Dekujeme Slovakia

After the constant buzz of people from Prague, it was nice to go somewhere more quiet. We journey to Bratislava, on a surprisingly cheap yet comfy bus.  On the first morning, we were awoken at about 5am, by a French guy with nothing but denim cutoffs on – asking us why we are not dancing. We later figure out it was a stag night. The next day, we do a walking tour with a rather shy tour guide, the city definitely has a sleepy charm to it.

We then head to Bela Tatras on a train then bus. There is a dining carriage on the train, with two vegetarian options on the menu:

1. Fried cheese
2. Fried cheese with ham

Excellent

Our hostel is a quaint house in the mountains, next to a church and graveyard. There is an unbelievable number of New Zealanders in the hostel. We entertain ourselves by taking walks around the little town with Wally the hostel dog.  The locals are lovely even if some communication are exclusively in the form of mime. The food is ridiculously cheap, the deal is sweetened by the wild raspberries and strawberries growing on the side of the road. The downside is that there is cheese on everything and hidden bits of bacon in the most unlikely dishes – like sauerkraut gnocchi.

We also did an epic walk into the nearby mountains – nicknamed “The Saddle”. Let’s just say that I’m not as fit as I thought I was and Converse Chuck Taylors are not appropriate hiking boots. Long hikes makes you really appreciate cheese-laced foods.

Photos to come.