Skiing with kids in Donovaly, Slovakia

As we mentioned, we discovered that our kids are little skiers. We were mostly surprised by Agatha, who after one week of training was the best skier of all of us.

We were in the Low Tatras mountains. After a night spent in the charming mountain chalet we took the road to the south. There is the village of Donovaly. It is a very popular ski resort, mainly due to the fact that the location is perfect for practicing this sport. There are excellent facilities in the form of a dozen ski lifts and several slopes - all of this is named Park Snow Donovaly.

We were interested in the ski activities for children that we found on the website. It is called Patty Ski Fun Park. On site, however, we found that it was dedicated to children who were just taking their first steps on skis. For our children it was definitely not appealing. A bit of a disappointment. We had been expecting something completely different.

We quickly assessed the situation and decided to go to a big lift with the older children, while Ania and Justine spent the time sledding. We rented ski equipment and bought ski passes for 2 hours of fun.

Everyone who saw our children was amazed, this time Agatha surprised the T-bar lift operator. The lift was different than the one we knew from Gliczarów. Here, the slope was steeper, the lift was faster and it jerked. The operator thought that Agatha was too small to deal with the lift alone. She showed him that she’s not. And off she went …

It was so cool that I really lost count of how many times we rode to the top of the slope. We were switching between the chairlift and the T-bar lift.

We made one mistake. We hadn't bought our own skis before going to the mountains. But who could have predicted that our children would pick up the skills so quickly. The cost of equipment rental was painful. Now we know that in the future we need to bring our own equipment when going to the mountains in winter. When it comes to renting 4 sets of skis (and soon 5), the amount of cash left at the rental shop is considerable.

When we ran out of ski passes we went to return the rental equipment and hit the road to the next accommodation. This time we found accommodation in the castle Chateau Diva in the town of Turčianske Teplice. At a very attractive price we got a two-level apartment with a kitchen, bedroom, living room and bathroom. More than we needed.

We ate dinner in the center of the village. We chose a restaurant named Koliba Zuzanka, which was recommended by the owner of the accommodation. As hotel guests, we also got a discount.

We decided to enjoy the specialties of Slovak cuisine. We decided to taste the dumplings with sheep cheese. Quite a distinctive taste. I didn't really take to them, but Ania liked them.

Fun fact: bryndza is a soft, spreadable cheese made from matured sheep's cheese (more than half of it must be sheep's). Since 2008 the name "Slovenská bryndza" has been a protected geographical indication in the European Union, and the first Slovak bryndza factory opened in Detva as early as 1787.