Slovakia, Hi and Bye

6fartsinacart
Jul 19, 2017
3 min read

15 July 2017, Saturday: In order not to fall behind with the blogging Mum is summoned to choose photos while Dad and Emile do minor repairs to Merzy. Just before 1pm Merzy is ready to go and we take the road to Bélapátfalva and our camperstop next to a lake at Bükki Nemzeti National Park. Along the road we have to wait for rally cars to clear the route before we are allowed to pass. We park up at the picnic area next to the lake and Dad starts a barbeque. Halfway through a friendly couple from Estonia in their motorhome, stop next to us. We have a good chat till about 9.30pm before retiring to bed.

16 July 2017, Sunday: Since it is Sunday and we’re stationed in this stunning park with nature surrounding us, running water from a fountain close-by and lovely neighbours parked up next to us, we lie in and decide to stay put for the day. Mum and Dad get treated with coffee from Urmas and Alma’s coffee machine and we sit outside enjoying the lovely morning, moving in underneath the awning as it threatens to rain. Mum decides it’s maybe a good time to tackle the daunting task of choosing photos for the hefty Budapest blog. Later in the morning Urmas and Alma hit the road on their bicycles to go and explore the town of Eger. We laze around for the rest of the day, exploring the area around the lake. After Alma and Urmas' return from their cycling expedition we spend the evening outside with them. We share Geneve’s delicious new experimental soup, and smoked cheese, snacks and ice-cream from the neighbour’s 'kitchen' and turn in when it gets chilly around 9.30pm.

17 July 2017, Monday: We say goodbye to our Estonian friends and leave 11am. We visit the Bélapátfalva Abbey nearby before driving approximately 50 km to the Slovakian border. There is no border control, only a sign tells us that we have crossed the border. We stop for lunch at a town square in Rimavská. We have experienced on our travels that certain countries are a lot more camper (picnic)-friendly. They tend to cater for tourists and travellers. We find that in the southern part of Slovakia they are lacking these facilities and therefore we continue driving, heading north. We cover a long distance and stop at 6.30pm at a big parking area opposite a Pension at Liptovský Ján. We go for a walk to relieve a bit of the tension of the long drive before settling down for supper and bed.

18 July 2017, Tuesday: After a good sleep the morning is taken up by blogging and Budapest goes public. We manage to leave at 12pm heading north once again. 15 minutes later we stop at Hrad Castle in Liptovský Hrádok. En route we find the opposite to the south of Slovakia. The scenery is very mountainous with beautiful freshwater rivers and a mecca for hikers and bikers. Hence there are many dedicated parking areas for these nature-lovers. At one of these places at the Tatranský národný Park we stop for lunch. We are surrounded by lush green forest with a crystal clear river. 3.20pm we cross the border into Poland and not long after stop at 4pm at a park4night stop next to a lake. We all retire at 9pm.

Our neighbours and new Estonian friends Alma and Urmas