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Published: July 28th 2011
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After a great time in Bratislava it was time to once again pack the car and head off to our next destination, a one night stop in a small village near Liptovsky Mikuláš. Today’s trip should take us through some very scenic and sometimes interesting countryside.
Our first stop was the very large Tesco Extra Hypermarket for some lunch supplies. Tesco seems to have a huge presence in this part of the world and there are quite a number of reasonably new premises. To get to our intended route we needed to retrace our steps along the 30 kilometres of concrete road. One day someone is going to realise this road is not good and needs instant replacement. But then again the Ministry of Roads probably have shares in the suspension and shock absorber industry. There is a large amount of road building going on with both motorways (toll) and expressways marching across the country so Route 62 might be next in line.
We had a lunch break just past Zarnovica at a very pleasant roadside picnic area. A lot of effort has been made to create sheltered picnic tables, playground equipment and even gabled roofs for the rubbish bins. The
portaloos aren’t always that appealing but at least they are there in an emergency. Driving on we spotted the large Tesco Extra Hypermarket sign just out of Zvolen. A drive into the town was not that appealing with large amounts of heavy industry and the rain was falling so we made an instant decision that toilet facilities were not needed. No sooner said than we came across a large new commercial and retail centre for the town. In pride of place was Tescos with nice clean facilities and cafe.
Banska Bystrica had been on our list of places to stay but the budget couldn’t afford it so we took the opportunity of a quick visit. The town centre was a miniature of what we had seen in Bratislava, colourful buildings and outdoor cafes.
As we headed north we passed little towns that still had the appearance of what life must have been like when Slovakia was part of the Eastern Block. There was a lot of serious industry going on with large chimneys and grim rusty looking buildings. As we passed through a little village near Podbrezova we could hear music. On further investigation we noticed loud speakers along the
main street and loud music was playing. The music was relayed right to the end of the town. It would be rather unfortunate if you didn’t like the music or you needed an afternoon nap.
The final part of the drive took us through part of the Tatra Mountains. The hills were covered in spruce trees and with misty low cloud from recent rain it was quite a picture. Small villages dotted the valleys and were obviously set up for skiing during the winter. Our accommodation tonight is in such a valley on the north side of the Tatras outside Liptovsky Mikuláš. Our evening meal was at a local restaurant which is obviously very popular, or the only one in town, because we had to sit outside by a river rushing down the valley just metres from our table and the temperature in the low teens. The only thing missing was the snow and a brown bear coming down to catch a fish.
Tomorrow we are promised some sun for our drive north to Krakow in Poland.
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