Day 14 - Tatranska Lomnica + Lomnicky Stit in the High Tatras

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Ok I don't generally stress out while travelling but this morning sucked. I didn't sleep much last night (my throat flared up) and then there was some huge issue on the train track and everything north of us was delayed 20-50(!!!!) minutes. I had to make a connection to get to the Tatras in time for my prime ticket so I was getting pretty worried. I decided to go up to the tracks just in case and one of the conductors kept saying 'autobussi', but everyone was huddled there so I stayed with the crowd to be safe. They ended up just letting us get on an extra train in the station to head south which is exactly what I needed.

Poprad to Tatranska Lomnica was a pain in the ass too lol. I thought the TEZ (mountain train) ran more frequently than it does... The first half of the ride was adorable though - someone got on with a fluff all of a tiny puppy that we literally passed around to pet and hold lol. I had to change trains and got stuck waiting 45 min to go onwards to Tatranska Lomnica. Then - even though I bought my tickets online - I had to wait in a huge line to get a card to swipe with my tickets on it. I FINALLY got on the first chairlift at 11:40am, but of course I was worried about getting to the 3rd chairlift in time for my 1pm slot to go to Lomnicky Stit lol. And then worried about making my connection back to Presov tonight. So all in all not a good anxiety day lol.

BUT as soon as the chairlift started moving, all my concerns and all the rush fell away so that I could simply enjoy the beauty. A big giant "eff you" pause button on my stress.

The first chairlift is tiny - sits 4 - but I had it to myself. It's a little rickety... it was windy so I could feel it sway a little which was unfortunate haha. But even just that first stage of the lift brings you quite high and gives you a lovely view if the valley below. The second chairlift is much larger - like a proper gondola fitting 8. It's not that long and it brings you up to Skalnate Pleso. Ok the views from here were ridiculous. You can see the little itty bitty building up top the mountain (where I was going next). You can see the snow patches. But most importantly you have the glacial lake/pond which provides a stunning base for any photo you want to take. I got up there at 12:10pm so I had about 40min to explore that level.

The entire reason I'd been looking forward to today was Lomnicky stit - it's the second highest point in the High Tatras and they super limit how many visitors go per day. There's only 1 cable car, it runs only a few times during the day and it fits around 12... but like we're squished in like sardines lol. Didn't care. Totally worth it.

The view as you go up is what you'd hope - great views of the valley below, of the other cable car systems and of the crystal clear glacial pond/lake. There are still patches of snow in the crevasses below and we marvelled at the insane people who were rock climbing/mountaineering up the rock face.

At the top you have 50 minutes to take it all in - it's kind of the perfect amount of time. I really can't give any type of explanation that even begins to give the beauty of the mountains its due justice. It is simply stunningly beautiful whichever way you look.

You're right smack dab in the mountain range so you see all the crevasses, rock faces, snow caps, etc. You have a perfect view all around with nothing to obstruct you. There isn't really a walking path - rather there's a wooden walkway that circles the cable car building so that can truly have a 360 experience.

There is just something about the mountains, isn't there? You're free. The air is clear. It's wilderness and nature at its finest.

I befriended a couple from New Jersey (haven't heard English tourists since Budapest) so that we could all take pics of each other haha. Honestly people suck at taking photos which is why I never ask... but I could tell by the way he was framing his own shots that he'd make effort. And he did. Somewhat.

At the top they also have a ledge you can walk out onto - basically leaving you standing 10-15 feet off of the mountain. It was fun watching the little kids freak... they did not want to tempt mother nature haha. The adults were all for it though. I honestly could have stood there the full 50min and been happy. You could feel the up draft, the wind - such a pure place to be.

Regardless of the stress - it was 100% worth it.

(I did a photo dump on here because I didn't want to organize twice... I know the quality is pretty meh on here, but they'll be up on FB at some point.)

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Photos

Hello tiny cable car
Also if you can see the little bump (building) on the left peak... that's where it goes up to

Lomnicky Stit
Ok I'm not naming all of these differently...

Coming back down
Can you see the hikers?