Going to the Zbojnicka Chalet, we took the "easier" of two routes so Peter described it. It would be up steeply to the Swistowa pass, around and down to the Skalnate Pleso and around with one more up the Starolesna Valley to the chalet. Easier? That certainly didn't sound "easier" to me. What do you think...

The path rose steeply for hours towards Priecne Saddle with a very demanding section. This was a big challenge but then we started down for a bit and there were....gasp...Chains...a stretch of fixed chains bolted into the side of the mountain. This is actually a good thing since I don't have the head for heights or balance to come down areas like this without them. Latched on with the "vulcan death grip" (only the total collapse of the mountain could have pried my hand off those chains) and started down taking little mini-steps until the trail eased up.

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So very sore and tired, we left Zakopane by mini-bus to Lysa Polana to cross the border and then into Slovakia. Two nights were going to be spent in mountain chalets before heading to Tatranska Lomnica, a major Slovakian ski area in the winter.

This trail meandered by a river along a valley and through forests for quite a distance. A very nice trail for a change... Over to Kopski Sedlo at 1,749m/5,738' before contouring around to Brncalova (now called Zelenom) Chalet by Green Lake. Slovakia is known for its Carpathian Mountains in the central region, extending across most of the northern half of the country. The High Tatras, the Low Tatras, Mala Fatra and the Vel'ka Fatra, the heart of their national identity. The mountains were created by glaciers and there were numerous glacial cirques. Not my favorite kind of terrain with all its rocks, stone and difficult trails. There were also beeches, spruce, and pine forests below the tree line which changed into some sort of scrubby bushes as we went higher before again becoming rocks only. We never saw any wildlife other than the occasional bird.

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Air? The group tour planned to fly into Warsaw, Poland and immediately train to Krakow. Instead of meeting up with them there, we flew Chicago to Frankfurt to Krakow via Warsaw arriving two nights before the group. This would give us a little more time to explore Krakow.

Hotels? Some additional reservations were required. The tour was using Hotel Pollera in Krakow. Looked good to us and we booked two extra nights. On the opposite end, we decided to stay one extra day in Prague on our own. Hotel Pension City was a little out of the way in regards to the important sections of Prague but it was very inexpensive and we decided to stay the extra night there instead of changing hotels in a better-located area.

Continue reading "Planning the Tatras Trip in Central Europe" »

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I've read a tremendous amount of travel literature on Krakow, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic but where and what were the High Tatras? A little investigation and googling should the High Tatras are the highest mountain range in the Slovak Republic in the Carpathian chain. The border of Slovakia and Poland runs along the main mountain ridge.

A chance mailing of a tour called "The High Tatras" piqued my interest. It began in Krakow, Poland, drove to Zakopane, spent 4 nights in Zakopane while day hiking, moved on to hiking from hut-to-hut for 3 days, two nights based in Tatranska Lomnica, Slovakia with more day hikes, and ended in Prague, Czech Republic.

Continue reading "Krakow, Poland - The High Tatras and Prague" »

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