One of the best known squares in Bratislava, Hlavne namestie used to be the city’s chief marketplace and is now a tourist magnet. The old Catholic church and a town hall loom over the bars and cafes int he square. In the winter, a huge Christmas tree goes up in the square, surrounded by stalls selling hot mulled wine, food and gifts. — PHOTOS: IRENE HOE

A Holocaust memorial beside the main cathedral (above) serves as a reminder to the fraction of the city’s pre-war Jewish population of about 15,000 who live in Bratislava.

A spa with an old-world elegance (above) has hot springs that are a huge draw for tourists.

One of Bratislava’s most photographed residents is this bronze sculpture of a labourer popping out from a manhole. The name of the man with a permanent grin is Eumil, and it has become a tradition for people to pat or rub the top of his head.

This replica of the crown of St Stephen was not always on top of the cathedral spire (above). That 300kg bauble was put on top of St Martin’s Cathedral when it was rebuilt. It is a reminder that Bratislava was once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire and that 19 monarchs and royal consorts were crowned in this cathedral.

Mere days before my friends an I left for Slovakia, it clinched its place in this year’s World Cup finals, a first for this country of about five million people.

Let’s not even think about Singapore’s thwarted 2010 ambitions since we’re not even sure yet if we will get to see any World Cup matches on TV, much less watch Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel and Manchester City’s Vladimir Weiss in action for Slovakia.

Slovakian players, by the way, were also part of Czechoslovakia’s powerhouses in eight previous World Cups.

Consider this, too: Slovak tennis player Dominik Hrbaty owns an enviable 2-0 record against current World No. 1 Roger Federer and a winning 3-1 record against World No. 4 Rafael Nadal.

So I came prepared to be impressed by their country. And I was.

The country is an enticing combination of very old history and very new politics. Though it became independent only on Jan 1, 1993, the history of the Slovak people is at least 1,500 years old.

By pure alphabetical accident, Singapore and Slovakia sit next to each other at the United Nations.

That Slovakia has a population of about five million is possibly the only thing it has in common with Singapore. With 49,000 sq km of land, it dwarfs Singapore’s 710 sq km by 69 times.

Bratislava, the capital, with 450,000 people, is Slovakia’s largest city.

Straddling the not-quite-Blue Danube, it is a most walkable city, if you don’t mind the cobblestones. From the Crowne Plaza where my group of assorted journalists, former journalists and fellow travellers and I stayed, it was an easy stroll to the Old Town, which reeked of history whichever way you turned.

Every vista seemed to have been lifted from a calendar of Old Europe. Our cameras were worked hard: here was a Gothic cathedral, dating from the 11th century, and there, a Franciscan church from the 13th.

And while you were concentrating on these, you might miss a palace from the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Primate’s Palace where the Peace of Bratislava was signed during the Napoleonic War.

This is a picture-postcard country liberally populated with castles, stately homes, historic palaces and soaring church spires. Mountains and forests are the backdrop for a clutch of national parks. In winter, visitors have scores of ski resorts to choose from.

We first suspected that the Slovaks had a quirky sense of humour when we were led to Paparazzi, a bronze figure honouring the kind of journalist not usually associated with honours.

Not far away, popping its head up from a manhole, was a street sculpture of a worker in a hard hat. Presumably, he was intent on peering up your miniskirt.

These new bronzes also indicate that this country is not simply about the ancient, the quaint and the terminally charming.

The perfect antidote to an overload of history was the Danubiana, a modern art museum which turns all of 10 this September. The Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum is about 15km south of Bratislava, deliberately perched on a peninsula jutting out into the mighty river, on the border with Austria and Hungary.

It owes its birth to the Slovak gallery owner Dr Vincent Polakovi, who dreamt it up, and the Dutch art collector Gerard H. Meulensteen who bankrolled it.

The art is inside the museum and all around it. Its 2,000 sq m of park is the perfect place to display huge wonderful sculptures that totally brought out the inner child in all the three men with us who chose to visit the museum instead of a car assembly plant with the rest of the group.

It is the first time I’d spent more time on the outside of a museum than enjoying the works inside. It was only when the chilly blustery weather turned to rain that I decided to head indoors.

The growing number of artworks outside is complemented each year by the work of some well-known artist whose work is exhibited on steel plinths that jut out over the water, in a project titled Art On The Promenade.

The Slovak Tourism Board ferried us out of the capital to experience the countryside of the Small Carpathians. Naturally, a castle was on the itinerary: Cerveny Kamen, a well-preserved Renaissance edifice whose dungeons were as bone-chillingly grim as the living space was grand in scale.

It was evening when we finally got to sit down and relax in the tasting chamber of a small winery and emerged with a substantial number of bottles. Then we went on to the village of Slovensky Grob for a traditional Slovakian goose dinner in the company of Singapore’s Ambassador to Slovakia, Ms Jennie Chua.

If spas are your thing, you are in the right country. But these are no soothing Balinese or Thai massage but serious places for mud baths and cures. Some patrons are known to have stayed for years.

Piestany, the spa jewel in the Slovakian crown, had that aura of old world elegance - just ignore those white towelling dressing gowns that guests padded around in. We were shown the room named for Lillian Gish, acclaimed by many as the best actress of the silent movie era.

People have been flocking to Piestany for about 80,000 years, drawn by the hot springs that have kept the area relatively toasty in winter. And people still pay to wallow in the hot mud. Positively rejuvenating, said one of our group who chanced it.

Its thermals were the rage in mediaeval times and Wikipedia notes that it was known to the personal physicians to a couple of Holy Roman emperors and a pope.

Our last night in Bratislava, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak dropped in for dinner. He had come straight from the airport after arriving from Luxembourg.

Dinner was hosted by Mr Peter Korbacka, who just happened to be the owner of our hotel and also of the famed Sparta Prague football team, as well as a friend of Mr Lajcak and Ms Chua’s.

Thanks to the executive chef Saravanan, a genial Malaysian-born Tamil from Ipoh, dinner included duck spring rolls, chappati, dhal, steamed fish with spring onions and bean sprouts and chicken curry - in addition to some Slovakian roast duck.

For all the many charms of Slovakia, what was most striking and appealing were the government officials and leaders we met. When they gave their presentations, there was a distinct absence of spin.

Our guide, Linda, and others we spoke to were refreshingly candid about the country’s chequered history. The officials who spoke to us were open about the country’s struggles post-communism, the decision to split from the Czechs and the economic challenges they face.

We were especially taken with the State Secretary in the Foreign Ministry, Ms Diana Strofova, who posed most obligingly for photos with her Singapore fan club.

Meeting her made us realise that life is unfair. This former Miss Slovakia is beautiful, intelligent, articulate, charming and, worst of all, impossible to dislike.

Interestingly, Slovak and Czech officials both profess that their countries are each other’s best friends. But as it is with all best friends, sometimes, surely, that pronouncement must be uttered through gritted teeth.

Equally interesting was the relaxed and laidback atmosphere. Only once in all the meetings in government offices did we have to walk through a metal detector or present identification.

The officials seemed nonplussed when I asked about this. There is a lot of security, they said. It is just not that, well, visible.

And perhaps that is the difference between kiasu Singapore and laidback Slovakia: Though Slovakia is nominally the younger of the two nations, it has the confidence of a country that has dealt with its history and therefore knows how it will handle its future.

Irene Hoe is a former Straits Times journalist and currently a freelance writer.

Appeared in The Straits Times, 9 Feb 2010.