My journey to this season’s first World Cup began with a narrow escape of a flight-threatening thunderstorm in Ottawa. After a quick stopover in Frankfurt, a flight to Munich and a five-hour van ride through the German and Austrian Countryside, my teammates and I arrived in beautiful Bratislava.
My travel companions, Michal and Keenan, and I were looking forward to getting some rest after a long day of travelling, but not before heading into the city for a warm bowl of Česneková. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this Slovak culinary staple, Česneková is a garlic soup filled with sheep's cheese and topped with croutons. If you ever have the chance to try it, do yourself a favour and indulge! You will not regret it.
Other than being a conveniently located rest stop situated on the western edge of Slovakia, Bratislava is also home to the Vajda Kayaks factory. Our pit stop wouldn't be complete without swinging by to check it out while Michal sorted out some orders in the office While it wasn't my first time at the factory, it was my first time getting a tour through the whole operation.
Our 15-minute tour showed us the process of building boats from start to finish: the mold, painting the designs, vacuum sealing the carbon, the oven used to cure the boats, inspection, and the finishing touches. But by far the most impressive thing is how the employees manage to work a full day in those fumes! I get light headed when I have to glue foam into my boat for 15 minutes - that is a walk in the park compared to the epoxy and paint fumes at the factory! With a nice buzz on from all the solvents, we hit the road and headed towards the location of the first World Cup, Liptovský Mikuláš.
Nestled in the Liptov Basin between the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains, Liptovský is home to the Ondrej Cibak Whitewater Slalom Course.The site of the upcoming World Cup, the course runs along the edge of town on the Váh
river. It is the oldest whitewater slalom course in Slovakia and one of the first artificial courses in Europe. It is a fantastic course to paddle; it is narrow and fast with strong and consistent features. It has endless combinations and allows you to be super creative with your paddling. This world class course is welcoming enough for beginners to learn on, while still able to provide a challenge to the best paddlers.
Upon our arrival, we hit the water to play around and get acquainted. We followed this up with another round of Česneková and a good night’s sleep at our home for the next week. It was a long trip but I am excited to be in Slovakia and looking forward to my first race on Friday!