SLOVAKIA - High Tatras 1

A fairly long but very comfortable journey via Prague has brought me to the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia - I am staying in Poprad down on the plain, rather than one of the mountain resorts - partly because of cost and partly to stay on the main rail line as my arrival yesterday was quite late. Being a landlocked country Slovakia has no coast so the mountains are the principle region for domestic tourism. Indeed, there are very few non local cars in car parks and not much English, French or German being heard as you wander around.

I started the day by getting the TEZ (Tatranska Elektricka Zeleznica or Tatra Electric Railway). This is a modern efficient metre gauge rail system consisting of three lines linking the main line at Poprad-Tatry with the mountain resorts. So from Poprad I caught a train for about an hour up to Strbske Pleso (aren't we missing some vowels here again?) - Pleso means lake in Slovakian.

The lake at Strbske Pleso is very touristy and surrounded by plush hotels, for the real mountain experience you need to do a bit of hiking.

A couple of hours took me up to the Vodopad Skok (Vodopad means waterfall) a very impressive waterfall that tumbles over a cliff.

The path then continues ever higher to a high level lake but that can only be achieved by traversing sections near the top of the waterfall by holding onto chains. I know my limitations both with regard to not liking heights and in terms of level of fitness and decided to pass on that adventure and returned to Strbsko Pleso for lunch.

For lunch I had a Langos - if you have never had these before, they are Hungarian but also popular in adjoining countries, and consist of a deep fried flatbread to which you add toppings like you would on a pizza. Probably not very healthy, nice things never are.

Garlic, cheese and sour cream

In the afternoon it was another similar hike this time up to Popradske Pleso, a mountain tarn that is a little less crowded than the one lower down. 

You are able to return to Strbke Pleso by a slightly different route, which is what I did and I will leave you with one last mounain picture. Photos never really do justice to mountain landscapes so you will need to take my word that, it is impressive.

Tomorrow is day 2 of being up in the High Tatras but I will be shunning the TEZ in the morning to try an slightly different tyoe of train to head into the hills. See you then ....