Blogs from Slovakia, Europe - page 57

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Europe » Slovakia » Zilina Region » Orava August 2nd 2005

30.7. - 2.8.2005 English summary bellow vlastne sme povodne chceli ist bajkovat na Ukrajinu, ale nakoniec sa rozhodli neist tam lebo je to daleko, tamojsie hory su na bicykel vysoke a este stale mame v pamati sest-hodinove cakanie na hranici z minuleho roku.. takze sme sa rozhodli ist na styri dni na Oravu a dobre sme spravili.. den 1 v piatok sme mali skvelu jazdu smerom na Oravu (so stoparkou ktoru sme vylozili v Rajci).. sranda prisla ked sme spolu na jednej luke pri zapade slnka aplikovali tabacik chytracik a neskor sa este zastavili v Sutovskom jazere kde sme odficali na miestnych chlapcoch ktori postavali pri svojich vytunovanych autach a porovnavali si subwoofery.. a tak zmohnuti okolnostami sme neskoro vecer chodili autom okolo oravskej priehrady a skusali po tme hladat nejaky flek na prespatie.. dlho sa ... read more
downhill
paprade


Štrebské Pleso anchors the west end of the Tatras rail line while Tatranská Lomnica occupies the other. Both have cable cars take hikers to trails located at higher altitudes. While a nine hour march along a mountainside did not appeal to me, I made a half day of it and hiked about two hours. On the way, I scooped up Midori, from Niigata, Japan, and convinced her to tag along. She is a student studying Slovak. Odd, isn’t it? A Japanese girl studying Slovak? The ride from Tatranská Lomnica up to Skalnaté Pleso presents graceful views of the forested slopes below, and at times, the peaks above. It is imperative to beware of the weather, however. My time in the Tatras has taught me that on a mid July day, a nasty, pelting rainfall can develop ... read more

Europe » Slovakia July 26th 2005

Hey Everyone! So at first I thought I was going to be really good about this travel blog business..but it turns out I'm not at all.... It's really difficult to find the time to get online and post pictures, by the end of the day we are BEAT! Between running for trains, seeing sites, and getting in trouble with cops, we don't have much time for internet browsing! Some CRAZY things have happened to us these past couple of days! We spent several days in Austria, which I fell completely head over heels with! I'd love to go back to Austria and spend some more time...with more MONEY! Austria is way too expensive for backpackers. Vienna was breathtaking and Salzburg was simply marvelous! From Slovakia we hiked across the Slovakian and Hungarian border and visited some ... read more
Spissky hrad
Slovakia or Hungary?!??

Europe » Slovakia » Presov Region » High Tatras July 25th 2005

Poprad is the economic center and rail junction of Slovakia’s High Tatras region of. Yet, when pulling into the station, one tends to wonder why. What’s the big deal? What mountains? Where? On an overcast day, the mountains are concealed in clouds, leaving the newly arrived to reconsider why they came this far for a mountain getaway. No mountains are to be found anywhere. Yet, as with the climate in regions where altitude plays a major role, a brisk east wind lifts the heavy gray curtain on the Tatras’ jagged and glacial peaks. However finite in area this range of the Carpathians is, the first time you set eyes upon them leaves a robust impression. Starý Smokovec is the boss of a series of villages that rest upon the lower slopes of the High Tatras, linked ... read more
Armegeddon?
The Power of Nature
Old Fashioned

Europe » Slovakia » Presov Region » High Tatras July 22nd 2005

Reveling in the emptiness of my compartment on the train to Poprad, I willingly welcomed an elderly couple to join me. They had been seeking a seat up and down the corridor. Usually, I am not enthralled with younger men who join me. It usually results in very loud and obnoxious noise emanating from their earphones. On the other hand, travelers many years older than me are agreeable and at the worst, inoffensive. The older lady asked me in Slovak if the seats were indeed free. I replied in the affirmative in Slovak. This brought on another question, to which I had to admit my ignorance and ask, “Mluvíte anglicky?” “Yes. I speak English.” Wow. This was uncommon. A women her age functional in English, yet a Slovak, too? She arranged her bags, kissed her husband ... read more

Europe » Slovakia » Kosice Region » Kosice July 21st 2005

After a routine, yet non-intrusive inspection from Polish customs aboard the train to Budapest, the Slovaks performed no passport control at the border. I was not particularly worried and the steward in charge of our wagon woke me at some unheard of hour to tell me it was time soon to get off. I woke none of the others in my compartment, all bound for Hungary. He made sure I traveled no further than my ticket indicated. In the morning mist of 4:30 am, Košice does very little to motivate you to get out of your sleeping compartment. The city, Slovakia’s second largest, is encircled by hills and bluffs, all poisoned with the same tired apartment tenements. I forced myself onto the platform, only to see more of Legoland gone terribly wrong. Faceless apartment buildings cut ... read more
Magnetic Attraction
No News Is Good News
St. Stephen's Cathedral

Europe » Slovakia » Bratislava Region » Bratislava July 17th 2005

Ahoj! Here we are in Bratislava-- and for those of you who have seen the movie "Eurotrip" you'll understand what I mean when I say we are living like kings! Everything here is really really cheap! Vanda, Philipp, Nacho, Julieta, and I are staying at Vanda's flat downtown and since everything is so close we take the train into Vienna everyday to tour the sites. Tomorrow we are going to Salzburg to visit Mozart's home and after that we are off to Budapest. In Bratislava we visited the Devin castle, an ancient Roman ruin destroyed by Napoleon's army in 1809-- and the Bratislava Castle, the biggest castle in Slovakia. Ahoj!!... read more

Europe » Slovakia » Bratislava Region » Bratislava July 14th 2005

Many people have asked what the origin of the name “Tommy No Papers” was. Well let me take you back to a late morning, or was it afternoon, in a Vienna hotel room . The night before I had been playing card games, the kind involving adult beverages, with my travel companions. We were sitting alongside the Danube River throwing peanuts to ducks who in retrospect might rather have stayed asleep. This pursuit quickly led to the night spinning out of control. After passing through some blue lighted bar, where the local men seemed to be a little too friendly, we ended up in some cellar bar. I think it was headbanger night. It was packed with black shirted, long haired kids in their element. It was straight out of the ‘80s. The last thing I ... read more
Vienna
Bratislava

Europe » Slovakia July 7th 2005

Well the bears didn't get us. In fact they heard me coming for miles and were nowhere to be seen, but perhaps it was not just me being characteristically chatty- it could have been the thousands of polish tourists who take the cable car to the polish -slovakian border everyday! Yes the Tatra National Park on the polish side was absolutely heaving with visitors. However we had a great tactic (not really intended mostly because of having a leisurely large breakfast) of starting quite late and therefore being on the mountains when most of the tourist were leaving. The weather was beautiful and it was a real balm to Robin and I to be high up again and away from the bikes for the first time. Zakopane had been a bit hectic, very touristy and tacky ... read more
Top of  Poland
Hut Supplies
Scrambling Erika

Europe » Slovakia » Presov Region » High Tatras June 2nd 2005

I couldn’t follow the Carpathians into the Ukraine because of visa requirements, so I dodged back into Hungary, then made a quick lunge to the north into Slovakia to rejoin the Carpathians. The High Tatras are the highest peaks in the Carpathian range. This part of the Carpathians is a national park in Slovakia, as well as in neighboring Poland. Unfortunately, the weather still hadn’t improved much, so I didn’t have the opportunity to take any good pictures of the High Tatras. I had one little incident with a Slovakian bus and a mud hole. There was a section of road that had been flooded by recent rains. Off to the side they had constructed a makeshift bypass. The bypass was also muddy from the rains. I had just about finished negotiating my way across the ... read more
Slovakian Mountain Roads




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