FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Happy Birthday Elliot!

Look at the difference 2 days of snow makes!

Happy Birthday Elliot! Well we asked for snow and snow it did! Stary Smokovec had taken on a whole new magical look and feel, the copious fresh snow also meant much better skiing conditions. The whole group oohed and aahed at the transformed surroundings all the way to Jasna in the low Tatras. Unfortunately for me, my lungs had relegated me to the status of "non-skier". At Jasna, I was to "wander and shop" with the others at the bottom until lunch time while the rest of the family skied. Bah! We cafe-hopped before settling for lunch at Angus Restaurant where we rendezvoused with the skiers.

A skiing report from the skiers (Mal):

Jasna is a massive ski resort with a vast array of runs and chairlifts. It was busier than the other mountains, but that may have been due to the ideal conditions or because people had time to travel after spending Christmas eve with their families. There is a short school break at the moment. This meant something that we hadn't encountered on the ski fields to date: lines! This was only really an issue at the base because one of the two main base lifts was out of action. This pushed us higher up the mountain into the upper red and above areas otherwise it would've been a 20 minute wait between runs. This would've been an issue of day 1, but we had regained a bit of muscle memory and, more importantly, the snow was now pure powder without the wind and icy sections. It has only been a few days, but now the snow making machines were no longer required and looking around from the chairlift all one could see was white.

If we ever return I would look to ski in mid-January just after the kids return to school and to catch the snow like it is now. It would also be worth looking into the fast pass system. There are three lines: A general line, a line for ski schoolers and a "fast pass" line. There didn't seem to be an option for this via go-pass, but I wasn't specifically looking for it and the pages require translation.

Trees that looked brown and bare a few days ago look that much better with snow on it!

At the bottom of Jasna

Our group, our van and Roman, our driver!

The non-skiers!

Funky cafe

Faux fur walls!

Warm thick hot chocolate European style

With the group reunited, we headed for Tatralandia. It is a large water fun park with a series of indoor and outdoor pools (normal and thermal), waterslides and the optional extra of Celtic Sauna World. Unfortunately, even with a combo ticket you can't repeatedly hop between the Sauna World and the rest of Tantralandia. You have three hours in Sauna World but once you leave Sauna World you leave.

Celtic Sauna World is a little hard to describe. For obvious reasons, cameras are not allowed inside so we don't have any photos. There are 21 saunas/steamrooms all in small complex that is downstairs with no windows. The structure resembles a big cavern with quite well done faux rock walls housing the wooden doors to the various saunas. There was a board outside each room describing the temperature, features and dress recommendations. The wooden etched and painted boards were also "themed" so, along with the walls and the background music (that was somewhere between tribal and whale), the whole place had a vibe that was a bit like some of the lines in the US theme parks. One major difference, however, was the intermittent passing of completely naked men and women who casually ambled between saunas without bothering to encumber themselves with either of the two sheets that were provided.

OK, so it's time to discuss European sauna etiquette. Firstly, we are not prudes. We enjoy onsens and proudly wear the tiny towels on our heads. Onsens, however, are usually split into gender groups and tend to be a lot steamier. Here you are given two sheets - one smaller one that is large enough to wrap around your waist and one larger one to lie on in rooms where the benches are too hot for comfortable skin contact. The choice to wear the smaller one is optional, except in the water or steam rooms where no sheets are allowed.

We giggled our way through the various rooms trying not to be too loud so as to maintain the relaxing ambience. The children actually loved it but being the heat intolerant people that we were, we didn't last the whole three hours that we were allocated! The highlight was the outdoor hot jacuzzi situated next to the Well of Courage. The concept is simple - get out of the hot bath and then jump into the neck deep icy well... and then get out naked! Lara is never cold so she did it without blinking. Malcolm was the only other one to do it and made a much bigger fuss. He was very quick to grab the sheet of modesty after that one.

Next was Tatralandia. By night it is an outdoor pool disco party/rave/orgy. By day it is a family fun zone with the pools and waterslides. We tried them all and then spent some time at the swim up bar until we were sick of being prunes.

Elliot's birthday would finish with a group dinner at a Koliba not too far from Jasna. It was in a high end hotel with live entertainment. Peter had organised a Slovakian birthday cake complete with "Happy Birthday" in Slovak on top. It's lucky that we told him that we only wanted a small one because it more than fed all of us plus Martin and the driver. Sťastné narodeniny Elliot!