Summer trips around Slovakia (2)

I continued exploring Slovakia in August, too. I didn’t take as many trips as in July because I was planning a trip to Croatia but the few places that I managed to see were absolutely wonderful.

Trenčín

Trenčín is the capital of the region bearing the same name. It was my first time visiting the city as a tourist and I absolutely loved it. I prefer exploring the countryside and mountains to the cities but Trenčín instantly became one of my favorite cities in Slovakia.

The city is dominated by the Trenčín castle. It’s without a doubt one of the most beautiful castles in Slovakia and it may have been the reason why I enjoyed visiting the city so much. It was a memorable experience because I’m a sucker for views and the castle offers glorious views, especially on a sunny day like the one when I was there. It felt amazing to be at the top of the tower.

The old town is lovely as well but what I liked even more were the amazing graffiti in one of the underpasses. In addition, there is an old railway bridge which brought me back to Thailand. To me it resembled the famous bridge over the river Kwai in Kanchanaburi which I had visited on my first trip to Thailand back in 2013. It was a memorable journey, my first outside Europe. I wished to be in Thailand again.

Trenčianske Teplice

Trenčianske Teplice is a spa town. I only went there because I really wanted to take the beauitfully colourful old school tram which still runs between the city of Trenčín and Trenčianske Teplice.

Dobšiná hill and Slavošovce tunnel

I only read about the old railway tunnel near Slavošovce this summer and it instantly got on my travel list. It was built in 1940s but has never been used. Or even finished. Nowadays it’s an attraction and you can either walk or bike through. Be sure to take a head lamp or a torch. A good one.

I decided to see the tunnel by bike. I took a train to Dedinky which as you may have read is one of my favorite places. The tunnel was over 40 km away which made for an awesome cycle trip along some very beautiful places.

One of such places is the Dobšiná hill (Dobšinský kopec) which boasts wonderful views of the Slovak landscape. In addition, there is a road which meanders its way down to the village of Dobšiná and it’s this stretch of road where car races take place. Riding down the hill by bike was exciting.

When I came to the village of Slavošovce I desperately needed to eat as I was starving. The problem was I couldn’t find an open restaurant or shop. I noticed a woman and a man in a yard so I asked them if there was anything open in the village. Much to my dismay nothing was open. The woman then invited me to have lunch at their house. I was reluctant at first, I didn’t want to bother. Also, being a vegetarian I know that the chances of being offered a meat free meal are low. My jaw dropped when the woman said one of her sons was a vegetarian and they had the traditional cabbage soup without meat! I was offered a full meal, pie and coffee! And apples for the trip. I WAS AMAZED!! Hospitality at its best. I couldn’t have been more grateful.

After saying goodbye to the family I finally cycled to the tunnel. It’s about 2.5 km long and I was going to come back the same way to catch a train back home. It was quite a unique experience. It’s pitch black inside so without a good torch you’re lost. Also, there are narrow gaps in the concrete surface to enable water to flow down to the canal in the middle of the tunnel. One has to be careful when riding a bike so as not to have an accident. The maximum speed allowed is 10 km an hour.

Slovak Paradise National Park

As I have written before, Slovak Paradise is one of my favorite national parks in Slovakia. You hike at the bottom of fairly deep gorges either along the Hornád river or its tributaries which are basically lovely small creeks. You hike on the slippery trunks of fallen trees, across wooden bridges, up steep metallic ladders all of which gets the adrenaline going. One can normally hike along the gorges in one direction only.

Veľký Sokol had been on my list for a while. It’s one of the wildest gorges in the national park and supposedly the most beautiful. It was closed earlier this year because they had to replace a damaged bridge there. All I can say about this gorge is that it’s absolutely amazing. It was a great hike indeed.