Out of Poland

August 23, 2015

And into Slovakia

The cookout last night was fun. I nearly missed it, just by not finding it. The guest house had a larger yard than I realized, and there was a wall that made it tough to see. I sat inside for a while, and a Polish woman with pretty good English came by and we went out together. There was quite a fire, which they kept feeding with small branches so it threw off a lot of smoke, and food and beer. And tea, my beverage of choice. There was another English speaking couple there as well. The husband is a New Zealander living in London, and his wife is Polish, originally from the area. Everyone except myself are regulars, coming each year to the train festival.

The Londoner explained to me that Stefan, the proprietor, had inherited the guest house and wasn't sure what to do with it. Stefan was originally from the same part of Poland as the other Polish woman, who was there with her 2 brothers and sister. They are from an area with coal mining. The woman, who I think said her name is Annette, said it is very grey and dirty, and it is difficult to earn a living. She is 28 years old, works scanning old documents for some preservation project, and has her own flat only because her mother pays for it. I didn't ask how her mother has the money. She said she can't leave her town because of family. That's part of Poland I didn't see. I enjoyed the green hills and the old cities. Makes me wonder what else I'm not seeing.

Breakfast this morning didn't start until 9 a.m., so I got a bit of a late start. The ride wasn't too bad. The grades weren't as steep as yesterday, and until I reached Slovakia there was really only one peak, although it was a good one. After the peak I was in a fairly level high valley for several miles. One side of the road was brown with dried grasses, and the other green, so it was a little weird.

The area before the border is known for wooden houses.

Then I took the turn toward the border with Slovakia, and everything tilted up.

After walking up part of the hill (for the first time today) I reached the border pretty quickly.

And Slovakia greeted me with a significant hill.

This hill was symmetric. It had a 12% sign going up and coming down.

Slovakian countryside, looking back toward Sucha Hora. Note the colorful houses.

I had stopped at the money changer at the border, but it had closed at noon because it is Sunday. And I didn't find an ATM to get some Euros. Not having some stashed away was a mistake. The first major town was Vitanova. I stopped at a hotel and asked if they would take a charge card or if there was an ATM in town. Yes, they would take the card, but they didn't have a room, and, no, there is no ATM, you need to go to Trstina. I was worried that I'd find another 12% hill on the way to Trstina and really wasn't up for it, so I asked if there was another hotel in town that would accept the card. They sent me 2 km on a perpendicular road to the Gobor Hotel, where I am now. I passed a lot of guest houses en route, but they generally don't take cards.

The Gobor is a wellness spa. I took advantage of the Jacuzzi after I arrived. I also had a nice meal of fresh trout in the restaurant. The meal was expensive, but the hotel is reasonable at 36 euros, including breakfast.

Tomorrow I need to go via Trstina so I can get some Euros, and also get a SIM card so I have some connectivity to check accommodation and other information while I'm on the road.

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 1,472 km (914 miles)

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