2. POSITION : The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakia ) is a state in Central Europe. POPULATION : It has a population of over five million. AREA: Slovakia has an area of about 49,000 square kilometers. It is a landlocked country bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south.

3. TIME : Central European time (+ 1 hour from GMT) Summer time/daylight- saving time from March to November is + 2 hours from GMT ELEVATION : the highest point is Gerlach Peak (2655 m), the lowest point is the Bodrog river (95 m). CLIMATE : Moderate climatic zone, with changing four seasons, average temperature in winter - 2°C, in summer 21°C

4. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Slovak NATIONALITIES/ ETHNIC GROUPS: Slovak (85.8%), Hungarian (9.7%), Roma (Gipsy) (1.7%), Czech (0.8%), Ruthenian, Ukrainian, German, Polish and other (2%) RELIGION: Roman Catholic (68.9%), Evangelic (6.9%), Greek-Catholic (4.1%), Reformed Christians (2%), Orthodox (1%) - other, unspecified 4.1% - without confession about 13% CURRENCY: EURO (from 1/1/2009 )

5. Do you know that......Slovakia is after Austria the second country in the middle Europe with the largest amount of forests? Almost 40% of its territory is covered by forest, while in Austria it is only 6% more....according to some sources, the European geographical central point is considered to be near the roman-catholic church of St. John the Baptist above the village of Kremnické Bane....“bryndza“ stands for a traditional Slovak speciality made of sheep cheese? Within the European Union it can only be produced in Slovakia and is distributed under the name „Slovenská bryndza“. It is made of non-pasterized sheep milk from the sheep kept in the middle, northern and eastern Slovakia.

6. The Capital City Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. Its population is approximately 427000 and it is also the largest city in the country. Bratislava lies on both banks of the river Danube in southwestern Slovakia. Its originality between capitals is that it borders with two countries – Austria (Vienna 60 km apart) and Hungary. History: Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe, but has a very rich history. For the first time, it was mentioned in the Stone Age. As the city lies in the heart of Europe on the bank of Danube River, it easily became a centre of trade and business meetings as much as of the centre of different cultures.

7. What to see in Bratislava ??? St. Martin’s Cathedral Bratislava Castle Slovak National Theatre Primate’s Palace

8. Other Cities... Košice St.Elisabeth Cathedral Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia after Bratislava. The city has a well preserved historical center, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many heritage protected buildings inGothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Secession styles with Slovakia's largest church - St. Elisabeth Cathedral. The long main street, rimmed with aristocratic palaces, Catholic churches, and townsfolk's houses, is a thriving pedestrian zone with many boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. The city is well known as the first settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms. In 2013, it will hold the European Capital of Cultur title together with Marseille, France

9. Sights in Košice St. Michael's Chapel Jakab's Palace Slávia, the most beautiful Art Nouveau building in Košice St. Urban's Tower and wax museum Košice State Theater

10. Poprad St. Egidius Square Aquacity Poprad

11. Nature in Slovakia...

12. Tradition national costume

13. Food and Drinks,,Bryndzové halušky,,,, Bryndzové pyrohy,,,,sheep cheese,,,,Slivovica,,

14. How to prepare,,Bryndzové pyrohy,, Ingredients: about 2 potatoes, some 2 cups flour, one egg, salt, bacon, bryndza Prep Time: 30 minutes Start by cooking few potatoes (zemiaky). Cook them until they are quite soft and mash them by hand. Add about a cup of flour (múka), one egg (vajce) and about a tablespoon of salt (soľ). Mix everything together by hand. Then add more flour until you get a fairly stiff mixture. Also place a large pot full ofsalted water onto the stove.

15. Form the dough into a loaf and place it onto a dusted board. Dust top with flour to prevent the pin from sticking. Roll out to an about 3 millimeters thick pancake.

16. Then take a drinking glass and cut out circles. Do this by pushing down with the glass and twisting your wrist left and right few times. The dough will come out with the glass. Top each circle with a teaspoon worth of bryndza. If you don’t have bryndza, you can imitate it by mixing feta with sour cream. Fold the circle over and pinch the seal closed with the tip of your fingers. Then, to make the pirohylook prettier, grab the seal between your fingers and twist about 60 degrees. Do this at few spots

17. Place pierogi into the pot of boiling water. I found it really neat that Helka uses the same technique for transporting dumplings as my grandma – by placing them onto the back side of her arm. Right after placing them in water, scoop them up with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom. Pierogi are ready when they float to the top. Scoop them out using a large strainer.

18. Bryndzové pirohy are topped with škvarky, fried bacon bits. Prepare these by cutting good thick smoked bacon into pieces about inch long and frying them until the white fat part dissolves away. Top pierogi with few spoonfuls of grease and then with the bacon bits. Finally top with sour cream (kyslá smotana).

19. And there you have them, delicious Slovak homemade bryndzové pirohy. Serve with a glass of žinčica, sour sheep milk which is bit similar to kefir.