https://goo.gl/maps/sMdKQgU6cvJEt6bcA
KOMOOT ROUTE MAP
The many Climate Change disasters happening around the world dictates that if we all travel we do it as Climate friendly as possible. I’ve been traveling around Europe since 2013 by bicycle and since 2020 with an E-bike. When you combine a bicycle with the train or bus, the opportunities are sustainable option.
I’ve now bicycled 27 countries thanks to the Slovakian bike tour. I took the train from Ljubljana to Bratislava. The first 4 days it rained like crazy in Bratislava I took the tram to the city center for just one day. I met a French family of 5 who were very “Climate Aware.” They were traveling all around Europe by train, no car! Bratislava was making an attempt to become more bike friendly, but failing if you asked me. The lake at the campground had a cable system used to go wake boarding, have never seen that before.
We had one more rainy day, but I hit the road anyway. The route out of Bratislava was one of the most beautiful rides ever, through a park with no cars. It was raining so hard taking a photo was impossible, I intend to go back and try again on a dry day for sure.
I stopped for coffee & soup, there was no one speaking English, but we made it work. I arrive at the campground, to find a warm fire. I wanted to get into a guesthouse, but everything was full. Camping Park Karpaty had a stage and a rock & roll show the coming this weekend. Paulinka the camp helper spoke perfect English. I have a USB with lots of movies, she downloaded some and we watched one together.
I carry supplies for breakfast, but go out for lunch and dinner. I like to support local economies, while also trying the local cuisine. But all the local restaurants were closed on Monday’s, so I went to the one store. Did pretty good, bought frozen halušky (pasta like made with potato, wheat & sheep cheese) , frozen vegetables & brie cheese for a sauce. I made 3 dinners with it, all for less than 2euro a meal!
There are days when I curse Komoot map app and days when I worship it. But, thanks to my double batteries on my E-bike, it’s still fun, not where Komoot takes me.
I’m staying at the Pullman campground in Piestany. This was the nicest campground, great wifi, swimming pool, super clean community kitchen, quality restaurant with 2 euro beers! I met a couple of young travelers, who were also traveling with just the train & bus. They asked me to write something in their journal, so I did. The opportunities to travel without a private car are easy to do in Europe compared to America.
There were lots of cycling tourist on the bike paths. Some would roll into camp at 6, cook dinner, go to bed, get up early and start biking again. My plan is to visit every place I stay for at least 2 days, enjoying the sights, sounds and flavors of the country.
The bike infrastructure may be lacking in Bratislava, but out in the country there are many newly built dedicated bike paths.
I cycled with a local Slovakian for about 20 km. He said this part of Slovakia is “the end of the world.”, basically the end of the EU. The next stop is the National Park of Slovensky Raj, the second largest national park in Slovakia.
SODA & BEER
The day started out with a brand new dedicated bike path cutting through farmers fields. Then I saw my first Roma village. Then komoot took a turn that was the most grueling part of the trip. I was cutting down to Kosice, which meant an uphill push for several kilometers. I was in full sweat mode, not sure I was even going to make it. The photo of the bike on the gravel part was the nicest part of the path. It turned to big rocks, washed out ruts and was straight up. When I reached the top, it was mud and standing water for another couple km. I thought I finally made it, but no. Komoot had me going down a single path hiking trail, how it knew that was there, I’ll never know. I finally reached the road, saw a bus shelter. Wanted to go sit down, nope, there were already people there waiting for the bus.
I finally reached the town of Nižný Medzev. I found Gasthof LEVANDA, a SUPER restaurant. I was only going to stay one night at Sokol holiday apartments & camping. The restaurant menu was so good, I changed my plans and planned to stay 2 nights. I went to town to do some shopping, the street scene was uncomfortable. I wouldn’t leave my bike locked in front of the store, that’s how unsafe I felt. I changed my mind and stayed just one night.
After sleeping and camping for weeks, I rented an apartment for my stay in Kosice. The town was very bike & pedestrian friendly. Lots of great places to eat and drink. It was a nice reward after the 750 km bike tour.
I had 5 days in Kosice, so I hit several museums, Victims of Communism, the Prison, Natural History. The Natural History museum was also a school. The best part of the museum was the student owl art taped to the walls.
PAVEL HAJKO a Serbian artist had an exhibit at one of the museums I visited.
I usually leave a few extra days in my pocket, for places I like and want to stay longer. I used them in Kosice, but looking back I wish I had stayed longer in the Slovensky Raj National Park and the Pullman campground in Piestany. I think I went too fast through Slovakia, I will probably be returning in the near future.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
