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Published: September 18th 2006
In the clouds!
But on the annoying rocks..... following on from my previous blog on Poland....
Day 4
And so after a one hour journey from Zakopane in Poland we arrived in Tatranska Lomnica in Slovakia. This is another Tatra town - smaller than Zakopane but a good base for hikes, etc. We went straight to our hotel (the Penzion Encian) where we had a very nice en-suite and warm room and emptied our bags (to make the place feel more like home!). Soon after we were out to explore the place. Tatranska Lomnica itself is very small, with some nice restaurants and bars but not really anything else of substance. We decided to take the local cable-car up to Skalnate Pleso (1751 m). After a bit of confusion as to where the cable car goes from (hint - the Lonely Planet guide is way out as there is a whole new system in place), we got a cable car (a whole one to ourselves!) up the mountain. When we got to Skalnate Pleso we were completely in the clouds. This is a very strange feeling, especially when the clouds move and sometimes you can hardly see buildings 10 metres away from you whilst at other times
Lake at Skalnate Pleso
Bit chilly to go swimming unfortunately! the clouds clear and there is a view a few hundred metres away. I can imagine that this could make walking in these conditions pretty treacherous. Because of this we decided to just go for a 40 minute hike along the side of the mountain, following a well marked path. The views through the clouds were alot of fun but the going was tough as we had to walk along this rock/pebble mixture they favour in Slovakia. In adverse weather it can be quite slippery and at anytime it is painful on the soles of the feet. After this we went back to the cable car station and took a walk around the lake that is just next to the station. The water was wonderfully clear and had it not been so freezing I'm sure we would have been tempted to dip our toes. However, the 5 layers I was wearing convinced me otherwise and we decided that it was best to head back down to Tatranska Lomnica in the cable car (and get out of the clouds!).
Once in town we went to the local supermarket to get some supplies and then back to the hotel. After a
Waterfall
One of the many waterfalls we saw on our day hiking from Tatranska Lomnica relaxing half hour or so we went to the hotel restaurant to enjoy a very nice (and very cheap!) Slovakian meal. This consisted of lots of meat and potatoes (of course) washed down with beer. Who could want more?! After our meal we went back to the supermarket again to stock up on water and also to get some beers to enjoy back at the hotel. And so we spent the remainder of our evening with more beer and biscuits. Lovely!
Day 5
On the 5th morning of our holiday we woke up fairly early as we had another big day of hiking ahead of us. After a good breakfast we went to buy some lunch supplies before heading up a 'blue' path (this is blue on the map rather than in real life of course) which led out of Tatranska Lomnica and into the surrounding pine forests. The following two hour walk took us up a few contour lines of our map and through the lovely forests. We met very few people on our journey and the weather mostly stayed dry so that we were able to enjoy a fairly easy walk. After 2 hours we made it
to a river crossing where we came across the first of many nice waterfalls we were to see that day. From here we continued on the blue trail for a small time before joining a red trail which took us up past more waterfalls until we reached the Zamkovskeho Chata. This is one of many "Chatas" in the Tatras which are used to accommodate hikers, with food and beds. When we arrived we found a bench and tucked into our lunch which had travelled all the way from Tatranska Lomnica. However after 20 minutes sitting down we were getting very cold (it really was so cold there!) and we decided to get moving again.
We walked back for half an hour along the path and at the point where we had previously changed from the blue to red path, we this time continued back down on the red path and eventually reached Hrebienok. This is a popular place for skiers in the winter and therefore has a small cafe/restaurant, etc. It is also the place where you can get a funicular down into the valley below. However, we decided that (despite the fact my legs were in pain after
Communist monument in Levoca
Not quite sure what it was for, but I could make out '1945' on the inscription, so I assume it is for the 'liberation'? so much hiking!) we could handle one more walk and we did the hour-long descent to Stary Smokovec. This was through more pine forests and eventually we got to a flat road and then on to the train station. We had to queue for 10 minutes for tickets (during which time I almost had a fight with the woman next to me but that's another story!) and we got the 16:38 train back to Tatranska Lomnica. When we got back to town we had a wander around before going for a very tasty hot chocoate at a cafe by the station. After that we went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. But, by 7pm we were ready to head out again and went back to our great little cafe, but this time for a cocktail (white lady - yum - for me) and beer (for Barry). Soon we were ready for dinner and after being turned away from some places (because they were full btw, not because of our dirty shoes!), we eventually found a very nice restaurant next to the railway station where we had excellent garlic soup followed by more meat and potatoes. Oh
yes, and all washed down with a local beer of course. After that, a quick visit to the supermarket and we were back to our hotel to rest and pack ready for our departure the next morning.
Day 6
And so on day 6 we were ready to leave Tatranska Lomnica and head on to our next destination. We got on the bus and asked in our best Slovak for 2 tickets to Levoca. Unfortunately the driver assumed we were fluent and so responded in Slovakian with the price. I got out my coins and notes and eventually he took various bits of them from me and asked for another few coins. We didn't have any more and so he just shrugged and said what I imagine was "ok" in Slovakian and let us on the bus for a bit less of what the fare should really be. Another nice Slovakian!
Anyway, a very pleasant bus drive through the pouring rain eventually brought us to our next destination of Levoca. A 10-15 minute walk from the station took us up through the old town (with its amazing fortified walls) to our next Hotel - the Hotel Barbakan. When
Spisske Kapitula from the side
Lots of lovely architecture in Slovakia we got to our room we were very excited as it is by far the biggest hotel room I have ever stayed in! Alongside the normal bed and TV you might expect in a room we also had a 3 seater leather sofa and 2 excellent armchairs. So much fun! And all for only GBP30. Soon though we were out of the hotel to get on with our sightseeing (no rest for the wicked..). After a quick visit to the Tourist Information we went to the Church on the Main Square. It had a lovely interior with very old paintings and frescoes. In particular, the altar is the largest wood-carved gothic altar in the world and well worth a visit. It was built by the famous Master Paul of Levoca (well, famous if you are into gothic altars anyway!). After such a cultural half hour we were ready to get some lunch and so headed to the local Pizzeria (aptly named 'Pizzeria' and just off the North of the main square). A cheap lunch later and we were heading back to the bus station.
Once there we had to wait for a while before catching a bus to Spisska
Kapitula. After confusion as to when to get off the bus (why aren't these things more like the tube - at least then you know which stop you are at?!) we arrived at Kapitula. This was an important religous centre for the region a few centuries ago. It now has some very old buildings which are very pretty as well as architecturally interesting. We also went in to visit the main Church there. This was once again very attractive, with a number of interesting altars, etc. After our visit to Kapitula we went into the town of Spisske Podhradie itself and then walked up the step hill behind the town to reach Spis Castle. This is very famous in Slovakia and is in a very donminating postion looking down over the town and valley below, as well as across to further hills. Once catching our breath at the top of the hill we entered the castle ruins. Inside we climbed the castle tower which gives excellent 360 degreee views of the surrounding countryside. We also had a quick wander through the castle museum which had a number of old artefacts as well as weapons and plans of the area as
Building I liked in Spis
This is a gorgeous building that has been allowed to lose its looks - Such a shame. it may have looked in previous centuries. After a bit more of a wander around we were ready to walk back down into the town.
Unfortunately, as we had walked into the town earlier, we had no idea where the bus stop was but Lonely Planet seemed to be suggesting it was in the main square. However we couldn't work out where in the main square it would be and I eventually had to go into a shop to ask a girl for help. The conversation went:
Me: do you speak english?
Her: shake of the head
Me: Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Her: shake of the head.
Thus followed a very confused exchange trying to find out where the bus station was. Luckily in the end she understood what I was going on about and was very helpful in coming out of the shop to direct us to the next street where we could find the bus stop. Hurrah! So we got back to Levoca in the early evening. This gave us a chance to walk around the old town square and take some photos of the lovely renaissance architecture in the fading light. After a quick stop back at
the hotel we decided to go for dinner and were happy to just go to the restaurant that belonged to the hotel. We had an excellent meal, with treats such as Venison Gulash, and once again were amazed by how cheap it all was. After dinner we were happy to go back to our room to relax and get ready for the excitement of the following day.
Day 7
So, on day 7 of our holiday we got up early (again!) and went to the bus station to get catch a bus to Spisske Nova Fes followed by a bus 10 minutes later to a small hamlet called Cingov. This is on the edge of a Slovakian National Park known as "Slovakia Paradise Park" (Slovensky Raj). After stocking up on food and water at a small shop we set off on our first trail of the day. This took us upwards, through forest along mostly easy to manage trails. After half an hour or so we reached the famous look-out point 'Tomasovsky Vyhlad'. This is located on a large rock sticking out on a cliff with great views across the park to the forests below and to mountains beyond.
On the lookout
at Slovensky Raj We took some fun pictures and then Barry decided to set up his camera on the tripod to take a photo of the both of us. Well, at this point, disaster struck... I had gone over to a different part of the lookout to stand in the picture so that Barry could set up the camera and come over to be in the photo after setting the timer. As he was leaning over the camera a water bottle on the side of his bag fell out and knocked the tripod. Well, Barry went to grab the water and then the tripod but by then it was too late.
The tripod - with expensive camera on top - was hurtling off the edge of the cliff. It dropped a lllooonnggg way and we just stood there not knowing what to do. Needless to say this was the worst moment of our trip. We decided to go down the cliff to try to see if we could find the camera and tripod (we assumed that the camera would be broken but that maybe the memory card with lots of nice pictures might have survived).
A 15 minute trek took us along
a path down to near the bottom of the cliff face. We walked off the path and into the forest hoping to get to below the cliff face. However, it soon became clear that we had no idea where we were and that the forest was very dangerous with lots of slippery parts and steep passes. And so it was with very heavy hearts that we had to say goodbye to Barry's camera, memory card and tripod. We were determined however that the mini-disaster would not ruin our day and so after a few minutes we continued on our hike. We set off on a blue trail which skirted close to the river. The trail walking was hard work as the recent rain had made the mud very slippery. However, the real fun came when we had to use the various chains and steps that had been put in place to help us around. The steps in particular were fairly scary as they had been added to the side of the cliff and in some places they seemed like they didn't want to be part of the cliff anymore and would rather be in the river. To explain them better,
Walking the precarious steps
in Slovensky Raj. These were so scary! especially the really loose ones... they are more 'grilles' than steps. Still, we made it along and eventually came to the end of our time on the blue trail.
It was 1pm by then and so we found a quiet spot by the river to enjoy our picnic sitting in the sun (finally it was sunny!). We also made sure that we took lots of photos with my camera as we were feeling sorry for ourselves about the loss of the other camera and tripod. After half an hour we were ready to head onwards on our next path. This was the green trail along Klastorska Roklina. This was even more extreme than the previous path and included such delights as ladders up the side of cliffs, trees as bridges and plenty of crazy scary other bits. In addition, the valley that we were climbing up actually contained a stream which we were regularly walking through - which was probably made worse by the recent rain. One thing I was very glad of was that the weather had stayed fine for our day out, and that for once it wasn't raining whilst we hiked! At the end of our climb up this valley we
Lunch spot in Slovensky Raj
perfect spot for a bite to eat! arrived at an old abandoned monastery and also at a very welcoming Chaty. The Chatys are found throughout Slovakian parks and provide basic food and drinks to hikers. I was able to enjoy the nicest Mars Bar I have ever had - as I truly felt I had earned it - and we were able to re-fuel ready for the last stretch. Another two hour hike took us along a different blue path and through some lovely pine forests (it smelled like Christmas!).
We finally arrived back at Cingov at about 5:20pm, feeling that we had done some very good hiking but that we were also ready to collapse. So we stumbled to the bus stop to wait for our 5:40pm bus. Unfortunatley it never arrived as we discovered that, in fact, the buses had stopped going on August 31st (this was September 1st). Argh - why were we destined to have bad things happen to us that day?! After some confused and non-sensical conversations with local taxi firms by phone we decided that the only answer was to walk back into Spisske Nova Ves instead of getting a bus. This added about another 7km to our walk! In
Barry on a ladder!
These were pretty cool additions to the walking trail in Slovensky Raj addition, it was along the side of fairly busy roads with no footpaths. After about an hour and a quarter we finally made it into town and to the bus station (which luckily we found easily) and we were able to catch a bus back to Levoca within 20 minutes. A final 15 minute walk from Levoca station to our hotel and we were ready to collapse in a heap. However, as it was 8:20 we decided to just have a quick wash and go out to get food. We went to a restaurant on the main square, just a two minute walk from our hotel, and treated ourselves to a 2-course meal including garlic soup and some very tasty steaks. We added a few beers to this and (for less than GBP10) we finally began to feel normal again. We were back at the hotel by 10 and had simply run out of energy. Far too much excitement for one day...!
Unfortunately however, my body decided that it wanted a bit more adventure and so at about 1:30am I woke up thinking "I'm going to be sick". Luckily I made it to the bathroom in time and spent
On the road
On our long walk back from the Slovensky Raj park - so tired! the next 30 minutes seeing my dinner all over again. I think I have now been put off garlic soup for life (and I had only tried it for the first time a few days previously in Poland!). Thankfully I was able to get back to bed at about 2:30 and I slept soundly for the rest of the night. Really, quite a crazy day.
Day 8
The next morning I woke up feeling more like myself and was able to get downstairs for a light breakfast. After that, I went back to the room to pack whilst Barry went out to take photos of Levoca to make up for his lost ones from the disappeared camera. Soon enough we were heading off to the bus station where we got a bus to Spisske Nova Fes. After a quick visit to the supermarket we got on a train to Trnava in Western Slovakia. The journey was 4 and a half hours long on a train that would look at home in a Hitchcock movie (the lady Vanishes, obviously!). We had the carriage to ourselves for most of the journey which made for a fun trip as we were able
Horne Basty in Trnava
Funny name but pretty street to catch up on sleep, diary writing and eat our tasty lunch (cheese and ham rolls again of course). When we got to Trnava, we went straight to our hotel (the Barbakan) to check in and dump our bags before heading out to explore.
Having come from the rural parts of Eastern Slovakia it was quite a difference to make it to the west. There was definitely a more urban feel to Trnava and it felt like we were getting nearer to Bratislava. Also, it seemed a bit cleaner and more 'European' - although I won't pass comment as to whether that was a good or bad thing! Another thing I noticed was that there were much less Roma people than I had seen in Eastern Slovakia. Anyway... first stop on our whirlwind tour was the main square (Trojicne Namestie) where we saw the nice central statue (Trinity Column) which was removed by the communists in the 1940s but returned to the main square in 1989. We then climbed the Municipal Tower to the side of the square to get great views of the town and enjoy the sunshine that had come to greet us. Inside the tower were
a number of interesting information panels charting the history of Trnava. After this we took in some more sights, including parts of the old town walls and gates, a few churches and the University district. The architecture was very appealing and reminded me more of an Austrian city than Slovakian. However, there were also some awful communist buildings which reared their ugly heads in the most annoying places (such as in prime position at one corner of the main square! - the Dom Kultury).
We went for a beer before dinner and then to a pizzeria where we enjoyed some simple food which would not play games with my stomach. After that we went for a walk around town to try to find a pub with more life in it than one barman and his friend propping up the counter. The town was strangely empty for a saturday night and so this was a harder undertaking than you might expect. Anyway, we eventually made it to a nice cellar pub which was almost full of young locals and had a nice atmosphere. After one drink though we were ready to head back to the hotel. Unfortunately when we got
View from our pizzeria!
Onto the main square in Trnava there we were greeted with a large wedding reception taking place in the centre of the hotel! We thought that the music was calming down at about 11pm, but in fact this was just speeches time, and soon after the music came back louder than before! Basically the party went on until 5am and during that time it was impossible to sleep as the music was so loud and our room overlooked the courtyard where the party was on. Nightmare!
Day 9
And so we managed to have about 3 hours sleep before our alarm went. We were obviously incredibly annoyed and so after a quick shower and packing our bags we went down to reception (without breakfast). I don't think I have ever managed such fluent German as I came out with that day! I argued with the hotel man that it was unfair that they had not warned us about the party. His answer at first was something along the lines of "well, if you didn't like it then you should have just got up and left in the middle of the night". When I pointed out that this was absurd the man just shrugged. It was
Bratislava Town Hall
with cool but quiet museum inside quite an amusing argument really - especially as we knew we were in the right. Eventually he said "ok, well how much do you want to pay then" and I said (in my best German) "well, we did have 2 hours sleep and we each had a shower, so I suppose we can pay 200krony (=4GBP)". The guy looked slightly astonished but just shrugged to accept it and so we paid. The bill was meant to be over 2000krony (=40GBP!) and so we had really had quite a bargain if it weren't for the complete lack of sleep...
And so, after all the excitement, we left the hotel and wandered through Trnava to the train station. We got some coffee/juice and breakfast baguettes (ham, cheese and sauerkraut - hmm, not my favourite!). Then we jumped on a train headed for Bratislava. Unfortunately I did not realise until later that I had actually left my hiking stick back in Trnava train station (by the sauerkraut baguette place!) - silly girl. The train journey only took about an hour and soon we were back in a big city again, with all that fun that goes with it. When we got to
Bratislava we walked straight to the hostel (The Patio Hostel) where we were able to dump our bags and set out to do some sight seeing.
First stop was the Primacialne Namestie where we found the Primate's Palace and Town Hall (with a bright green roof). We went into the Palace and enjoyed an interesting exhibition including the historic Hall of Mirrors, old paintings, tapestries and a pretty chapel. It wasn't very busy and we were able to wander mostly by ourselves. Soon though we were back out into the sunshine and into a small side street. We went to the Siesta cafe nearby to enjoy a very tasty hot chocolate before going on to visit the 'Photographer' statue. There are a number of fun statues dotted around the city and this was my favourite. We then wandered on to the Hlavne Namestie - the main square facing the front of the Town Hall. We went inside the Town Hall to see the large museum inside. The first part contained some great paintings by the Slovakian artist David Plachy. I had never seen his paintings before but was very impressed with his range of ideas. Other rooms included exhibitions
Me in cool books/mirrors installation
in the City Art Gallery in Bratislava on archaeology, torture instruments and old weapons. We also had a chance to see some old rooms with wonderful painted ceilings and stained glass windows. We also had a chance to climb the tower with nice views over the town. The only problem was that the whole time we were in the museum we were constantly followed by the guards/curators. They clearly didn't trust us (I can't imagine why!) but were also probably bored as we were the ONLY visitors in the whole building. Crazy!
After leaving the Town Hall we wandered through the Old Town and ended up at a nice restaurant (Prasna Basta) with an outdoor courtyard where we took a relaxed lunch. The prices in Bratislava were noticably higher than those in Eastern Slovakia, but still much much cheaper than London! After lunch we climbed the central St Michael's Tower which had more nice views over the city as well as interesting exhibitions on the history of the city. Whilst we were at the top of the tower, a recreation of an old coronation ceremony march went on beneath us with people in folk dress, horses and musicians parading through the street.
From the tower
Mmm, pancakes
in Bratislava we went to find the 'peeper' statue - another famous Bratislava sight. It strangely consists of a bronze man's head poking out of a manhole in the street. Lots of fun but slightly surreal. After that we went on to the City Art Gallery in the Old Town. This holds a great selection of various types of art over 3 floors. The pictures ranged from old and impressionists, through modern 20th century, and right up to very 'modern' pieces. One of the best pieces was made up of thousands of books and mirrors, which when put together made an amazing optical effect (see photo). After the gallery we went back to the main square to find the other famous statue ('The Frenchman' - looks like Napolean) before walking South towards the Danube. We wandered along Hviezdoslavovo Square (actually a very long street) where there were a number of craft and food stalls. At the bottom we were able to catch sight of the 'New Bridge' - a very large communist structure that actually is quite striking and not a bad addition to the skyline.
After another coffee/hot chocolate, we walked back to the hostel via a massive Tesco superstore
Looking across the Danube in Bratislava
With the "New Bridge" in the foreground and massive communist housing estate behind. near our hostel. We stocked up on supplies and went back to relax in the hostel for 45 minutes. At about 7pm we went out to the 'Slovak Pub' (original name, no?!) for a few beers and dinner. After that we went back into the Old Town to enjoy another relaxed drink along with a massive Slovak pancake. It is so easy to eat well in this place.
Day 10
And so, on our last day we managed to wake up reasonably early. Unfortunately during the night we had both been attacked by mosquitos, but - despite the pain! - we made it out to explore a bit more. After a quick breakfast from Tesco we walked into the Old Town to get a breakfast drink at the British Council. I have often thought I would like to work for the British Council in foreign countries, and I can think of worse places to do this than Bratislava! After that we walked up behind the Old Town to the castle looking over the city. Outside the castle it is possible to look across the Danube to see a massive Communist housing complex where thousands of people live. Despite the
end of Communism, its influence is clearly not dead in this part of the world.
We went into the castle to explore the museum inside with displays on various themes, including traditional Slovak instruments, folk crafts, paintings and Da Vinci. The castle itself was not particularly attractive but still worth a quick visit. After that, we walked back through the hotel and after picking up some lunch materials at Tesco we went to the hostel to collect our bags and head to the airport.
And so, our amazing 10 day trip to Poland and Slovakia was at an end. It was a great trip and we saw some great sights. For anyone interested in culture, history, hiking, mountain climbing, castles, etc, etc a trip to this part of the world will not disappoint. Just be careful on those cliff edges...
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colin lohuis
non-member comment
delightfull
I think what you have done here is wonderfull I hope to see more in the future i will go on a trip to see what there is to see