Slovakia Archives - Runaway Brit

Čičmany: Slovakia’s Charming Gingerbread Houses

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 Bratislava, Europe, Expat, Featured, Tourist Attraction, Tradition cicmany, design, museum, Slovakia

Čičmany in central Slovakia comes straight from the pages of a fairy-tale book. The picturesque village sits in a verdant meadow surrounded by pine forests, but this is not what makes it so delightful. What's

Kayaking on the Danube in Bratislava

April 25, 2020April 25, 2020 Bratislava, City Break, Europe, Expat, Expat Life, Featured, Nature, Tourist Attraction, Travelling, Working Overseas Bratislava, danube, kayaking, lake, Slovakia

Peeping through the trees ahead of me, the iconic shape of the castle reminds me that although I am kayaking in the countryside, I’m actually still in the city. That’s the beauty of Bratislava, one

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

March 21, 2020March 22, 2020 Bratislava, Europe, Expat, Expat Life, Featured, Friends and Family, Health & Fitness, Teaching, Working Overseas Bratislava, coronavirus, europe, international teaching, Slovakia, teaching

With coronavirus currently decimating the travel industry, it’s a good time to write about my life as an international teacher instead. I don’t write frequently, because I can't travel full-time like I'd hoped I would

Why You Should Visit the Bratislava Christmas Markets This Season

December 15, 2019December 15, 2019 Bratislava, City Break, Europe, Featured, Food and Drink, Tourist Attraction, Travelling Bratislava, christmas market, market, Slovakia

Once again, Christmas—the most wonderful time of the year—is upon us; and Bratislava just burst into life with festive crooners singing jovially of snow, sleigh-bells and chestnuts roasting on open fires. Ridiculously cute wooden cabins

Košice, Slovakia: Try Once, Love Forever

October 13, 2018October 13, 2018 City Break, Europe, Featured, Health & Fitness, History, Tourist Attraction, Travelling biela noc, Kosice, marathon, peace marathon, Slovakia, white night

Home of Europe's Oldest Annual Marathon Slovakia is an underrated travel destination; most people I meet have never heard of it, and could not point it out on a map, so it was surprising to learn

Europe Travel: Eight Lakes in Six Days

July 24, 2018August 13, 2018 Europe, Featured, Nature, Tourist Attraction austria, balaton, bled, bohinj, europe, Hallstatt, heviz, hungary, lake, lake bled, mondsee, Slovakia, slovenia, wolfgangsee, zlaty piesky

"What do you want to see on our trip around Europe?" I asked my friend. "Mountains, lakes, or beaches" came the reply. Lakes, it is then. Because Europe is so compact, one of the best

10 of the Best European Old Towns to Visit this Spring

February 10, 2018February 10, 2018 City Break, Europe, Featured, History, Top Ten, Tourist Attraction, Travelling Bratislava, Budva, corfu, dubrovnik, gamla stan, Hallstatt, mostar, Old Towns, prague, Slovakia, stockholm, tallinn, Trencin

Who doesn't love visiting a Historic Old Town? My teaching career has shuttled between Europe and Asia on more than a few occasions: I moved from the UK to Vietnam in 2007, Vietnam to Sweden

A Snowy Weekend in the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 Bratislava, City Break, Europe, Expat Life, Featured, Nature, Tourist Attraction, Travelling Bratislava, Slovakia, Tatra mountains, Tatras, Tatrasky

A few weeks ago, I was tired of the rainy, grey, city sky. I desperately wanted blue sky, crisp air, and plenty of snow. I longed to see mountains; and for that, I would have

Čachtice: The Castle of the Bloody Countess

November 17, 2017November 19, 2017 Bratislava, Europe, Featured, History, Tourist Attraction, Travelling ?achtice, Elizabeth Bathory, Slovakia

It’s on a frigid Sunday in late October that I find myself climbing towards the ruins of a 13th Century limestone castle in Čachtice, Slovakia. Battling a bitter wind I draw my coat closer around

A Year in the Life of an International Teacher

July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 Bratislava, Europe, Expat, Expat Life, Featured, Travelling, Working Overseas austria, bojnice, Bratislava, castle, cornwall, expat, heviz, hungary, iceland, international teaching, lake, looe, mountain, salzburg, Slovakia

I often get people asking me about life as an international teacher, so to honour 10 years of living overseas I have put this post together to show you what a year in my life

Spring in Bratislava is a great time to visit!

April 3, 2017April 25, 2020 Bratislava, City Break, Europe, Expat Life, Featured, Health & Fitness, Travelling Bratislava, expat, expat life, Slovakia, spring

Readjusting to a European winter after two years of perpetual summer in India has been harder than I thought. I’m not sure why, because I like winter. For the last few months in Mumbai I’d

Boulanger & Patissiere: Bratislava’s Macaron Masterclass

March 19, 2017March 19, 2017 Bratislava, Europe, Expat, Expat Life, Featured, Food and Drink Boulanger & Patissiere, Bratislava, cooking class, macaron, Slovakia

I’ve always liked the look of a dainty, brightly coloured, meringue macaron. You know, the ones that you see piled delicately on silver platters in fancy cake shops? They look exquisite, but as I'm more

Orava Castle: Inside the Lair of a Vampire

November 27, 2016December 16, 2016 Europe, Featured, Literature, Tourist Attraction, Travelling dracula, Nosferatu, Orava, Orava Castle, Ovavsky Hrad, Slovakia

The flickering, grainy image of a hunched figure creeping up a silhouetted staircase, his claw-like hand extending towards a shadowed door, is an iconic piece of cinema history belonging to the 1922 German Expressionist movie,

Festivals, Food & Fun: Seven Weeks in Bratislava

October 16, 2016October 16, 2016 Bratislava, Europe, Expat, Expat Life, Featured, Food and Drink, Tourist Attraction, Tradition Bratislava, burciak, cabbage festival, festivals, langos, Slovakia, stupava, white night

Having lived in Bratislava for only seven weeks I am still new to Slovak culture, particularly as I knew very little about either Slovakia or the city before I came here. It is true to say,

A Day Trip to Devin Castle from Bratislava

October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 Bratislava, Europe, Expat Life, Featured, History, Tourist Attraction, Travelling Bratislava, castle, Devin, nature, Slovakia, walk

Autumn has arrived in Bratislava. Only last week I wore summer dresses and flip-flops, but this week it’s all scarves, winter coats and boots. When yesterday dawned cold but sunny, I went for a walk

The One Where I Moved to Bratislava

August 23, 2016September 12, 2016 Bratislava, Europe, Expat Life, Featured, Travelling, Working Overseas Bratislava, expat, living overseas, Slovakia

Just like that, two years passed and I was standing with all my bags at Mumbai airport ready to leave India for another new life somewhere else. You can see my last day in India by