Poland – Slovakia
When we traveled to Eastern Europe last year, we found out that we will have to spend some more time here. There is so much to see and experience.
So this tour goes through Poland, Slovakia, Romania and the Balkans.
We go to Zarkopane in southern Poland by the Tatra Mountains in the Carpathians.
The locals stand out along the road with signs offering accommodation. They offer both private accommodation and accommodation in the city's hotels. They are very eager, but since we spend the night in the car, we don't really need that service. On the other hand, there are also many small food stalls, and that service is just right for us. There are delicious local baked goods that we like to sink our teeth into. We also get to buy some bread that we can keep in stock in the car.
The town is surrounded by mountains and is an excellent ski resort. In the summer, it is also possible to explore the city and take the cable car up. Here you can enjoy the view of the national park.
It turns out that there is over an hour's queue for the cable car. So we try to kill the wait by going to a stall and buying ice cream.
But the queue is long and it doesn't really seem to be moving, so we decide to find our walking legs and follow a small path.
On the way up the mountain path, we come across a shepherd who is in the process of gathering the sheep together so that they can be milked.
It's a hot summer's day, and we quickly get warm. Good thing we don't have as thick a woolen coat as the sheep.
After a good walk, we are rewarded with beautiful scenery.
It is also possible to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride. Because of the steep roads, the horses wear special clog shoes so that they don't twist their legs so much.
On our last trip we just transited through Slovakia, so now we're taking some time to experience something. We go to the Demanovska cave of liberty, which is a huge stalactite cave in the Tatra mountains. We have seen many caves and grottoes but this one beats almost all records. The cool air in the cave is more than welcome in the scorching heat in which we find ourselves.
The large stalactites hang down from the ceiling and on the floor beautiful stalagmites have been built up over thousands of years.
There are areas that are cordoned off, but there are also many places where you can get really close. We hardly dare to move for fear of touching something that might break. So these are careful and calm movements.
Further inside the cave there is an underground lake. It has completely clear water and there are beautiful reflections.
We have seen pictures where you sail around in a rowing boat, but that is not something they offer today.
The entire cave tour is just under 2 km, there are quite a few stairs that have to be climbed, but it is good for the fitness.
We are in rapid transit through Hungary and are now entering Romania, where we have had a really good tour route in the mountains.