Over the mountains and far away...

It’s far too complex to put those two weeks into a short story.

Already the first day I accidentally came "face to face" with my father who didn’t recognize me. Quite understandable of course after not seeing each other for good 18 years. What did surprise me that this was still very emotional for me.

A much nicer experience was to see my mother happy with our “present”. I guess, for the first time she really appreciated it. No perfumes, shoes, clothes or handbags, but a big box of laundry detergent!



Maarten was very disappointed that his dad and mom stayed one night at Grandma's as well. He wanted us to drop him there and see us drive back home again.



Right, mom and dad had a great time in the mountains even though I couldn’t stop thinking of my little scamp.

Despite the bad weather on our first hike up to the foggy ridge the weather changed drastically in the good way and unbelievably it stayed sunny the whole week.


Although initially we were planning to visit the High and White Tatras as well yet after driving through the mountains to Pieniny we decided to stay in the calm vicinity of Roháče, the Tatras' western part.


We hiked most of the trails here and in some valleys we didn’t meet a soul. Now and then this brought back the adventurous feeling of hiking in the bear country.




We were warned about the bears long before we came here. Compared to the theories I’ve learned in The States the bears in Slovakia would attack people! Is this because of the different bear kind or because of their greatly reduced natural habitat here in Slovakia?

The heavy clouds and idea of hugging Maarten again made parting with this beautiful area (and its smell of fried bacon and sausages) a lot easier.


It was really pouring when we finished visiting this intriguing castle built on a high rock above the river Orava.

Luckily the bad weather hasn’t reached Grandma's home yet.
Meeting Maarten grasshopper hunting in a sun drenched meadow was also kind of emotional, I have to admit.


Nevertheless, it seemed everybody was quite relieved seeing "Maarten the Menace" getting in the car leaving to go home. Not only the grandparents were happy to wave us goodbye, also the neighbors, the baby dogs, chickens that Maarten taught how to fly, Pepíček, the canary bird who almost took his last breath on the sofa where he was put under a pillow intended to surprise grandpa...




Would that be the reason why my mom gives only evasive answers to my suggestions for meeting again in the beginning of October?

Raindrops keep falling

Finally a long planned trip to my home country, even though the beautiful Moravia doesn’t feel like home at all. However, the hills of Hostýnské Vrchy are where Maarten’s grandparents live and and its pleasant rural surroundings are a bonus.
I biked here many times in the past but there are still places I haven’t visited yet, such as the ruins of Obřany Castle hidden at the top of a very steep hill.
While Maarten amused himself by feeding deer and wild boars with děda, the hunter, Rob and I were puffing through the still wintery copper beech woods up the Obřany hill.

It was worth the climb even we were already tired after hours of hiking on the ridge. The information board showed how beautiful this castle used to be in its heyday. Being built without Margrave's permission it only existed for less than one century. For the romantic soul, according to legend, the castle was taken by the devil together with its cruel castle lord.

Unfortunately it started to rain when we got here. The rain quickly gained strength and made the remaining kilometers less pleasant. We were hoping for a warm drink at the pilgrim's hill of Svatý Hostýn, but it was closed probably for the off-season.

Neither my mom nor Milan could understand that despite the rain we wanted to make our trip to the nearby Slovak Carpathians.

Nevertheless, I believe, if you always wait for a good weather forecast, you will never get anywhere.

Maarten was happily getting all his grandparents’ attention again, so we could head out for some more strenuous hike. Without any difficulties, as expected, we found our destination, the Súľovské Skaly.

Despite the fog and drizzle the rock formations were spectacular. Erosion of the limestone and dolomite rocks formed this current fantastic shapes, various towers, walls and even windows.




For the very first time I saw the purple blooming Poniklec Slovenský (Pulsatilla slavica)!

After the yesterdays hike the easy ‘Náučný chodník’ (Educational Trail) should be exactly what we were looking for.
I thought to be able to read and understand Slovak language, but! I’ve learned there might be some important nuances. Like my perception of the Slovak word ‘chodník’. Compared to its Czech meaning ‘an easy path’ it simply means ‘a trail’!





The rocks paths were slippery and some ascent very steep with a quick elevation gain equipped with handrails and ladders. We truly praised ourselves for not bringing Maarten here.

The picturesque ruins of the Súľov Castle were one of the highlights. I must admit I didn’t dare to climb into the accessible tower. It was too narrow and I felt claustrophobic.
Reading the little information sign about the death of a young mother and her 2 years old son, who were struck here by lightning in 2008, confirmed my weird feeling about the place.
I joined Rob waiting patiently in the rain on a meadow down the ruin from where we continued this Educational Trail. At least that’s what we thought. We ended up on an unknown road kilometers away from our car!


However, we have learned something about the ways of hiking in the Slovak mountains. That may become useful in the future since we hope to come back soon!