All kitted out in waterproofs again, we were ready for a rainy drive from Trencin to Banska Stiavnica on the edge of the Tatras National Park. Thankfully we were able to set off in the dry. We managed to get out of Trencin relatively quickly, but it soon became drizzly and we got more rain as the day progressed. The journey was only a few hours but we had made it slightly longer by doing a detour in Bojnice. Originally I had planned for us to stay there as it is a really cute little town, with a spectacular castle, thermal baths in front of the castle and a zoo. However, as it wasn’t not summer season the thermal baths weren’t open- so we had opted to just stop on the way to Banska Stiavnica.
Initially, I had tried to take us to Bojnice lookout point, however when Dave got to the point on the map it says it is, I think we had already gone past the small turning for it. We carried on up the road to see if there was a turning place which was a mistake as Dave then had to navigate a couple of very tight hairpin turns with a large camber to them both up and then once we had turned around, down in the rain with slick roads. Scary moments later though and he managed it. We pulled over by the castle to take a quick peek from above whilst Dave had a minute to recover. We then found a small car park in Bojnice (behind the cultural center- free 30 mins or 1 euro for an hour) so we could park up and take a proper look at the castle.
The castle itself was stunning, towering over the main part of the town and even had some deer inside the grounds. The town also looked like it had some lovely small restaurants too, although not busy due to the time of year and the weather. Shortly afterwards we pulled into a McDonalds to dry off a bit and get a coffee and cake. It is also one of the main places where we know there is a guaranteed bathroom!
Re-energised we headed back into the rain through lots of towns and then into the hills. The last half an hour took us up a lovely windy road surrounded by forest and rivers bubbling alongside us. It was nice as it was also quiet so Dave could take his time and not feel under pressure on the turnings. We made it into Banska Stiavnica around 2pm. The last hurdle we had to conquer was getting to our accommodation. This happened to be turning up a hill, cobblestones, with some gravel on top, in the rain- perfect conditions for our big scooter! I hopped off and Dave made his way up on the bike as I trailed up the hill after him. Once at the top there was then a full gravel section to our accommodation. Slight off roading experience for the Bergman.
Thankfully it was made worth it by getting to our accommodation- Aura guesthouse. We were greeted by a very friendly Nicol, who kindly upgraded us to a small cottage to ourselves as there was no one else staying there at the time. It was lovely and we had a bit more space to stay in for a few days. It did mean that we had to climb up some steep stairs again for it, but the view of the cavalry and the town below was worth it! We gave ourselves time to dry off, unpack and soak in the view.
Feeling recuperated we headed out down through the steep cobbled streets and narrow alleyways of Banska Stiavnica. Our main mission was to find a coop to buy supplies for dinners- as we had facilities to cook for ourselves. 20 minutes later winding through the botanic gardens and past lots of houses we found the small supermarket and stocked up on a few ingredients. On the way back to Aura (which was now all uphill), we ventured through the town. It had a fun holiday vibe, I think it reminded me of small villages in Spain, with quite a few restaurants, bars and shops- but it didn’t feel too commercial.
From the town you can see the new castle above it and the intimidating plague memorial in the centre of holy trinity square. We end up cutting up several random small paths weaving between houses to get back up to our accommodation. But we managed to find some great views of both the old and new castles that both looked impressive standing above the main street of the town. In the evening we had managed to get some washing/work done before cooking and having a proper relax, reading and playing games. The temperature dropped outside but gave clear views of the cavalry all lit up.
We managed to stumble out of bed just in time for breakfast at 9am. As it was relatively cheap we had agreed to it the day before. Having a nice warm breakfast and coffee we discussed upcoming plans. Originally we had been due to stay here 2 nights and then make our way through the High Tatras mountains to Zakopane. Which would have been gorgeous if the weather was on our side. Unfortunately, though Zakopane had had several days of snow, and we were warned the tatras section of road we would need to use to get there could get really bad. Instead we managed to cancel our booking in Zakopane, extend our stay by a night at Aura in Banska Stiavnica and we made a plan to come back out of the area the way we came in and go up to Krakow on a safer, hopefully less snowy route. You have to be flexible on these types of trips, and it wasn’t worth trying to tackle snow on our scooter.
After sorting that out, and booking some new accommodation to break up the drive to Krakow we got ready for the day and to head out for a walk to explore some of the local Tajch- mountain lakes/reservoirs. In this time, it had started snowing but it added to the atmosphere- with us being thankful that we were walking in it and not driving in it. It made the scenery even more beautiful. Half an hour from Aura we found ourselves in the forest which had started to glisten white from the snow showers. Then we saw the brilliantly turquoise waters of the first tajch- velska vodenska. This is the closest one to the town and it was gorgeous- surrounded by trees it was picturesque. It is mainly used recreationally for swimming now- and even as we were there some locals stopped by for a swim in the snow. Looking on the map we saw a couple of other small lakes up the trail so went for an explore and found both were quite frozen, with the snow lightly settling on top. Getting cold now, we headed back the short walk to our cottage to warm up and get some lunch.
In the afternoon after doing some more bits, we wandered down the hill to find the local Billa/Lidl, as we now needed another night's worth of dinner and a lot of things usually shut on Sundays. The way there was fine but the way back was all up and was quite a trek, especially with it starting to flurry again and the temperature dropping. We eased this through cheap pastries though, they always help.
The following morning we woke up to the view being pure white, with it having heavily snowed overnight. Now feeling very glad that we weren’t leaving today to travel through the mountains, we headed down for breakfast where we had some delicious pancakes. We made the most of being in the warm and being cozy, having a lazy morning waiting for the snow to melt a bit.
At midday with the sun shining, and a lot of the snow melted, we headed along the trail from Aura and up the hill towards the Calvary. On the way there were the remnants of snow in the forest where the sun hadn’t made its way there, as well as huge icicles hanging from the banks. The cavalry is made up of lots of religious chapels with depictions of scenes of Jesus, that are dotted around the hill, leading to a small church and an altar at the top of the hill. There are numerous paths to take up, which means you can get away from other people. We made our way up the steep hill, getting blasted by the wind chill but the views were gorgeous over the town from the top.
After getting quite cold, we made our way back to our warm cottage to have some lunch. The rest of the day we just got on with bits and pieces, enjoying the view of the town from the windows and balcony, but enjoying the warmth. Proper snow day. Thankfully it is not due to snow again, so we should be able to make our way back down through the forest tomorrow and on to Zywiec, which is somewhere to stop on the way to Krakow.
Thanks
Alex
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