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The good part of 2008 and into 2009 I spent a year in the lovely town of Púchov - pronounce: Poo-go (that will do so they know what you mean and won't understand “The Morons”…well for my German visitors it's easier: Puh-chou).
Tu to stále žije.
It's really amazing how little you actually go visit other parts of the country if you are not a tourist. And !important if you end up in a place where the people are so nice. They were really welcoming after a short dewing time, ultimately curious and always out there to make things happen - be it their local football field needed a renovation, a party weekend with friends, or simply spending quality time with their families (and still a place in the car for someone without one at hand), I've never seen so many people so busy with things they enjoyed.
So I spent most of the time in and around Púchov, most of the time drunk.
Slovaks love beer, seriously it's like second nature to them - and that means a lot to a German like me.
The second most famous drink is destilled something. Anything that doesn't climb out of the bucket is turned into alcohol…first fermented carefully over months, and finally there's a still in each village.
“Oh wait that must be dangerous when local people brew and destill on their own…” - tell you what, I'm much more willing to trust a man who drinks his own stuff, is still able to see after so many years of under-the-influence and even gives it to his children and grandchildren; than a multi-national multi-billion Euros company that as all multi-billion-Euros-entities has profit as item #1 on every agenda!
Especially if you're into nature the Fatra and Tatra are a beautiful place to be. Part of the Carpathian Mountains spanning half of Europe (if you neglect the fact that Russia spans half of Europe on closer inspection) the area is great for medium to high intensity hikes, since there's a lot of hills and mountains around.
I think the easiest way to get an impression is if you have a look at the picture gallery:
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