Blogs from Slovakia, Europe

Today was not only 3 cities in 1 day but 3 countries - Breakfast in Hungary, Lunch in Slovakia and Dinner in Vienna. Today we left Budapest, not on the boat but by bus as someone had pulled the plug on the Danube and no river boats can transverse between Vienna and Budapest. So it was on to buses for us today - we only managed 5 minutes before an American realised they have left their passport in the boats safe!! Always 1. When we got to Bratslava ( about 2.5 hours by bus) Leonie and I decided we needed to earn ice cream so hiked up to Bratslava Castle and enjoyed the views over the Danue. We had a walk around the old city and found a cool little cafe to have a traditional Slovakian ... read more

The cabin at Gobcikovo was very functional. We had plenty of room, separate bedrooms, a kitchen, fridge and separate lounge room, but (there's always a but), it was dated and I'm not sure how to say this, did seem to be what we are expecting more of as we travel further into Eastern Europe. We left for Komarno just before 8:30am. We rode on the levee bank most of the day again. This meant velvet smooth asphalt for all but a couple of short sections of gravel and concrete, which in turn meant we travelled quite quickly (for us). The river was not visible for most of the day because of a green belt that was on the outside of an intricate twisting of little river ways splitting off the Danube. The path had barriers across ... read more

It was a shame to have to leave Vienna, both from what a wonderful city it was, as well as the salubrious accommodation we had at our disposal. As we left we saw one of the neighbours and asked if he'd take our photo. He asked where we were heading and with a slight air of cockiness we tell him London to Istanbul, 4,500kms. Oh, that's great he said, I rode around Australia a while back and did 6,000 miles (9,600kms). We left with our collective tails behind our legs. It was a short 5km ride down to the river bank. Google wouldn't give us a bike route to Bratislava so we relied on my Eurovelo files. Again, it would have been hard to get lost with the signs that are up. Today the feel definitely ... read more

The Tatras are a compact mountain range that forms part of the border between Poland and Slovakia. Although looking much like the Alps in miniature, the Tatras are actually a northwestern extension of the Carpathian Mountains, that form an arc through Eastern Europe. Sub-divided into three separate ranges (the White, High and Western Tatras) they are a chain of rugged mountains topped with jagged peaks, rising up to 2654m in height. And best of all, they are easy to explore - not only is there a complex network of hiking routes snaking throughout the mountains on both sides of the border, but as with numerous other mountainous areas in Europe there is also a series of mountain huts placed in strategic (and often downright beautiful) locations, allowing people the opportunity to walk from hut to hut ... read more

Slept much better and woke with eyes still slightly swollen but not painful and with only light rain. After breakfast we headed back into the Slovak Paradise National Parkto hike along the Suchá Belá Gorge, one of the longest and most popular canyons in the park. The previous rain meant the stream was in full flow so we had to trek through water, climb over fallen trees and ascend ladders - the path even went through a window-like hole in the rock. Emerging from the canyon we ate our sandwiches before continuing along the top to the symbolic cemetery above Kláštorisko. Here the group divided with some heading off on a longer, more adventurous route down with Jan (which admittdly sound like more fun!) whilst Jamie and I took the shorter, gentler route with Andy that ... read more