Dress code: smart casual

Gala dinner - Thursday 24 August at 20:00

Gala dinner will be held in the banquet hall of the Congress Center ACADEMIA.

Dress code: gentlemen - lounge suit, ladies - cocktail dress

Price: 25 EUR



There is a limited capacity of 100 persons. Advance booking is strongly recommended. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that there will be no entrance without a ticket and the tickets are non-refundable. Sign up for this event and enjoy a fantastic evening in the company of your friends and colleagues. Tickets for this unique event include dinner, free wine and beer and music entertainment.

Free Day / Excursion - Wednesday 23 August

The National Park of High Tatras (Vysoke Tatry) is the pearl among Slovak natural beauties. It is the oldest and largest National Park in the Slovak Republic and with its 25 peaks higher than 2500 m above sea level provide the only mountains with an Alpine character in the 1500 km length of the Carpathian Mountains arc. Unfortunately, the natural disaster-massive windstorm considered as a hurricane hit this region in November 2004 (the wind has reached even 165 km/h in some places). The windstorm completely damaged or strongly harmed over 100 square kilometers of the forest, which means that almost one third of the park's forests were devastated. The Spis county surrounding High Tatras is similar to a Swiss canton and belongs to regions that are rich not only in natural beauties but also in unique historical monuments.


In courtesy of Ladislav Janiga and Karol Bartos

You can explore surroundings by your own or to join one of guided tours that have been prepared for the participants and accompanying persons. Please find description bellow. All interested participants are kindly asked to meet in front of hotel ACADEMIA 15 minutes before bus departure.

Price for both guided tours: 25 EUR

Hiking in High Tatras

The first guided tour is thought for those who like to hike in mountains. We will depart at about 7:00 am from Stara Lesna and walk to Tatranska Lomnica (about 30 minutes). Tatranska Lomnica (850m a.s.l.) is the settlement located at the south-eastern slope of Mt. Lomnicky peak. It is the usual starting point to the eastern part of the High Tatras. Here we take a cable car to Rocky Mountain-Lake (Skalnate pleso, 1751m a.s.l.). Our trip will proceed with the ride on the cable car up to the top of Mt. Lomnicky peak (2634m a.s.l.), which is the highest inhabited place in Slovakia. On the top of this peak there is the Meteorological Station, the Cosmic Radiation Research Station and the Coronal Station. After enjoying the beautiful view we continue by cable car back to Rocky Mountain Lake. Following Tatranska magistrala, we get to the Zamkovska chalet. After enjoying a light lunch we take the route back using direction to Hrebienok. On the way we pass by Obrovsky and Studenovodske waterfalls. From Hrebienok it is only few minutes by foot to Stary Smokovec, the oldest tourist - recreational area in the High Tatras. In Stary Smokovec, there  will be a free time to relax, for the souvenir shopping and visit of local restaurants. This location will be our last stop at the tour from where we take the train back to Stara Lesna.


For this tour we recommend you to take OUTDOOR SHOES and WARM WATERPROOF CLOTHES. The sunglasses and the hat are also a good idea to bring with.



In courtesy of Ladislav Janiga


Historical Sightseeing tour

The second guided tour is thought for those who are interested in history and architecture. We will introduce you beautiful World Heritage UNESCO places. Departure by bus is planned at about 8:00 am from Stara Lesna. The town of Levoca, in the past referred to as "Slovak Norimberg" will be the first stop on our route. The Temple of St. James belongs to the biggest gothic churches in Slovakia. Apart from the temple, the master pieces of the well-known medieval woodcarver Master Pavol from Levoca present another precious cultural monument. The main altar, which is nearly 19 meters high, is the most admired art-work of Master Pavol and at the same time the highest wooden gothic altar in the world (15th century). The next sightseeing stop will be The Spissky Castle (Spissky hrad). The Castle represents an evidence of architectural development of this region in the 12th-18th century and with its area of more than 40 000m2 belongs to one of the largest castles/ruin complexes in the Central Europe. From inside the castle we can realize its wonderful location and beautiful architecture, which is worth the effort to climb the castle's hill. From the Spissky Castle we can see the towers of the Cathedral in Spisska Kapitula. The Roman-Catholic church has had a seat in this independent village since the middle 13th century. Spisska Kapitula is today a municipal cultural reservation and the St. Martin Cathedral is the dominant cultural monument in the village. After taking the break for lunch in Levoca our travel will proceed to Kezmarok which has been in the past the second biggest town of Spis region. We will visit a Municipal castle located directly inside the town and unique churches - the Holy Cross basilica (gothic/renaissance), the Wooden articular church (baroque) and the New protestant "red" church (eclectic style). In the late afternoon, full of unforgettable impressions, we will return by bus to Stara Lesna.