Castles, Cake, and Open Road

I made my peace with not getting to do the hike I wanted (this time at least), and we struck out from the High Tatras to Bratislava, about three and a half hours away. Luckily, the highways in Bratislava are great and everything is well-marked, so we had a peaceful drive with no marital yelling about who can't read maps and who can't drive. About halfway to Bratislava, we stopped at a small town called Spania Dolia, an old town that used to mine copper, legend has it with the help of elves. However, the townspeople offended the elves by offering them clothing and the elves disappeared back into the earth, never to return. Dobby did NOT want a sock. A miner painted on the wall of the church. Just some lovely houses and their gardens in Spania Dolia. Slovakia is so alive in the early summer. We reached Bratislava in the early afternoon and also per the front desk during a freak heatwave, which rendered most of what I'd packed useless. I really ...

One of the things I wanted to do in the High Tatras was hike to the Green Lake, which unfortunately for didn't happen because the trail was closed. But we still took the cable car about halfway up the mountain (the lake is a three hour hike beyond that).  I probably had had too many carbs by that point to hike that far anyway.  Representing Beto from Slovakia...#betoisbetter. My favorite thing about the short hike we did do was this pug, who was killing the trail and audibly snorting like he was about to keel over.  After the mountain, we stopped at Koliba Zerucha, a traditional Slovakian restaurant near our hotel. There are kolibas all over Slovakia, all built out of wood and I assume sporting the same rustic decor (we ate in one last time called Furman). This little sheepskin high chair inside cracked me up. I started with a shot of medovina, which is honey wine...it was very sweet with no alcohol taste a...

For some delightful reason, I've been waking up between 4:30 and 5 every morning...but at least that means we get a lot done. Like walking around the lake, Strbske Pleso, beside our hotel. The view of our hotel from halfway around the lake.   Wooden chamois by the lake. (Sadly, I did not see a real chamois, or a marmot, but maybe next time.)   We started this hike to Popradske Pleso but quickly aborted it, as we didn't have water and my pale, pale skin was already roasting. Really we should have prepared more for this vacation.   I may not have seen a chamois, but I did see this awesome squirrel.   After our failed hike, we drove to Spis Castle, the largest castle in Central and Eastern Europe. It was built in the 12th century and originally owned by Hungarian kings. (It's also where Dragonheart was filmed, though I guess that's less historic.   From Spis Castle, we made a quick stop in Levoca, where I...