We’re watching snow fall right now. That we’re thinking about winter should come as no surprise.

So where might we escape to for an atmospheric yet affordable snowy getaway? Here are two ideas.

1. Košice, Slovakia. Connected to Dublin, London Luton, Prague, and Vienna by SkyEurope, Slovakia’s second biggest city sits in the east of the country. Like Bratislava, Košice boasts an atmospheric old town that becomes a breathlessly gorgeous winter fantasy under dust of snow. Hotel Recommendation: Hotel K2 at Štúrová 32 (tel. +421 55 625 59 48) is cheap and central.

2. Berlin, Germany. The best value western European capital (sorry, Lisbon) sports oodles of good air and train connections, more sights than you can shake a stick at, and a slate of decent hotels. Check out Die Fabrik, at Schlesische Strasse 18 in Kreuzberg, for a cheap bed in hip surroundings.

Photo by Martin Baran

Košice, Slovakia’s second city, ranks high on our short list of underexplored European gems. Set in a valley, with the Ore mountains to the west and the Salt Hills to the east, Košice remains a delightfully unspoilt place.

Slovakia’s budget airline SkyEurope flies between Košice and Bratislava, making the city both easy and cheap to visit. We found one-way fares from Bratislava to Košice for as little as SKK436 (€13; $18) in May. That’s including taxes and charges, Cheapos.

In Košice, take time to just wander through the cobbled streets with their pastel buildings, dating from the time when Košice was an eastern metropolis of the Hapsburg Empire. We recommend a visit to Craftsman’s Row, a long street in the heart of the city, where leather and jewelry makers, silversmiths, coin minters, herbalists, potters, and bakers make and ply their wares.

In the summer, cold Czech beer flows freely on the streets and squares. On the main street look down. Glass panels under your feet display 13th century fortifications underground. Finally, pay a visit to the Jakab’s Palace, a small gem of art nouveau architecture.

Photo by Fero Hanus 

As a tourist destination, Slovakia is generally overlooked and underestimated. In our view, this is a great shame. The Tatra Mountains in the north of the country are charming in winter (cheap skiing!) and summer (gentle trekking!), and Slovakia’s lowland south is not without its attractions, either.

One lowland draw is the Danube’s twin city of Komarom/Komarno (the former is the town’s Hungarian side, the latter the Slovak side). Both sides of the city have good thermal spas, but the Slovak side also has the unique “Europe Place.”

Europe Place is a large square in the heart of the city filled with houses, each of which represents architectural styles of different European countries. They are also cleverly arranged to represent historical ties between countries: the Slovak, Hungarian, and Austrian houses are side by side, symbolizing the time these countries spent together in the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Most houses also function as businesses or highly sought-after residences. Appropriately enough, the German house is used as a bakery. More surprising is the use of the Vatican house as an amusement arcade!

Best of all for Cheapos, the square is free to visit. You can visit the colorful Web site to chart the square’s construction.

Photograph by Kenko.

Hungary has seven neighbouring countries. With the Slovak border at its closest point only 40 km (25 miles) from the Hungarian capital, daytrips from Budapest often extend out of the country. We suggest venturing north and visiting the small Slovak gem of Nitra, an originally Celtic settlement with 6,000 years of history.

Nitra is best known for its castle district, with buildings from the 14th through the 18th centuries. It is a wonderfully atmospheric and peaceful place. Rather less well known—though also intriguing—are Nitra’s links with the world of Bonsai. The town has its own Bonsai centre in the pedestrian street alongside the Synagogue, and it regularly hosts the annual International Bonsai, Suiseki, and Tea Exhibition.

This year the exhibition will run from April 12 to April 15 in the Agrocomplex of the Agricultural University.

There is also a rich and varied café life in Nitra, and plenty of good restaurants. Recommended are the brynzové halušky (noodles with ewe’s cheese and sour cream) and Slovak beer, which has an excellent and well-deserved reputation. Na zdravie!

Nitra can be reached by train out of Budapest’s Nyugati (West) station. The journey, via Nové Zamky, takes approximately two hours.

photograph courtesy of michalp

Last month we reported on SkyEurope’s continuing growth, comparing the Slovak low-cost carrier’s passenger and load factor growth to Ryanair’s. (For the uninitiated, load factor designates the percentage of passengers versus available seats.) In January, SkyEurope increased its passenger numbers by 38.1% and its load factor by 10.3% against January 2006 numbers, while Ryanair managed a 23% passenger increase and a 3% decrease in load factor, also against January 2006.

In February this trend continued. SkyEurope recorded a 39.5% increase in passengers flown and an 11.1% increase in load factor, against February 2006 numbers. Again, these numbers compare favorably to Ryanair’s. The Irish low-cost carrier increased passenger numbers by 24% while experiencing another decrease in load factor: this one by just 1%, an improvement over January’s 3% decrease.

Obviously, Ryanair is flying far more passengers than SkyEurope, but the latter’s growth continues to impress us. We look forward to seeing their route map expand. We’re hoping that the rumors are correct and that we’ll soon be seeing routes from Bratislava and other hubs to destinations in Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

We’re tired of apologizing for blogging incessantly about Sky Europe. You show us a low-fare airline with better fares and more exciting base airports and we’ll back off, we swear.

What you got? Yeah, that’s what we thought.

This week our favorite Slovak airline announced 555,555 flights for €5 apiece. The occasion? The airline’s fifth anniversary. This giveaway comes at a great time for budgeteers to book flights in and out of Vienna, the airline’s new hub. That taxes and surcharges pump one-way fares up to €38 or so doesn’t exactly rain on the low fares parade.

Flights can be booked through Sunday for flights between March 1 and October 27. As of our final fare check minutes before this posting, there are plenty of remaining €5 flights to purchase.