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Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), with a population of over 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice.The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. In the 9th century, they established the Principality of Nitra, which was later conquered by the Principality of Moravia to establish Great Moravia. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary, which would then become the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed. The area was recovered largely thanks to Béla IV of Hungary, who also settled Germans, leading them to become an important ethnic group in the area, especially in what are today parts of central and eastern Slovakia.

After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the state of Czechoslovakia was established. The first Slovak Republic existed during World War II as a partially-recognized client state of Nazi Germany. At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was re-established as an independent country. After a coup in 1948, Czechoslovakia came under communist administration, and became a part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. Attempts to liberalize communism in Czechoslovakia culminated in the Prague Spring, which was crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution peacefully ended the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce.

Slovakia is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy, ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It also performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system, providing citizens with a universal health care, free education, and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD.[13] Slovakia is a member of NATO, CERN, the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen Area, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe, the Visegrád Group, and the OSCE. It is the world's largest per-capita car producer; it manufactured a total of 1.1 million cars in 2019, representing 43% of its total industrial output.

Foods in Slovakia :
(1) Bryndzové Halušky : 

This hearty meal is the national dish of Slovakia. It is right up there as one of the most important of the country’s foods.Bryndzové halušky consists of a wholesome combination of potato dumplings with roasted bacon and sheep’s cheese.Slovaks use a high-quality, soft, and creamy locally-produced sheep’s cheese, bryndza, in this dish. Bryndza is one of Slovakia’s most beloved cheeses, and it is very much a source of national pride.Once the dumplings are filled with cheese, the dish is topped with sour cream, fried onion, spring onion, and crispy bacon pieces.The savory notes from the sour cream, combined with the acidity of the onions, make this a dish with a sharp and delicious flavor.The doughy version of this dish is Bryndzové pirohy. It consists of pierogi-style dumplings made of dough, filled with the traditional Slovak sheep’s cheese.The latter version pairs delightfully well with a glass of sour sheep’s milk, žinčica, which has a tangy, fermented taste. Strapačky is another version that uses stewed sauerkraut instead of sheep’s cheese.

(2) Kapustnica :

Kapustnica is a delicious cabbage or sauerkraut soup. It is one of the most warming and soothing Slovakian dishes.The soup is a hearty mixture of sauerkraut, dried mushrooms, sliced sausage, and onions. It is served with a dollop of sour cream.This dish is a sumptuous combination of nutmeg, smoked sausage, spices like paprika, garlic, and baked bread. It is sure to get your taste buds tingling.Amazingly, you can often find the soup served in a bowl made of bread. If you’re ever in the country, you have to try it! The bread bowl absorbs the juicy flavors, while the outside crust remains crunchy.Kapustnica is one of the most recognizable Slovak foods, and it is an important dish in Slovakian cuisine. It is eaten as an appetizer, but it is also a part of the traditional Christmas dinner.

(3) Fazuľová Polievka : 

Fazuľová Polievka is a rich and creamy sour bean soup. It has a base of fazula beans, a spotted, colorful bean native to Slovakia.This traditional Slovak soup has a deep, smokey taste. This is due to the combination of softened fazula beans and the use of sliced smoked bacon in the recipe.Sour cream, milk, flour, potato, and vinegar help form a thick, creamy base, while garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves inject a little spice and sour notes into the taste.Fazuľová Polievka is usually served with butter and crusty bread. It can be eaten either as a starter or as a main course. It’s true comfort in a bowl, that’s for sure.

(4) Prívarok : 

Prívarok is a hearty traditional Slovakian dish. This legume and vegetable stew can have different tastes, depending on the ingredients used.Commonly, these are cabbage, beans, lentils, cauliflower, spinach, potatoes, peas, or winter squash. The soup thickened with flour and whipping cream.Seasonings included in the stew are salt, pepper, and dill. It is usually served with a fried egg and diced potatoes, or bread, but you can also combine it with smoked meat and sausage for extra protein.As a Slovakian food, it has diverse flavors. It is rich, soothing, and very tasty.

(5) Segedin Goulash : 

Segedin goulash is the Slovak version of Hungarian goulash. It is the perfect combination of sour and savory, and very much a beloved comfort food in Slovakia.Segedin goulash consists of pork shoulder chunks stewed with sauerkraut and thickened with heavy cream. This gives the dish makes a thick, creamy texture, and softer, milder taste.Sometimes sour cream is used for a tangier taste. The sauerkraut used in the goulash is heavily seasoned with paprika.This dish is traditionally served with dumplings, but you can also find it served with rice.

Weather & geography in  Slovakia  :

The country can be described as having a fairly typical European continental climate with warm, dry summers and cold winters. ... Autumn and winter stretch from around September to May, with January its coldest month, and spring and summer from May to August with, July the warmest month.The average daily temperature in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia ranges from -3° to 2° C (27° to 36° F) in January. In July the range is from 16° to 26° C (61° to 79° F). Temperatures are lower in the mountains. The average annual rainfall in Bratislava is 650mm. Snow falls in the regions of high altitudes for around 130 days every year.Apart from the Carpathians which are wetter and experience more snow than the other areas, most of the places have almost similar weather conditions. Slovakia weather undergoes changes at different times of the year and is determined by the seasons.
The longest period of consistent weather conditions in Slovakia occur during the winter when the days are cold but calm. The most unpleasant weather in Slovakia comes during the winter months when the easterly winds flow in Slovakia from Russia. Low temperatures persist for a number of days.
Weather of Slovakia changes again during spring and summer. Both these seasons are characterized by wet weather conditions. In fact these two are the wettest seasons in Slovakia. The summer days in Slovakia are moderately warm and experience fine weather. But thunderstorms occur intermittently. Slovakia almost never has extremely hot weather. Disturbances in weather of Slovakia are caused by the disturbances in the northern Mediterranean.Thus it is noticed that the weather in Slovakia is influenced by a temperate climate. The weather of Slovakia changes from cool summers to cold and humid winters. Overall Slovakia weather is quite pleasant.
Per day Cost in Slovakia  :
How much money will you need for your trip to Slovakia? You should plan to spend around €101 ($119) per day on your vacation in Slovakia, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, €30 ($35) on meals for one day and €19 ($23) on local transportation.

History of Slovakia  :

The Celts were the first population in the territory of present-day Slovakia who can be identified on the basis of written sources. The first Celtic groups came from the West around 400 BC. Settlements of the La Tène culture indicate that the Celts colonized the lowlands along the river Danube and its tributaries. The local population was either subjected by the Celts or withdrew to the mountainous northern territory. New Celtic groups arrived from Northern Italy during the 2nd century BC. The Celts initially lived in tiny huts – 4 by 3 metres (13 ft × 10 ft) in size – which either formed small villages or were scattered across the countryside.Some of the small hill forts which were built in the 1st century BC developed into important local economic and administrative centers. For example, the hill fort at Zemplín was a center of iron-working; glass works were unearthed at Liptovská Mara; and local coins were struck at Bratislava and Liptovská Mara. Coins from Bratislava bore inscriptions like Biatec and Nonnos. The fort at Liptovská Mara was also an important center of the cult of the bearers of the Púchov culture of the Northern Carpathians.

Burebista, King of the Dacians, invaded the Middle Danube region and subjugated the majority of the local Celtic tribes (the Boii and the Taurisci) around 60 BC. Burebista's empire collapsed after he died about 16 years later. Archaeological sites yielding painted ceramics and other artefacts of Dacian provenance suggest that Dacian groups settled among the local Celts in the region of the rivers Bodrog, Hron and Nitra. The spread of the "Púchov culture", associated with the Celtic Cotini, shows that the bearers of that culture started a northward expansion during the same period.

The Romans and the Germanic tribes launched their first invasions against the territories along the Middle Danube in the last decade of the 1st century BC. Roman legions crossed the Danube near Bratislava under the command of Tiberius to fight against the Germanic Quadi in 6 AD, but the local tribes' rebellion in Pannonia forced the Romans to return.Taking advantage of internal strifes, the Romans settled a group of Quadi in the lowlands along the Danube between the rivers Morava and Váh in 21, making Vannius their king. The Germans lived in rectangular houses, rather than square ones, and cremated their dead, placing the ashes in an urn.

Although the Danube formed the frontier between the Roman Empire and the "Barbaricum", the Romans built small outposts along the left bank of the Danube, for instance, at Iža and Devín. During the same period, the Germanic tribes were expanding to the north along the rivers Hron, Ipeľ and Nitra. Roman troops crossed the Danube several times during the Marcomannic Wars between 160 and 180. Emperor Marcus Aurelius accomplished the first chapter of his Meditations during a campaign against the Quadi in the region of the Hron River in 172. The "Miracle of the Rain" – a storm which saved an exhausted Roman army – occurred in the land north of the Danube in 173; Christian authors attributed it to a Christian soldier's prayer. Roman troops crossed the Danube for the last time in 374, during Emperor Valentinian I's campaign against the Quadi who had allied with the Sarmatians and invaded the Roman province of Pannonia.