Slovensky Czechia .......

Heading south I stopped for the night at a small campsite near a lake which was busy but not full (the site that is) and had a good bar and decent enough wifi to update the blog whilst downing a beer or two. A local band played some Slovakian versions of pop classics as families barbecued but it was all quiet by 11.

 

I stopped at Banska Stiavnica, a former mining town and UNESCO WH site with its fine old buildings, two castles - the Old and New but both old and enjoyed a coffee and cake at a newly opened bar that was elegantly decorated inside and out. Just below it an area was cordoned off after a disastrous fire back in March that had destroyed half a dozen of the town's finer buildings. Restoration was underway but many precious works of art, museum pieces and antique books had been lost.

 

 

Arriving at a large but outdated campsite north of Bratislava in the suburb of Zlaty Pieski I pitched up as far under the trees as possible as the temperatures across Central and Southern Europe were staying very high. A short walk over to the tram terminus and a twenty minute journey put me in the centre and I walked down to the river and out to the impressive bridge that is supported primarily from one end by the 'UFO Tower' built in the 70s as a display of Soviet engineering. Apparently the circular restaurant at the top was supposed to be a revolving one but they were unable to access the Western technology to achieve this. It acts as an excellent observation platform after taking the lift up and I could see beyond Bratislava's old centre to the new skyscrapers of the business district to the east and the impressive Red Stone Castle to the west (which shone a brilliant white.....) After checking out a number of lovely churches and old buildings I caught the tram back up to the site which had filled up considerably. A friend from Swansea who is a bothy maintenance stalwart was from the city and used to swim in the local lake almost 40 years ago, which was also the scene of a fatal aircrash.

 

My intention to visit Trencin Castle was thwarted by yet another infuriating park by App or SMS system that refused to work but as I had stopped at the smaller but very impressive Beckov Castle I wasn't too bothered.

 

Thus I was over in to the Czech Republic and originally considered staying at a park-up out in the hills but it was on the junction of a couple of local roads and I doubted it would be particularly peaceful. Thus an aire in Uherse Hradiske caught my attention with the promise of free hook up but when I arrived none of the four outlets were working and a few locally owned Czech vans were occupying most of the spaces, however I could squeeze in and walked across to the supermarket and ATM as the Czech currency is still the Crown despite an intention to join the Euro over a decade ago. I was perhaps still mindful of the Hungarian forint arithmetic when it came to conversions and inadvertently took out £700 instead of £70 which to be honest I'm surprised my bank even let me do.......few machines elsewhere would allow you to withdraw that much. Anyway fortunately I have sufficient funds for it not to matter and it will act as an incentive to stay longer than planned!

The city of Olomouc was easily reached on foot from the campsite north of the centre and I enjoyed another old central zone with open squares including the main Trinity Square in front of the Town Hall that has a fascinating astronomical clock on one wall. I also walked out to the St Wenceslas cathedral passing through an arty tunnel before coffee and cake in the shade to energise me for the walk back. 

 

 

The UNESCO listed Archbishop's Palace at Kromeriz is surrounded by very pleasant parklands that I walked round keeping in the shade before heading south again to the Punkva Caves complex just north east of Blansko. It took some working out but basically by parking for the Macocha gorge which was an impressively large canyon lined with greenery you then walked a mile or so down to the Punkva entrance for a timed visit with a guide. Arriving early gave me time to enjoy the small museum, a Czech beer and a snack before we headed in to the system. Whilst not on the scale or grandeur of Skocjan back in Slovenia it was still a good visit which eventually emerged at the bottom of the gorge I had peered in to earlier. From there after more caverns and passages we all jumped in to flat bottomed battery powered skiffs that took us along a flooded section with a stop to look at a beautifully decorated chamber before finally emerging in to daylight. Then a cable car returned us to the top car park to cap off a very enjoyable experience.

Visiting Brno, Czechia's second largest city, yesterday was another interesting combination of transport options. I was staying at a lovely Dutch run site at Veverska Bityska at the top end of the valley flooded to provide drinking water for Brno and had spent the first evening chatting to Phillip, a Czech guy with a T4 who was very interested in my set up and lifestyle - he has a wife and young son and wants to live a simpler and more sustainable life in a hut he owns in wooded hills in the north of the country. The reception provided details of how to get down to the far end of the lake by boat and then hop on a tram to the city centre so at 9.30 am I was waiting by a slow moving, greenish coloured river when a lovely old fashioned vessel turned up for those of us on the bank. For a very reasonable £8 return we enjoyed a serene journey along a valley which opened up to become a large lake with numerous beaches, swimming spots and paddleboarders. Our vessel was electric so slid smoothly alongside various jetties for others to join or leave before reaching the dam wall. A short walk away I joined the tram in to town that seemed to operate a tap'n' go system for fares using my bank card although a couple I had met on the boat said they had tried to do the same, come unstuck and been hit with a hefty fine. For me as a change to the usual castles and fine buildings Brno had 3 varied underground attractions. The ossuary in a catacomb beneath St Jacob's Church once contained the bones of 50,000 deceased from many hundreds of years ago when cremations were not seen as acceptable. Many remains were later reinterred elsewhere but the collection remaining provided a poignant sight in the cool dark crypt. After an unusually decadent (for me) KFC mainly to get some wifi, unlimited drink top ups and use the loo I then climbed the tower of the old Town hall for a good overview of the city and some useful breeze as it was still hot. Dropping down to the large outdoor Krautmarkt or cabbage market, which of course sold far more than just cabbages, I then joined up for the tour of the extensive cellars that fan out from beneath the market place under adjacent buildings and were used for storage of everything from wines to vegetables, cheeses, grains and even prisoners.

 

 After climbing up to Spilberk Castle for more panoramic views and a jar of the excellent Urquell lager I then took my final excursion underground in to the 10-z nuclear fall out shelter which lies inside the castle's hill. It was an eerie experience and took me back to last summer's visit to a former Soviet nuclear missile silo in the Baltics - mankind is capable of acheiving so much looking back at the history of all the places I have been to in recent weeks and yet seems capable of putting it all at irreversible risk. For centuries Eastern Europe has seen wars and invasions with huge changes in the powers that be creating a complex historical web that prior to this trip I was only vaguley aware of. The stability of the EU may harbour well for the future but I am also acutely aware that Britain's narrow minded and pointless exit from Europe is impacting negatively on our country, those who would wish to live, work and study for a time there and the likes of yours truly who like to get away. To this end I have about a month left of this 9 month trip and will be heading across Germany by the end of July.

A tram back to the lake followed by an hour's gliding across still waters passing Veveri Castle, which I plan on cycling down to shortly, returned me to the site which was now full. I'd met Jay and Carol from amongst other places Sydney, Ireland and Berlin who are just embarking on an extended tour of Europe in a brand new VW Grand California van based on the Crafter. They have a loose itinerary so we chatted about various options and I hope to get a closer look at the impressive vehicle later.

Anyway a few hours in the shade bringing this up to date has also enabled me to do some laundry, have a clean out, deal with the loo which has gone a useful 3 weeks without needing emptying and checked my gas bottles - I am less than half way through the last Moroccan cylinder as the fridge has not been used on gas, I'm mostly enjoying salads for meals and the hot weather has meant that less gas has been needed to enjoy a shower. I have been using mostly sites and taken EHU occasionally which gives me hot water and a cold fridge for a further 48 hours so everything is fine for my last few weeks.

Pics as always by clicking this link.

Borders, borders and more borders........

After leaving Zagreb I headed north and east for a couple of hours before finding a quiet place by a fishing lake to spend the night - to avoid the Hungarian motorway tolls which require an e-vignette the sat nav had taken me briefly through Austria. I had tried to get the vignette but the App didn't recognise my UK registration number but I bet the monitoring cameras would have done if I had transgressed. Similarly on a visit south of Gyor to the remarkable Pannonhalma Abbey high on a hill top the parking app wouldn't accept it either and as I had no small change I had to move on. An ATM had happily dispensed 100,000 forints - about £230 so working out what things actually cost is a bit mind numbing!

Anyway at a supermarket I did a few repeated small shops offering up the largest notes and so soon accumulated some small change although for 2 and 1 forints the tills don't give it out even though it's on the receipt...

I had crossed back in to Hungary from Austria and in Gyor spotted a car parts store so went in to buy 5l of engine oil before stopping at a Kwik Fit (of all places) to see if they could do me an oil and filter change. The guy was very helpful but said his workshop wasn't high enough, however he happily pointed me in the direction of another workshop not too far away and as I had the correct filter with me they had the job done and dusted within the hour for a very reasonable £30.  Passing through the Buda Hills north of Budapest I found a quiet forestry picnic area to spend the night before dropping down to Budapest to stay on the Ave Natura campsite, near the city but pleasantly situated in a shady valley. The owner was a very friendly and switched on guy with good English who placed me on a level pitch and explained the local bus service in to the capital, including providing two tickets.

Thus I was soon on my way down to the Danube, across the bridge and walking round towards the parliament buildings. I enjoyed a couple of hours exploring and had lunch in the centre that comes alive at night. There were some beautiful buildings and I even took a spin on the ferris wheel for some far reaching views but to be honest it was all rather too busy and in places seedy for me so after crossing over the river and walking back up on the Buda side with good views across the river I caught the bus back to the site.

 

The various sites of the Danube bend, on Europe's second longest river, started with an unexpected ferry crossing to Vac - I left the van on the west side and enjoyed the short hop to an attractive town with more fine buildings including a spectacular cathedral. Built in to the walls a small cafe was serving fish and chips by the river which was delicious before the ferry took me back over to the van.

Further up the valley the impressive castle of Visegrad towered over the river and was well worth the visit with remarkable views, a number of sections to the castle and some impressive displays of how life might have been. 

The huge basilica at Esztergom was undergoing refurbishment but you could still have a look round the cavernous interior and enjoy the views over the Danube.

That evening I tucked away by a fishing lake and had a chat with a guy who offered me a nip of some local home brewed hooch - it was strong but nice enough and he was very friendly with good English having worked in various parts of the UK. It was a very peaceful night but I was away early to the village of Holloko that preserves the traditional rural buildings of a very attractive area. Again the parking machine wouldn't accept even coins but I could pay in the information centre this time.

Down at Gyongyos the narrow gauge railway that climbed in to the forested hills was closed for a signalling upgrade so I headed up in to the hills anyway finding a quiet spot just off the road in the Buk National Park. Next day down at Lillafured I parked up to join another narrow gauge railway that rolled down to Miskolc through lovely scenery - it had been constructed to extract timber from the surrounding forests and the loco had a chainsaw tucked away in case of unforseen events on the line. After a quick ice cream I was back up to Lillafured where a grand hotel looks out over a reservoir.

Moving on to Tokaj an important centre of the Hungarian wine industry I found a lovely place to park up right on the river with good views across to the castle. There was a group of canoe campers set up on the opposite bank and a party for the local youths at the boat club but it was a quiet night after the event ended. Tokaj has a number of cellars tunnelled in to the rocks and provided a place for a lunch out in the sunny square.

For the weekend I headed over in to Slovakia having used the last of my forints to fill the tank and get some food in - it's not a currency to hang on to as I have seen all that I wished to in Hungary as much of the country is a huge flat plain. In the very north east of the country I found a superb little site in the Poloniny NP at Ulike Sedova, hard up against the Polish and Ukrainian borders. The friendly owner turned up later on, charged £12/night with hook up and shower key and pointed out the barrel of beer running on an honesty box basis and at only £1.50 a pint. There was only one other couple staying and I enjoyed an afternoon in the sun before a quiet and slightly woozy night. Next day I set off on a six hour walk that took me up to a pillar marking the junction of all 3 national boundaries - a very sobering place in the light of events on the other side of Ukraine although in fact Lviv only a hundred miles away had been bombed days earlier. The countryside was the same in all directions - gently rolling wooded hills and it felt the same as the wooded borders of the Baltic states with Belarus and Russia last summer.

 

Back at the site an Australian guy on a motorbike had arrived - Tod was from Perth and had shipped his bike to the UK for a 3 month tour of Europe. He had a pretty unforgiving schedule having already reached the Nordkapp and had crossed the whole of Poland that day. His onward route was through to Turkey and a couple of years ago he had crossed Russia and Mongolia from Vladivostock to St Petersburg. Anyway we swopped stories over a beer or two but he was away first thing next morning as I enjoyed a rare lie in.

Heading south I stopped to admire a few of the old timber built churches that are common in the Slovakian/Polish border region - the history of this region is very complex with national boundaries constantly evolving and even new countries emerging so I guess stability in religion and the simple permanence of field and forest provided the communities with some reassurances. Again I had felt this in the Baltics where rural life continued with very little change for centuries.

Bardejov had a fine collection of old buildings around its spacious square and a brass band were filling the streets with a medley of tunes from the balcony of the town hall. A secluded spot beneath the ruins of Palec castle provided a quiet place for the night with just a French lady on her own in another van tucked away. Restoration work seemed to be underway but with only one guy facing a huge task it seemed likely to be a job for life.

Further renovation work was underway at the mighty Spis Castle but on a far grander scale so whilst there was access to the huge outer enclosure the dramatic castle itself was out of bounds. Nearby a small village situated round a Catholic church and monastery was well worth a visit.

 

The small Pieniny NP protects a limestone gorge that marks the Slovakian/Polish border and is a popular rafting location so the village is full of hire companies who then run you back in a minibus and trailer - perhaps not a very environmentally sound arrangement as the 5 mile raft trip then requires a 30 mile round trip for each bus. Normally you can walk or cycle back up the gorge and I had intended to cycle it each way but it was closed for repairs to the trail following the floods a couple of months ago so I just enjoyed a ride over the footbridge in to Poland and round a few villages. I stopped at a small campsite which was busy but not full and later that evening enjoyed a remarkably intense thunderstorm with impressive lightning stikes for several hours. The German van next door lowered their satellite dish and unplugged their hook up in case of power surges but as I had neither to worry about I just enjoyed the spectacle. Moving on I arrived at the Slovensky Raj NP and stayed on a large open site that was very convenient for this popular area known as Slovakian Heaven. Numerous walking and cycling trails pass through the limestone area with gorges dissecting the plateau in various places.I decided to ride up to the plateau heading south and then head back over a total of 30 odd miles that began with an hour's steep climbing up a rough track. Then a traverse of the plateau through forest and woodland before a long steady descent back to the van through some tiny hamlets. 

 

 Early next day I was away by 8 to walk the Sucha Bella gorge which gets very popular later in the day. After paying the small admission fee I set off up the gorge following a number of log bridges, steel steps and aluminium ladders for a couple of hours with it mostly to myself - at busy times the waiting would be beyond tedious. Finally emerging on the track I had ridden the day before I noticed that there were bikes to be hired for the return trip - good value at a fiver a time but I was surprised they didn't provide helmets as in places the track was rough, steep and loose. Anyway I walked down and then packed up as the temperatures rose and headed west to remarkable Orava Castle situated high above the village on a narrow ridge. The self guided tour was excellent giving access to all the various levels and rooms - the timber roofing was remarkable with superb craftsmanship on every detail - shaped shingles even forming the ridge coverings.

 

 After a quiet night on a quiet site at Vavin in the Mala Fatra NP having enjoyed views of the towering peaks of the Tatras mountains I moved on stopping briefly at a folk village (Cicmany) with beautifully preserved houses decked out with flowers and well tended gardens. I tried to use the parking app without success but took a chance and looked round anyway. I took a screen shot of the failed SMS messages in case by some remote chance a fine arrives back in Wales one day before moving on to Bojnice castle which had been rebuilt to reflect those of the Loire Valley and reminded me of the Disneyesque structure back in Morocco. A guided tour (in Slovakian only) was required to visit one area but otherwise it was self guided again and I enjoyed the cool rooms on a hot sunny day.

 

I am now heading to the capital Bratislava before crossing in to the Czech Republic for a couple of weeks then it's time in Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium before my return home in 4 or 5 weeks.

 

 

Usual pics here.