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The family's summer vacation began when we joined
Barbora in the Czech Republic and drove to
Slovakia for 2 weeks of adventure in various parts of the country. Our
first hike was in Mala Fatra.
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Our
next stop was to the Dunajec river in the Pieniny mountains. This is
the location of the first international park in Europe, formed jointly
by Poland and Slovakia. We stayed near the historic Red Monastery. This
is a view of the bike trail along the river.
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We had brought our bicycles with us from
the U.S. Here we are eating lunch at a shelter by the Dunajec river.
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This is the old town hall in Levoca, which dates to the 15th
century. The cage is where they put people convicted of minor offenses
in the 16th century.
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This is view of the walls around one of
the most enchanting castles I've ever visitied, Spissky Hrad. It is a
UNESCO world heritage site, dating from the 13th century.
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This is a view of the ramp leading up to
the main gate.
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Jitka and Barbora looking down onto the
nearby Spissky Podhradie ("Spissky under the castle")
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Our travels took us next to the region
known as the Slovenský
raj (Slovak Paradise). The national park here has many beautiful
trails, many in narrow valleys. Often in valleys the trail will be
constructed of planks above the river.
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This is the beginning of an ascent next to
the longest cascade in the park. To continue on the trail you have to
climb a series of metal ladders, some of which are very long.
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Further up the trail was this waterful
with a wooden ladder.
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We took a day trip on a designated bike
trail along the Hnilec River. In some places the trail was barely
discernable through the vegetation. In other places it was paved road
like here. It passed through small villages, orchards and remote
regions of the valley.
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We ended the bike ride in Nalepkovo. Here
we are at the train station waiting for the train. The stationmaster
lived in the station. By the building at the left he kept sheep and
behind the fence to the right was a vegetable garden.
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On the train back to Mlynky. The baggage
car even had a place for storing bikes.
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After we got off the train we rode to
Dedinky and had a late afternoon swim in the resevoir.
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Here we are in the Dobšinská Ice
Cave. This was a pretty amazing place, also a UNESCO world heritage
site. It contains 110,000 cubic meters of ice. To see a really nice
gallery of images, visit this
link.
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