We are not always to envy 🌧 - but mostly 😃

After our stay in Zvolen in an Airbnb on the 10th floor, we headed towards the National Park "Slovak Paradise". Furthermore, we drove through unique landscapes, over several hills and through dense forests with hardly used roads. If, however, a car passes us, it is to the credit of the Slovaks that they do so with great care. Nobody overtakes in a curve, even trucks slow down to walking speed and overtake very generously 😀, let's see how this is handled in Ukraine then 😅.

Planning the route to the Slovak Paradise turned out to be very difficult, because we had to adjust the route felt 3x, because a bad weather front was announced. The rain on this section was not the only thing that kept us busy. If you travel across a country by bicycle and do not choose the commercial way, you will not only be rewarded with beautiful things, but you will also get an unfiltered impression of the respective country. We noticed the following downside in particular:

It is worth mentioning that Slovakia is generally very clean, but we have increasingly wondered where the waste along the waters comes from. We have noticed that it occurs mainly in the area of Roma settlements. The further east we cycled, the more often we passed such settlements. There is an extreme contrast between the beautiful, well-kept houses/settlements on the one hand and the dilapidated wooden huts without running water or electricity surrounded by huge mountains of rubbish on the other, which made us think and want to find out more.
After talking to several locals, we learned their perspective. In short:
It is an unresolved problem, as two different cultures collide that are difficult to reconcile. In general, the social benefits are very good and would actually ensure a normal standard of living, but many Romas prefer to spend the money on alcohol. On the other hand, it is very difficult for the Roma to integrate, as they tend to be excluded.
Various efforts are being made to teach children who attend school that education and the environment are important. The fact is that the mountains of waste in the slums have often been cleared away, but unfortunately after a short time it was just as littered as before. Free waste containers would also be available, but rubbish would still simply be disposed of in the water or the surrounding area.
One can only hope that future generations will be able to integrate better, making it possible to live together harmoniously.

After two great break days in Telgárt with our Airbnb host Peter, who showed us his village with much joy, we finally get closer to our goal, the ice caves and the hike in the national park!

When we were in Slovakia two years ago, the Dobšiná Ice Cave was unfortunately already closed, so we really wanted to see it this time. We were very lucky, the cave opened three days before our visit!

One highlight followed the next 😃. The next day was our long-awaited hike through a gorge with climbing passages. Already the description of the hike sounded very challenging, we encountered even tougher conditions due to the heavy rainfall of the last days. Best see for yourself 😆:

Via the beautiful village of Levoča, we continue on an uphill and downhill ride to Košice, the second largest city in Slovakia. Luckily, because Beni's mattress conk out and we have other little things to get.

Here in Košice we can count on the hospitality of Anna and Jozef, they support us with the preparations for crossing the border into Ukraine. Thanks to their telephone clarifications, we now know which border is open and passable by bicycle. In addition, they will accompany us to the mandatory PCR test ☺️.
Many thanks!

Finally, a small drone flight at the wild campsite before the hike in the Slovak Paradise. In the second part, watch out for the animal surprise 🐗, which has been following us the whole trip 😱.