Royal Jasna

Just a Little Slo

Leading up to spring break 2025, I could never remember if skiing was in Slovakia or Slovenia. I’m a little “Slo” that way with former Communist Eastern European geography. Plus my mental aptitude for this trip had us traveling west. With an actual map, Slovakia, the next stop, was actually east of Czechia. In retrospect seems pretty logical, but Czechoslovakia was the former Eastern communist country before it broke up with itself in 1987 to form two new countries, aptly named Czechia and Slovakia.

The Eastern Champ of Colas

Read this next statement, then close your eyes and tell me what comes to mind. R.C. Cola.

Due to the fact that we are in different places and not many people actually read this blog, you probably won’t actually share what you really think.

Not until Czechia and Slovakia had I thought about R.C. Cola. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it since elementary school in Odessa. And growing up in Texas, Dr. Pepper is the real focus.

I digress, but I did learn that the “R.C.” in R.C. Cola stood for Royal Crown Cola. This soft drink from yesteryear has rebranded itself in a major way in Eastern Europe. Long gone is that bland blue and red can. Royal Crown is now a sleek, chic cola branded in black, white, and gold. It’s the Champion of soft drinks. Hold out your pinkie while drinking it I say.

Train Spotting

Like the new slick Royal Crown Cola can, we departed Prague for Jasna, Slovakia including every type of transportation. Underground metro to the Praha Hlavní Nádraží. Then a train to Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. Monica took full advantage of this enclosed space, as the cutest 8 year old girl in the world incessantly farted something eye watering.

Czechia and Slovakia exposed our stomachs to new, rich foods. And just like that, all of our stomachs joined a musical “chorus”. It was just appropriate on the RegioJet that the space was shared with a man of Matthew Pepper strength b.o. and a 2 liter bottle of beer in hand.

Once in the sleepy, Eastern European town of Liptovský Mikuláš, an empty bus took us up to the mountain resort town of Jasna, home to the 2024 World Cup of Skiing and the 2025 White Family Spring Break Ski Trip.

White Family Spring Break Skiing

The White Family arrived to Jasna midweek at the tail end of the ski season. The gondolas still ran across the majority of the slopes with snow making machines supporting the slopes. I can only imagine that midseason Jasna is a really fun place. Even at end of the season, prices were far from being Georgia cheap, especially lodging.

Long runs filled the days as Nadine guided the three older kids over more challenging runs. Momo and I took the easier blues routes. The Happy End Bar warmly welcomed skiers at the end of the runs. The Happy End supplemented our lunch with local fried cheese or hot chocolate.