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Other entries in Slovakia

Vysoke Tatry, Levoca, Slovensky Raj NP,

25-09-2006 MON

I set off early towards the Tatra Mountains. The lonely planet mentioned a chair lift to one of the highest points. That seemed like a good place to start. After a short drive around Zakopane, I arrived at the car park where the chair lift once had been. It was no longer in operation. The healthy strong types were using this still as a base to hike to the top. I walked for about an hour on a circular route without ever contemplating the summit. The man at the car park said it was a four hour round trip to the top.

I got back to the car and set off for Slovakia. The border crossing was so remote, it was almost accidental. This one man outpost was simple and quick.

After getting yet another foreign currency, I headed off the cable car place. The Vysoke Tatry (High Tatras) mountain range was spectacular even from a distance. The cable car would go all the way up to the  2634m summit of Lominsky stit. (Lominsky is a mountain and not a woman). The final part of the chair lift only had one cable car with a 2 hour wait. So decided to walk up rather than wait. The views were amazing but the walk was knackering.

I stopped at Levoca for a walk around. This was a walled city with a lot of old charm with locals of all ages sitting quite happily in the main square.

The drive to the almost non existant border control via the beautiful Slovensky Raj national park was only interrupted by numerous stops to admire the scenery and take photos.

Once in Hungary, I was determined to get as close to the Romanian border as possible before stopping for the night. All was well until I got to Miskolc. Unfortunately, there was no city bypass and sure enough I managed to lose my way in the city and wasted a lot of time getting back on track.

I was hoping to stay over night in Debrecen. I stopped for a little walk and get some money from an ATM. There was a tense atmosphere in the town. Waves and waves of angry people with banners and flags were descending to the city centre. They were being worked to a frenzy by someone with a megaphone. People were setting skips on fire and banging on parked cars. This was not something a foreigner should be in the middle of. I decided to scarper pretty sharpish. I was told later on by Andy that the government of Hungary had lied to the people about the state of the economy - hence the agitation.

I drove to the town of Berettyoujfalu on the border to find a hotel. I walked into ask if they had any vacancies? Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, I was offered a price and it was dropped by €5. I think they were keen for me to stay there. I offered to pay and show my passport. Te man behind the counter said it was not necessary. When someone is this keen to have you, it turns out to be Bates Motel. It was after 10pm and I was too tired to care!!

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