I was stoked to be in Slovakia. I’d had a great time in Bratislava and next, I would be spending a month or two on a ski-resort. Just a few problems; I was already one day late, my arse was on fire, and I had a five-hour journey to the High Tatras Mountains, Slovakia.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I’d eaten an incredibly hot burger the night before and I spent most of my morning sitting on the toilet with my head between my knees, in an attempt to nullify the pain.
It took a while and several return trips to the toilet, but I managed to pack up my bags and say my farewells to Shelly and Trey.
They were going to Krakow, Poland together by bus.
I made my way to the trainstation, stopping in the supermarket on the way.
I wanted snacks, and I’d been instructed to bring a lunchbox. I swear, I could not find a lunchbox anywhere.
Admittedly I was terrible at organising myself in preparation of the ski-resort. I just thought I’d be able to wing it.
I ended up buying some baby food boxes. They were ridiculously small, but cute and so I hoped the laugh would be enough to look past my lack of effort shopping in Bratislava.
I did manage to get a result, buying ski pants for €4 in a secondhand shop. I’d never been skiing or snowboarding, or done any winter sports for that matter, so I really had no idea what I was supposed to take with me.
I made it to the train station in great pain. I bought my tickets and I had about 15 minutes spare.
That’s when I discovered I’d be arriving later then the agreed meeting time.
Why?
Because I didn’t realise how long the journey was going to be.
I was in Slovakia. Slovakia is tiny.
But apparently not that tiny, as I had a four-hour train ride to Poprad, which was the closest city to the ski-resort.
And so, due to my naivety, and also possibly ignorance, although I’ll blame it on the fiery shits. I would now be late a second time.
Speaking of fiery shits…
Although I really did not want to do it, I was desperate.
Did I have enough time to use the station’s toilets?
I took the risk. Even after wasting 5 minutes trying to change coins for the ridiculous 50cent toilet fee in Europe.
I wouldn’t mind the fee if it actually kept the toilets clean, but they never are, and Bratislava’s train station water closet was no different.
My God, they were grim. But I played ignorant to the shit on the walls and stench in the air, as I squeezed into the cubical with my huge backpack. No way was that going on the floor – I managed to hang it on the door hook.
That struggle only seemed to increase the imminent volcanic eruption in my stomach, resulting in a panicked rush to wriggle my trousers off – without touching anything else in the cubical – and squat allowing my bottom rupture to explode.
I know that’s a lot of info, but I feel like you needed the picture.
I only had about two minutes to reach the platform which I made in a wild dash, but Lord, did I feel better.
If I’d known what kind of train it was, I probably would have waited. Bizarrely I found the train toilets much cleaner than the station’s toilets.
I was really angry with myself sitting on that train.
Which is a shame, because it was the kind of train that I’d been wanting to travel on for a long time.
You know, with the compartments and curtains and shit.
The views in Slovakia are amazing too. I recommend Bratislava and a High Tatras hike as a long weekend trip.
But I’d ruined the train journey for myself.
I’d spent the whole week getting drunk and procrastinating.
One week. I had but three tasks.
Buy ski-pants, buy a lunchbox and plan the trip to Poprad.
My co-coordinator, Monicka wasn’t too pleased neither.
I’d let down my manager before even meeting her and that was really unlike my character.
I’m usually very sensible and insistent on good first impressions.
Fortunately, me being late wasn’t the end of the world.
It simply meant that I’d have to walk almost two miles up the mountain… with my bag.
It was pitch black by the time I arrived in Stary Smokovec, which was the small town down from the hotel I would be staying in.
No moon, no stars.
I took out my headlight and found the hiking trail up.
The path was incredibly icy.
Now before I visit a new country I like to do a little research.
And it was good to know that the national reserve I was about to walk through was home to a great many bears and wolves.
There are estimated to be 800 bears and 200-400 wolves in Slovakia. Of course, they have other national reserves, so they weren’t all there waiting for me.
It would have fit the cliche though. Me in my red coat encountering a wolf.
I actually didn’t feel too worried at first, but later halfway up when my bag started to feel a lot heavier, my mindset changed.
“What was that rustle in the bushes?”
“What’s that big dark thing on the left?”
It’s advised to make noise on your walk so that you don’t have a close encounter. So I did sing, whistle, and thump my feet occasionally.
And although you’re advised not to run when a bear is in close proximity, I would have liked the option.
It would have been impossible to run on the ice and carrying my bag.
I remember thinking to myself. I would just have to accept my fate.
And I also attempted to motivate myself by remembering Leonardo DiCaprio survived the bear attack in The Revenant
Or by telling myself, either outcome, dead or alive would make a good story to be torn apart by a bear.
Monicka also didn’t help when she called whilst I was halfway to check in on me.
“Just watch out for bears, ok?”
Yeah, “thanks Monicka”.
Most of the hike was fine. The cold air was actually a blessing as I was sweating drastically after a few hundred metres.
It was a struggle at times though. I would simply be stuck on the pathway at times, as I couldn’t get the grip to make another step and so I would have to slide on over to the side, near the bushes, which is exactly where I didn’t want to be – just in case.
And whoever thought it’d be a good idea to put a life-size statue of a bear and the end of the trail can go fuck themselves.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that thing. Bastards.
I even called Monicka to ask if there was a statue at the top.
Anyway, I made it and I even had chicken schnitzel and mashed potato waiting for me.
That was my dinner… not names of people.
The rest of the evening was kinda boring really.
I ate my dinner, signed some forms, met the rest of the volunteers and went to bed.
It was an old decommissioned hotel that we had to ourselves, but it wasn’t too bad. It was comfortable in ways.
The water ran orange to begin with, but after a few minutes running, it became drinkable.
The ski-resort was still closed, but the restaurant next to our abandoned hotel was open and so Monicka has asked two of the volunteers to work there.
I volunteered myself, as an apology for being late (twice) and I suppose to discipline myself.
Well, if you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know I like to keep my stories relatively short and so I’m going to end this here.
One thing I’d like to mention before I finish completely is that my insurance from the UK had expired based on small print that I hadn’t read.
I was walking through a winter landscape, where bears and wolves roam freely. It was super icy and I had 20kg on my back, so I could have been in some serious financial troubles if I had hurt myself.
If you do think about following my blog as an inspiration and taking a trip to Slovakia’s High Tatras region, I do recommend purchasing niche travel insurance. You can attain a quote on the right-hand side, or via my travel insurance advice page.
Thanks for reading, and please do enjoy the picture below of the morning after my arrival.
