Sunday Rideout

It's Sunday and the sun is shining, so as all good bikers do we went for a ride. We picked a route that gave plenty of opportunity to see the countryside, but also took in a castle. The ride was superb, the views spectacular, and the roads spectacular. The road surfaces were very variable, and I was glad that the Gs1200, has pretty good suspension. The first photo tries to give an impression of the wonderful scenery. Wooded hillsides, and hay meadows everywhere.



The castle at Krisna Horka was in a superb location, but inside was a little disappointing. One gruesome object was the mummiified remains of one of the early owner's wife. Apparently it happened naturally, but I can't understand why they then chose to put it on show!



After this a spot of lunch. vegetable soup, followed by stuffed pepper and boiled potatoes for 3 euros! The last couple of hours of riding took us up and down wooded slopes and through many villages. Several looked rather run down, and it was noticeable that the darker skinned Roman people always seemed to be in the poorer areas.
Even though the villages were poor, the local churches seemed to be fairly prosperous as can be sen from the photograph of the church below. LB

Lomnicky Stit & Spissky Hrad

Ok first a translation - L Stit is the peak we can't see from the campsite as it always covered by cloud. A hrad is a castle & we visited the one at Spiss.

Had an earlyish start & rode only about 5km to Stary Smolkovec where the cable car went up the mountain.



The top is at about eight & a half thousand feet but we chose to go only as far as the station 2/3 of the way up. Luckily while ther the cloud cleared so we could see the top .



We had planned to walk down but the path was very rough with big stones so difficult walking. We didn't want to risk a sprained ankle so had a walk around the lake at the top, a cold drink in the cafe then took the cable car back down. The views from the top were fantastic, a 180 degree panorama of the lowland plain and distant hills. The photos don't do it justice.



Back down we had a bite to eat and the set off for the castle at Spissky which we had failed to reach yesterday. this was visible from a couple of miles away and reminded us a little of Harlech in the way it was poised on a rocky outcrop.


We spent an hour or so there listening to the audio tour and admiring the views of typical Slovak countryside.



Then back to the campsite via Tesco again. There were a couple on a GS pitching their tent who we got chatting to ( as you do!) They're Slovakian & the first people we've met here who speak English. It was so nice to have a chat, adrink together, compare bikes & swap stories. They're hoping to ride from Kenya to Cape town next year which is really adventurous!

Anyway we're feeling happier here. Tesco's was a great discovery as we can self cater, the foods really cheap and the meat is so much tastier than home. We've also found a better toilet block on the campsite so I'm happier. There's still loads of insects but we get our own back by smoking them to death, or at least shoo them away. The countryside is wonderful and there's a lot of history and sites to visit so we've decided to stay a few more days. Watch this space!

Elvie

It had to be Friday!

We had a lie in this morning, and then decided to catch up on some clothes washing, and also blogging. By the time this was all done it was almost 14.00 so we decided to visit <>Spiss castle. Unfortunately Mr.Zumo wasn't in a good mood, and we ended up going in the wrong direction. The weather appeared to be closing in so we decided to get some food and head back. We called into the local Tesco and bought a few bits and pieces, and most importantly some BBQ charcoal. Back at the campsite we noticed water leaking from Elvie's bike. Closer inspection revealed that the top hose from the radiator had come loose. So off with the body work, and then replace the hose. Little water lost, but it did look like the bike had had a bit of an accident! See damp patch in photo.


Then on to more important matters. The BBQ. I decided after cooking the meal that I would put some green wood on the barbie to discourage insects. As you can see from the photo my first attempt wasn't entirely successful, however my technique did improve. Had a great meal, and now after washing up a quick fix on line and off to bed. LB

Dunajec Gorge

Remember Michael Palin in his latest programme about Europe when he rafted to Slovakia from Poland? Well, he cheated a bit! The Dunajec River forms the border between the two countries and you can take a raft from either side but each finishes in the country you start from. Also Palin had a raft to himself on an empty river. There were 17 of us on a wooden raft supposedly for 12 people! The river was full of other rafts and canoeists.



Anyway it was brilliant! The scenery of the limestone gorge was dramatic and although the commentary was in Slovak we were given a booklet with the information in English.



After a pleasant 2 hours on the river we disembarked and walked a short way to the bar for a soft drink then hired two pushbikes to take us the 9km on the riverside path back to the start.



We had some more refreshments there before getting back on the motorbikes for the journey home. We had taken the scenic route to get there in the morning but decided to let the gps take us home by the quickest route. Ooops! Big mistake! It took us down 18km of the worst road we have ever ridden - huge potholes, lumps and bumps, and loads of gravel! We had to pick our way through the least bad bits of tarmac! It was quite a relief to get back to the campsite.

Today we're having a quiet time, reading, catching up on the net, washing our smalls etc! Further exploration is planned for tomorrow.

Elvie

Slovakia & camping

It was an epic ride on Wednesday to reach the high Tatras in Slovakia. We were on the road 7 hours to travel just 200 miles. It took over an hour to get out of Budapest, we had a few unplanned diversions and once in Slovakia the roads deteriorated considerably which slowed us down. The scenery is beautiful however with huge meadows, fields of ripening corn and wooded hills.

We'd found a nice looking campsite online and were pleased to let the gps take us straight there as we were both tired. We've booked in for 4 nights but unfortunately the site is pretty poor. It's huge, empty and most of the advertised facilities don't exist.



Fortunately the internet is available as advertised. a lot of the buildings are derelict, the washing facilities are basic to say the least and we're plagued by hover flies all day and midges in the evening! At least the grass is short, the pitch flat and we have the most magnificent view of the high Tatras. I'll get a better photo if the cloud clears from the top!

Yesterdays trip can have a post to itself.