Satel Poprad

... and much higher than the Polish part.

There is a special railway designed to bring the mountaineers to virtually any place they want, and its network connects all the High Tatra towns like Tatranska Lomnica, Smokovce or Strbske Pleso. What's more, there are a few cable cars that take you directly into the heart of Tatry without any effort, and amongst these places are peaks and passes like Lomnicky ...

... sme zopar tyciniek. Chceme ist do potravin, no mame smolu, je zatvorene.

Obchadzame Hnilecke vrchy smerom na Sykavku, kadial oficialne pokracuje cervena Hnilecka cyklomagistrala. Za Hnilcom sa vsak cesta meni z asflatovej na lesnu. Ideme lesom a lukami tesne popri zeleznici a potoku. KRASNE ! Vona ihlicnateho lesa nas sprevadza aj tu ... a v lese je prijemne vlhko, zeby tu prsalo ? Je aj dost mokro, co si hned obidvaja odskusame padom do blata :)

... like cycling, like I do. Riding down at a dizzy speed is really pleasant and fun, but then coming back is a pain.

What to see when you're in Bukowina? Take your trekking shoes and something warm to wear and go to feel the mountains. I especially recommend Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich, with the biggest waterfall in Poland - Siklawa (about 3.5h hours way up and 2.5h way down). There is a small mountain hostel in the ...

... to be the best bit according to Lonely Planet. Even the souvenir shop, which to all intents and purposes seemed open, was apparently closed (actually we were eventually left in no doubt of this fact by a particularly aggressive female Slovakian shop assistant). So to be honest, the best bit was seeing some rare little marmot type creatures (spermophiles according to the information boards, which valued them at 500 Euros???) in the grass within the ramparts.

... The drive out to Levoca was very pleasant, passing dry rolling hills which bared an uncanny resemblance to those in the midlands of Tasmania. I had read that Levoca was one of the best preserved medieval towns in the former Czechoslovakia, and as we decided against visiting the popular Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov, I didn't want to miss it. By the time we arrived the sun was shining, and Ania and I were both impressed as we passed over the crest of a ...

... chain, in the south, there is a low highland of the Kozie chrbty, and in the west, there are heights of the Strbské dividing ridge. The High Tatras massif hightens the valley approximately at 2,000m. A relative vicinity of the main Tatra range creates magnificent scenery of the town. In the town surroundings agricultural lands are located, which transfer into continuos forest complex. In a picturesque clearway of the High Tatras, since 1946, the history of so called Great ...

... justifyable charging that much had we been able to get a tour in English, but as they needed a group of 40 before they would do that, we opted for a Polish tour instead. I decided against the photo ticket for the fact that they were charging more than twice as much again for it. Instead, I took a few hasty photos when the guides weren't looking, which explains why few of them turned out very well. The mass of ice within the caves was admittedly quite ...

... one night and caught the morning train to Stary Smokovec, a small developing resort town at the base of the High Tatras. The area between Poprad and Stary Smokovec had been devastated by major floods in 2004. As a result, the landscape was desolate and looked as if Saruman's orcs had swept through. The half hour morning train was more like a tram and had only two small cars which filled up quickly with hikers. At each stop, more hikers piled on. One ...

... would eat and stay during the night. The last part of the hike I was getting thirsty, and so I had increased my speed. Now I am too negative. There was a mountain like, underneath the Gerlachovsky stit (highest mountain of Slovakia). The water was perfectly clear and the slopes behind it were overwhelming. At that moment I thought: wow! In the mountain hotel we had to check in for a room. My god, what a bureaucracy! It seemed like I didn't book a room, but that I entered ...

... tasty that the temptation becomes too large quickly. July 30 After a good night of sleep due to the Stein beer (10% alcohol) we went into the old own of Bratislava for breakfast and shopping. I must say, the old town of Bratislava is very good-looking. It looks like it is the decorum of some fairy tale: there are a lot of colorful renaissance houses. What I don´t like is that the center seems to be in a different world than the rest of the city. The ...