Weekend: Fly your kite at festival near Slovakia's border

TRAVEL

Trnava's popular autumn fair

The third weekend of September will bring the traditional town fair to Trnava. This year's edition will feature even more live music, including troubadours and cymbalists, and you'll even experience a royal engagement. Masters and craftsmen from all over Slovakia will display their products at 350 stands in the town centre. The town tower will be open even longer during the fair, allowing you to see Trnava even during the night. A ceremonial shot will be fired from the town catapult too.

Ride on a retro tram in the High Tatras

If you are going to the High Tatras this or next weekend, take the opportunity to travel to Starý Smokovec and Štrbské Pleso on the historic tram Trojča from 1969. For more information and tickets, click here (in Slovak).

Historic tram Trojča from 1969. (source: TASR)

TIP: Near the highest motorway bridge in central Europe, taste delicious cheese and look for a boundary stone in a ditch.

ART

Open day in Trnava theatre

While you're in Trnava to enjoy the fair, don't miss the opportunity to visit Ján Palárik Theater Open Day on Saturday and celebrate its 50th season. You will get the chance to see backstage, including dressing rooms and make-up room, talk to the actors, and be shown upcoming projects. And that's just a small selection from the overall program that you can find here (in Slovak).

Film festival with a hundred films

This week, the 18th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival in Piešťany is taking place. Almost a hundred films from 26 countries around the world will be screened, many for the first time ever. In addition to movies, visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of accompanying events such as lectures, discussions, concerts, even a live recording of a film podcast. The program as well as other information is available on the festival website in English.

Attendees of last years's Cinematik festival. (source: TASR)

Learn to see Košice differently

Although the multi-genre festival Use the City started in Košice a few days ago in several heat-exchanger-stations-turned-culture points, the main event will take place on Sunday. The festival invites people to start looking at their city a little bit differently. Many Slovak as well as foreign artists will bring to life both well-known and lesser-known nooks and public spaces of the eastern Slovak city in the form of theatre and music performances, but also architectural interventions that change the character of the place. More information here, entry to all events is free.

TIP: While in the Košice Region, why not give a new treetop attraction a try?

SPORT

For your running fix

If you missed last week's run through Slovak Paradise, here is another run that might be up your alley. The Dobšinská Desiatka run will take place near the south-western edge of the national park and features two tracks, one 10 kilometres long, the other 7 kilometres long. The majority of both tracks take runners through the forest. You can register even on the day the run is held. For more information click here (in Slovak).

MISCELLANEOUS FUN

A kite parade near Bratislava

Just a stone's throw from the border, a 30-minute drive from Bratislava, lies the exquisite Baroque-Classicist Austrian mansion Schloss Hof. This weekend it is the place to be if you are a fan of kites, as various kites will be flown in its premises, ranging from historic to very futuristic. Even if you don't own a kite, they will help you make one in the creative workshops. For more information about the kite parade click here (in English).

Just a stone's throw from Bratislava a kite parade will be held this weekend. (source: TASR)

TIP: The next lecture in the SNG's Open Studio will be dedicated to cyanotype photography.

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 22-27: The 32nd International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra will bring performers from Belgium, Spain, Ukraine and other countries to the town of Nitra. The theme of this year's edition is reflections on socio-political issues.

September 12-24: In memory of Matúš Horváth and Juraj Vankulič, who were murdered in a terrorist attack last year, the Slovenská Tepláreň festival once again gathers clubs, pubs, bars, and other venues all over Slovakia with the goal to support LGBTI+ people.

BEFORE YOU GO

WHAT TO DO FOR FREE: A hike to a popular hill above Bratislava, or a concert of an Austro-British artist. What will you pick?

WHAT TO BE CHEERFUL ABOUT: NASA publishes a spectacular comet photo taken in Slovakia.

WHAT TO EXPLORE IN BRATISLAVA: A wine festival in the Rača borough, an international festival of chamber music that tells stories, or a burger street festival? There are many events in the capital to choose from.

WHAT TO TRY FROM SLOVAK CUISINE: How to make Slovak roast goose or duck.

WHAT TO READ: Slovak chef’s vegan kimchi wows international judges.

That's it for this week. Take care, and have a restful weekend!