Note: I've posted more photos of Slovakia at kwilhelm.smugmug.com.
When the Slovakian bus eventually arrived at the bus-stop by the border, I climbed on along with five other backpackers and found that the first town, where we were joined by some locals, was several miles away. Good thing I had given up on the idea of walking there! Although the Poles had checked my passport on the way out of their country, the Slovaks seemed quite uninterested in who was entering Slovakia, at least at this crossing. Of course, the mountains west of the road offered many miles of unguarded frontier and hiking trails for the hardy.
The road skirted the mountains, heading south and then west through largely empty country. These were the same Tatra mountains I had admired in Zakopane, but as we neared Stary Smokovec, I started to see large sections of devastated forest marring their beauty. At first I thought this was the result of clear-cutting, but later was told a windstorm had caused the damage. These sections were truly ugly, with piles of uprooted stumps and rough-cut branches, but seemed to be confined to the lower slopes.
When we arrived in Stary Smokovec the bus dropped me in a big parking lot next to the elektricka (train) station and I slogged up a steep slope to reach my hotel, the unimaginatively named Hotel Smokovec. My room, big, with a big bed and tiled bathroom, also came with a balcony and a grand view of the Grand Hotel across the street. I felt that my view of the charming, Victorian, Grand Hotel easily beat out its guests' view of the boxy, modern Hotel Smokovec. Besides, my view also included the mountains.
Fortunately, my hotel provided a cafeteria as well as a restaurant, as the restaurant seemed mostly to be closed. Although small, Stary Smokovec had several cafes and one upmarket restaurant in addition to the hotels. If I turned right out of the hotel I could indulge in fancy ice creams, heading left I would be tempted by assorted cakes and good coffee.
My first full day in town I took the funicular up the mountain behind the Grand Hotel. I felt less lazy than I might have done, riding instead of walking, as the trail, which once must have offered a shady path through pine forests, now led through fields of tree stumps.
I loitered a little after getting off the funicular, to allow the party of school kids who had ridden up with me to get ahead. Then I set out to find the waterfalls I had come to see. Turned out, the clear mountain stream had carved three separate falls, and I ate my sandwich (from the cafeteria) beside the prettiest, quite alone. The school kids were further up the trail at the Bilikova chalet. I didn't venture any higher, as I was saving my energy for the next day. Instead I rode the funicular back down, and ate rather more calories than I had just expended. An afternoon treat of excellent tiramisu cake and coffee was followed at dinner by a good pepper steak.
I bought a hiking map in Stary Smokovec, and decided to try the hike from the town of Strbske Pleso to Popradske pleso (which I believe translates to Lake Poprad). According to my map it should take just over an hour to hike up, and a bit less to hike down. I figured worst case I was probably looking at a three hour round trip...
The electric train to Strbske Pleso was slow, and much of the scenery marred by more devastated forest, but the town itself bordered a pretty lake, with a full range of mountains as a backdrop. I started up the trail with a fair amount of company, but soon found nearly everyone else easily outpacing me. The first half of the hike was continuously uphill, although not particularly steep, then the path flattened out as it cleared the forest, but became rocky and uneven. Once in the open, I kept wanting to stop and admire the views, which were drop-dead gorgeous.
I finally reached the lake, to find plenty of people had arrived before me. Easy to see why - the clear waters were ringed by mountains, many still white with snow. I also found a hotel, reachable by mountain road, which provided expensive water (outside) and cheap coffee (inside). Both went well with my sandwich, and I was even happier with the toilets.
I hated to turn my back on such scenery, and on my way down I stopped several times to turn around and take another look at the mountains. I arrived at the bottom tired and hungry, and visited the new Patria Restaurant on the shore of Strbske pleso for a snack. Foie gras with cranberries and a rather odd pancake, along with a glass of mead, cost me all of $4! Consulting the map while I ate, I realized I should have used it to calculate distance rather than time. I had just hiked at least 15 kilometers. While I had not actually intended to be that energetic, it had definitely been worthwhile.
Careful reading of the timetables posted at the Stary Smokovec bus stop turned up a through bus to my next destination, Levoca. The walled old town perches on top of a hill. Levoca's bus station, of course, is at the bottom of the hill. Trekking up the hill, and through the Sunday-quiet streets towards the main square with my pack, I became rather hot and grumpy. One look at my hotel room, and my mood immediately improved!
The Penzion U Leva was a wonderful deal. I had an apartment all to myself. My bathroom, with a separate tub and shower, was bigger than many hotel rooms. The bedroom included a kitchenette and access to another bedroom. And all this comfort cost me $35/night with breakfast. However, the owner was putting in a restaurant downstairs, so that he could become a hotel instead of a pension, and now he has raised the prices (but not to unreachable levels.)
Having made it up the hill, I stayed there. Levoca's main square (actually a rectangle) surrounds two churches and an arcaded former town hall, the sides made up of a parade of pretty buildings in various states of repair. I had thought of visiting Spis castle, a bus ride and kilometer walk away, but felt like I needed a rest. Admiring Levoca's many old buildings, checking out the intact circuit wall, visiting the crafts' museum and admiring the big Gothic altar in the 15th century church of St. James kept me occupied - when I wasn't on the 'net, watching the big-screen TV in my room, or eating. Dining at the Hotel Satel (good chicken casserole and green beans, poor cheese plate) I met a friendly Scottish couple from Inverness, who joined me for liqueurs in one of the bars on the square.
A few coach tours stopped in at Levoca during the daytime, although there weren't many people around at night. I learned that a former London mayor was renovating one of the houses. It can only be a matter of time, probably a short time, before Levoca is firmly on the tourist circuit. The central square, although considerably smaller, is nearly as beautiful as Krakow's. I'm glad I saw it before the crowds arrive.
I took an unpleasantly early bus to Poprad to catch the train to Bratislava. The Penzion U Leva fixed me breakfast even though I left before their usual serving time. While I enjoyed the mostly-rural scenery, over the course of the five hour trip the AC gradually lost its battle to keep the compartment cool, a fight not helped by one large woman traveler who insisted on fitting herself and her two teen-aged sons into only two seats.
So, I was not in the happiest frame of mind when I arrived in Bratislava. Then, I tried to figure out how to reach my hotel, clearly visible up the hill behind the station, but on the wrong side of the tracks. The map in my Lonely Planet guidebook was of no help. Assorted information offices refused to help, referring me to the (closed) tourist information office. Vendors looked blank. Finally a bartender told me to head to the right. This landed me on a busy road that seemed to be taking me no closer. I gave up and took a taxi.
The seriously disorganized man who checked me into the Hotel Spirit produced a blurry map which suggested I should have turned left instead of right out of the station, and, going back, I did find a dark passage under the tracks leading to the tram stops. The hotel, which looked like a fun place on its web site, seemed to have faded since its last coat of paint, and my room was basic.
Maybe it's unfair to say I hated Bratislava. It did, after all, get off to a bad start, it was uncomfortably hot and humid, and I only stayed for one night. The old center had plenty of cafes and restaurants, with plenty of people enjoying them, but the prices were a shock after Levoca. The Danube, as in Vienna and Budapest, was brown rather than blue, and perhaps a little smelly. So, when I woke early, I skipped breakfast and took the first train to Austria.
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