After our stint in Olomouc, we headed by train and bus to the High Tatras...a mountain range renowned for its cheap skiing & excellent summer hiking. A hostel called The Ginger Monkey was highly recommended by a fellow traveller in Krakow months earlier so we had to check it out. Despite the title Slovakia was not all sunny, in fact it was a total wash-out for the first 5 days and the view of the mountain range was blocked by a sea of mist. These days were spent inside the log-style cabin where we played Scrabble and got to know the staff, Jim, Emma & Ben very well. We even cooked supper for them one night so we got into their good books straight away. Thinking there was going to be more rain to come, we decided to limit our stay to five days...but when the morning came - having packed our bags and ready to go - the sun was in full swing and the beautiful scenery was there to be enjoyed at last. We instantly decided to stay a little longer so we could do some hiking and actually experience Slovakia as more than just a hostel's living room. Also we'd made such good friends with everyone we found it hard to leave anyway.
We decided to start our hiking expedition the next day, which was a 2000m mountain on our doorstep. It took almost 7hrs to climb & descend, the picturesque view on the summit was still blocked by mist...but it was definatley worth the effort. The next day our bodies throbbed with pain so we took it pretty easy for the rest of our stay. Drinking local beer & wine was a pleasant activity and on the final night the hostel held a bbq for the everyone, so plenty of chicken, steaks and sausages were had. All in all we had a fantastic week in Slovakia and will certainly be returning there one day...
Will be posting again soon...catch you all then
xx xx
London, United Kingdom