Aroma. Flavor. Impression. That's how you know a sip of good coffee. Head to an ancient city that has fallen in love with modern coffee culture and everything that goes with it. In the Trnava region, you can also taste a sweet drink that guaranteed beauty and youth to ancient gods.
All (coffee drinkers') roads lead to Little Rome
In Trnava, which is often called Slovakia's Little Rome due to the abundance of religious buildings, be sure to visit the fascinating Synagogue Café. Don't be fooled by its modestly inconspicuous facade. In a stylish cafe located in a former Orthodox synagogue, you will be served fragrant coffee and homemade desserts in an impressive space full of refined details and art. You can also enjoy talks and concerts here.
You can also find exceptional fragrant and tasty experiences at Nádvorie (Courtyard), a new multifunctional area in the city center. In its inner square, you will come across freelancers using modern coworking spaces, but also artists coming from Malý Berlín (Little Berlin), a cultural center with a wide range of film and theater performances, and concerts. Enter beer & bistro Akademia, where modern cuisine is creatively inspired by traditional flavors. Why not try homemade sourdough bread with beef tartare, or pepper-wine sausage and wash it down with a hot malt drink? You will surely choose from a wide selection of craft beers from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Right next door is the kaviareň Thalmeiner (Thalmeiner cafe), which will win you over with its honest approach to the cafe craft, but also with the design of the First Republic. The beautiful mosaic floor, walls with stucco flowers, and high-quality solid furniture are a feast for the eyes. Come here for brunch, homemade cakes, or top-quality coffee. Legendary sandwiches with various spreads and a view of Trojičné námestie (Trinity Square) are popular among regular customers.
Photo: www.trnka.sk
You can also view it from the 60-meter City Tower, the most visited Trnava attraction. The Renaissance building hides a unique mechanical clockwork in its bowels, which still has to be manually wound once a day by an experienced watchmaker. You can also see the medieval city walls from here. In the unique atmosphere of one of the towers, you can enjoy a drink, homemade lemonade, or excellent coffee from Bali. In the Tower Lounge Bar, the pleasant service is combined with the level of the entire bar space, and the quality of wine from the Trnava region is combined with cakes that you want to eat just because of their wonderful look.
Photo: www.severnaveza.sk
Are you more attracted to the underground? Go on a special tour combined with wine tasting, which will draw you into the famous history of Trnava winemaking. In the vast cellar labyrinth under the burgher houses, the city under the city, you will discover oak barrels where only the best quality wine was once matured. And you will also visit the most important religious monuments of the city - Katedrála sv. Jána Krstiteľa (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist) with a rare all-wooden altar from the 17th century or the two-towered Bazilika sv. Mikuláša (Basilica of St. Nicolaus), will enchant you with the grandeur of the Gothic with elements of the Baroque.
Photo: Región Trnava
Slovak liquid gold in a thousand ways
Have you ever tasted mead? According to legends, it was already drunk by the ancient gods. The delicious nectar gave them beauty, youth, and immortality. Follow in this nectar‘s footsteps to the nearby Dolná Krupá. In the unique area of Medolandia, the world of first-class processed honey will be revealed before your eyes. Respect for one of the oldest crafts can be felt at every step. For the tasting, you will be taken under the installation of a huge honeycomb in the room of Ambrozianum named after the patron saint of all beekeepers. In the honey tower, in addition to the prestigious Apimed mead awards, you will also be shown a gigantic drop of honey. Medovinoteka will enchant you with a wide range of natural bee products. If you get hungry, visit the beautifully renovated 200-year-old premises of the restaurant with a rich offer of genuine Slovak and foreign specialties. It was named after Countess Mária Henrieta Choteková. Thanks to her, the intoxicating scent of roses can be felt in the air. The scent wafts from the magical rose gardens near the classicist mansion, where Beethoven presumable composed the Moonlight Sonata. The romantic tones of her pensive adagio are best enjoyed in the adjacent English park, perfect for romantic walks.
Photo: www.medolandia.sk
How about trying a honey beer or a delicious honey distillate aged in an oak barrel? In the honey cafe of the Včelovina family business in Smolenice, liquid Slovak gold is processed in a thousand ways. Here you will also be offered different types of honey - linden, forest, agave or spring pasted - and a refreshing low-alcohol honey cider, to which cold hops lend a citrusy touch. Each product contains exclusively honey from its bee apiaries in the area and spring water from the Small Carpathians Mountains. By the way, did you know that a teaspoon of honey is the lifetime work of twelve bees? You will learn this in the unique beekeeping garden, which will guide you through the story of bee products in an experiential way: from the flowers in the meadow to the selfless work of the bees, the patient care of the beekeeper to the glass of the sweet honey on your table. Just a stone´s throw from here, you find the Smolenice Castle, which is in demand by film crews from all around the world for its fairy-tale look.
Photo: www.vcelovina.sk
Cover photo: Trnka gastronomy, Patrik Gubiš
