The Bryndzové Halušky Pilgrimage

Bryndzové halušky is Slovakia on a plate: small, soft potato-dough dumplings (halušky), boiled and then coated in bryndza - a soft, sharp, salty sheep's-milk cheese - and topped with crisp fried bacon (and often a spoon of its rendered fat). It's rich, tangy, salty and completely comforting, the kind of mountain-shepherd food that turns into a beloved national institution.

Bratislava is small, characterful and absurdly easy: a compact old town of pastel facades and quirky statues, a hilltop castle over the Danube, and prices that feel like a holiday in themselves. It's also the kind of place you can genuinely see in an afternoon. Fly in, eat the national dish with a Slovak beer, walk the old town, and be home for the evening.