At half past 6 we are both up and running so by 8AM we are en route. Getting up early definitely gives you a different view on the world.
First stop: shopping at Lidl in Tvrdosin for breakfast and then onwards to the wooden church, another Unesco World Heritage site. We easily find the site and it is quite deserted. We quickly eat our breakfast and then have a stroll around the site.
The church is quite small and is apparently only used at special occasions, judging from the beautiful modern big version next to it.
After breakfast it’s on to the High Tatra mountains. Our British friends yesterday were right. You never ride into or over the mountains, but always next to them.
The views aren’t less spectacular though…
We stop at a small lake in Vrbov for a picknick near the lake. After some cloudy skies in the up in the mountains, the skies are clearing out again and the temperatures are definitely rising.
Next stop: Spis Castle. We already spot it from miles away, a dominating structure looking over a huge valley. It reminds us quite a lot of the Mont Saint Michel in France.
The closer we get, the bigger it looks.
Visiting the castle requires again a very steep climb. It’s too hot in our riding gear to even consider it, so we opt for a break in the shade of some trees with views over the castle. The juicy apples are delicious!
After Spis, we turn away from our original route a bit to look for a campsite. By now, we have learned that in these regions, campsites are usually located near water hotspots. And our map and gps indicate several at the Vel’ka Domasa lake. We do the entire tour of the lake and find only 2 campsites. One is closed so we take the other one. It’s pretty basic, but the grass is nicely cut, the views are spectacular and the prices are the cheapest so far: 5,5 EUR.
While cooking dinner, are treated to a beautiful sunset.
Today’s route: