic-sized training pool to the more relaxing and warmer "Blue Diamond" and "Blue Saphire" pools. There's a range of other facilities including massage and cryotherapy. Every evening a thrilling laser light show entertains hundreds of bathers.
Aqua City gained the award as the World's Leading Green Travel Resort in 2007. You can get much more information from the resort website.
The facilities are open to day visitors, and there were hundreds of Slovaks of all ages enjoying themselves, but without it ever feeling crowded. We were staying in one of the two hotels (the Seasons), in a very comfortable family suite with a great view of the mountains (on a clear day). The restaurant was had a good selection of food and excellent service, with a view of the mountains. All in all it was a splendid place to stay for a family holiday at a reasonable price.
We had a great time there, considering that for the first half of our six-day stay it was grey and wet outside and we could only just make out the lower slopes of the High Tatras 10km to the north. Then it cleared up brilliantly and we were able to explore further afield, to Spis Castle and Levoca, the cable car at Tatransca Lomnica and a marvellous climb up Slavkovsky Stit.
Before the weather improved I was able to go for an exploratory run one morning. If you're staying at a Center Parcs resort in the UK you have miles to run to get out of the enclosure of the resort and explore the surrounding countryside. Aqua City on the other hand sits on the north-eastern edge of Poprad, between the main town and the smaller old town of Spisska Sobota, a little further north-west. I soon found my way to both town centres, each of them maybe a kilometer from Aqua City and easy to reach on foot. As I got back to the resort, the rain started again.
Walking to Poprad
However, the rain stopped again later in the morning, long enough for a family walk into Poprad. Walking out of the main entrance, we turned right to cross over the road bridge which gives access to the resort. Just on the other side, an unsurfaced path runs to the right alongside the river which flows through the centre of Poprad.
It is possible to continue along the bank of the river (as I had on my run), or to join the main road (as we did). Just after walking under the railway bridge a road leads up to the left (south-east). It looks like it's called "Okrutzna" on the map. About 100 metres up this road, the next road to the right leads directly to the town centre, where the road broadens out. It splits and becomes two pedestrian streets running either side of the main church. It took just 15-20 minutes to reach the shops.
Then we browsed around looking for swimming goggles, a swimsuit for a toddler, a warmer jacket, and some fresh fruit at a street market. There was an interesting contrast between the modern up-market sports shops (of which there were plenty) and the more dowdy old-fashioned general clothing stores which mainly served the local market.
Having eventually found what we were looking for, we stopped off at a pizza bar for a meal. By the time we were ready to walk back to Aqua City it was pouring with rain and we were glad of our umbrellas.
The town centre was quite busy until then, and we got the impression that significant improvements had been made to many of the buildings recently - but it still looks as if the tourism market has only really made much difference to the sports shops!
Walking to Spisska Sobota
The next day, after another good session in the pools, it was cloudy but dry, and we decided to walk to Spisska Sobota to see the old town centre and get some lunch.
Coming out of the main entrance, a second river runs in front of the resort just before joining the Poprad river, with a road crossing it via a second bridge and leading towards the local football stadium before turning right then left around it.
We crossed the bridge and walked round on the road (there was just an occasional slow-moving car to watch out for). Just to the east of the stadium the road ran alongside a small lake, with a view across towards the church tower on the low hill on which the old town was built. Ducks were swimming lazily across the surface and a man was sitting in his car watching to see if his fishing rod started to quiver.
A narrower path led round the other side of the lake, through trees, providing an alternative route to the road (but not very suitable with a pushchair).
The road bent right around the end of the lake (with a wide track cutting the corner), then climbed gently past a house and garden, leading up to the side of the main road. It was a quiet road nevertheless, and we crossed over and walked up the road ahead which climbed another 100 metres or so into the centre of Spisska Sobota.
There were a couple of pub/restaurants on the left but neither of them looked open. They were part of a line of renovated old buildings which continued into the town centre. At the top of the hill the road split around the perimeter of the fine old church to create a wide square (or, more exactly, an elongated space running gently down beyond the church to the right).
There were (as the Lonely Planet guidebook says) "colourful Renaissance merchants' and artisans' houses lining the central square". Clearly there had been a lot of renovation work carried out. Now there were a few hotels, and a museum, on the south side of the square, but I can't recall seeing a single shop! On the north side, the eaves of the buildings stretched out a couple of metres from the facades, perhaps to keep the rain off those walking on the pavement underneath. At the lower end of the "square" the two roads came back together and continued out of the town.
Looking for somewhere to eat, we were welcomed into one of the restaurants, through a wooden doorway and into a fine entrance hall, then into the dining room, but it looked too formal for a family with two young children. We thanked the manager and slipped out. There were a couple of others, similarly formal-looking. The buildings were wonderful to look at but didn't seem the kind of places where we could relax.
It was weird, there was this beautiful old town centre and hardly anyone in it. It was like walking through a big open-air museum. A few shops and bars could have made a difference, but these were all down in Poprad itself.
Going back down the road we had walked up 20 minutes earlier, we looked in at one of the restaurants, walking downstairs into a more relaxing bar area, but it was empty and when we managed to summon up a member of staff we were told it was closed.
Rather downhearted, we continued retracing our steps around the lake towards Aqua City, but then realised there was a pub-restaurant directly opposite it, just back across that bridge. Designed like a big timber lodge, it had plenty of room inside and outside for serving meals. Although it was busy we found a table in the fresh air outside (but under cover, fortunately, as there was a heavy shower). The Slovakian menu was a bit of a challenge, but we all enjoyed a good meal before returning to our hotel.
Two days later I made a third visit to Spisska Sobota, this time in the sunshine with little Ailsa, whilst the rest of the family were taking it easy after our cable car trip. This gave the opportunity to get some better photos in bright sunshine (see the Gallery). There were a few more people there - maybe 10 or 15 in the whole of the square!
Contributed by Andrew Llanwarne
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