Levoca and Spis Castle Slovakia then Hungary

Travelled:333km

Stay: Komlodtotfalu Hungary- parking along side a road N47.8534 E22.7049

Visited: Levoca and Spis Castle Slovakia €8ea incl. audio guide.

Great view of peak this morning before leaving

On our way to Levoca we stopped in Poprad to buy a vignette for €10/10days to travel on the motorway as the gps said we would save at least an hour of travel. We then topped up with some groceries at Tesco before taking the said motorway. 

A couple of churches along the way.

After parking along side the old town walls we entered through the gateway and had a look in the church. 

We then strolled to the centre square where the church of St.James and the Town Hall can be found. 

The Cage of Disgrace is also here, in which women in the 16thC, who had committed minor crimes, were locked up and put on public display! 

Wonder what was her crime?

After wondering down a few more streets we continued on to the medieval Spis Castle. Luckily we arrived before 10 as the parking was nearly full already. Although it is mainly in ruins, the castle attracts many visitors. We learnt a bit more of its history with an audio guide. During the 1600’s there were 2,000 inhabitants, making it the largest fortress complex in Central Europe. Unfortunately in 1780 the castle burnt down and was never rebuilt. Set on top of a hill we were able to enjoy the views of the valley. 

Bluey’s down there.

After lunch we thought we may as well drive through the heat of the day and picked a spot in Hungary, close to the Romanian border. 

Arriving at 4:30pm we parked up and as we sat in Blueys shadow, we waved to the passerby’s. 

Later one of these cars came back and a very friendly couple, who could speak no English, generously offered us some grapes, peaches and tomatoes from their garden! How amazing is that? In return we gave them a kangaroo and a plate from Australia...we still can’t get over it.

Todays mud map!

Vysoke Tatry Slovakia

Travelled:51km

Stay: Vysoke Tatry Slovakia - free parking area at ski lift, great views N49.1673 E20.2712

We took off early this morning to avoid traffic jams and road closures and had an easy drive into Slovakia to Vysoke Tatry.

 At 9am there was still plenty of spots but it filled up during the day as people went off hiking and taking the cable car.

 It is possible to go up to Lomnicky Stit at 2634m it is the second highest peak in the Tatra mountains. Unfortunately it was booked out until Monday! We could have taken the cable car to lower levels but the clouds where gathering and we decided to give it a miss. We walked instead down through the town which had a very nice relaxed holiday atmosphere, much better than yesterday’s town.

 We got back to Bluey just in time before the rain starting pouring down, later followed by a thunder storm. We had a cooked lunch and did some planning for our next part of the trip. When the sun came out again we stretched our legs with another walk.

Bratislava Slovakia

Travelled:156km 

Stay: Komarom Hungary- wild camp on Danube River N47.7435 E18.1539

Visited :Bratislava Slovakia free parking 48.136799,17.114201 

We only had to travel half an hour through Austria to reach our parking spot in Bratislava, Slovakia.

After walking over the Danube River into the old quarter. 

We decided to walk up castle hill and got a bit more than we bargained for taking a wrong turn and ending up having to go up steps most of the way. 

After getting our breath back whilst enjoying the views and getting a closer look at the castle (which is now the Slovak parliament), we made our way down following the road back to the old town, stopping to have lunch along the way.

We walked through Michael’s Gate built in the 14thC which is the only one left.

We then strolled through the colourful streets soaking up the holiday atmosphere of restaurants and souvenir shops. 

We ended our visit at the Blue Church.

From here we headed out of Slovakia and into Hungry through possibly the most derelict abandoned border crossing we have experienced so far. And for those who don’t know, Hungary is Magyarorszag! (Learn something new everyday). 

We were happy we weren’t going the other way.

We had managed to avoid toll roads in Austria but we thought that we would be better off with using the toll roads in Hungary if we wanted to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. So our first stop after the border was to find a service station to buy the vignette. This can also be done online but we thought it would be easier this way. Which it was. Although we didn’t actually get a sticker, we did get registered electronically for 10 days/HUF5950 (€18). An hour or so later we pulled into our camp spot for tonight with a view of the Danube once again.