Introduction

The Tatras Mountains are part of the Carpathian Mountains and span the border between Poland and Slovakia. The highest peaks are on the Slovakian side, hence the name High Tatras, with 25 peaks over 2500m. We travelled there to do some walks on both sides of the Tatras Range.

Krakow

We finished Part 2 of this trip in Vilnius. From there we flew to Krakow in southern Poland on our way to the Tatras Mountains. Krakow is Poland’s most popular tourist city. It was the country’s capital until 1596, and its rich history is everywhere.

We had a couple of days there before continuing south. Here are a few highlights.

Rynek Glowny (Main Square)

This is Europe’s largest medieval town square.

At the centre of the square is an impressive building with the modest name of the Cloth Hall.

It was once the centre of Krakow’s medieval cloth trade, dating back to the 14th century. Nowadays it is full of craft and souvenir shops.

St Mary’s Basilica

This imposing church is also on the square. Unfortunately, we don’t have a good picture of it.

that’s it on the right of shot with scaffolding

Rynek Underground

Beneath the Cloth Hall is an underground museum that takes visitors on a journey through a medieval market.

Back above ground the central square also has a bewildering array of outdoor dining and drinking options. And a lot of pigeons.

The opportunity for a horse-drawn carriage ride.

We even came across a colourful folk parade just off the square.

Wawel Royal Castle

The castle dates from the 16th century. It houses multiple museum collections.

It sits proudly on a hill beside the Vistula River.

Schindler’s factory

The factory of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who famously saved the lives of dozens of his Jewish workers during World War II, is today a museum in the previously Jewish suburb of Kazimierz.

Many of the faces of people he saved adorn the outside of the museum.

We also stopped at a memorial to the young Jewish fighters who staged an uprising against the Germans in November 1942, most of whom were eventually captured and murdered.

Wieliczka Salt Mine

A highlight of our stay in Krakow was a visit to the UNESCO-listed salt mine.

It is a network of underground tunnels and chambers, in total about 300kms over nine levels.

A two-hour tour takes visitors through a small section of the mines.

There are statues, chapels, and amazing artworks.

All carved out of salt.

The mines date back to Neolithic times, and tourists have been visiting since 1722!

The finale of the tour is the Chapel of St Kinga, complete with salt carved chandeliers.

And the Last Supper.

A very worthwhile excursion.

A note on Krakow’s attractions: We visited during the beginning of the high season. It was very busy, with pre-booking needed to ensure places for some of the busiest sights. We had planned to visit Auschwitz – Birkenau Memorial and Museum as a day trip from Krakow, but we didn’t book places in advance so missed out. The lesson is – plan ahead for such places, especially during high season.

Zakopane

We caught the train 100kms from Krakow to Zakopane, Poland’s most popular Tatras Mountains tourist town. Zakopane (pronounced Zako-pa-nay) is a small, modern, pleasant town surrounded by greenery with a dramatic mountain backdrop.

The pedestrian street of ul Krupowki has plenty of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops.

On a dry, warm but slightly cloudy Sunday we embarked on an eleven kilometre walk.

We started up Dolina Strazykska (trail). We had plenty of company with lots of folks taking advantage of the good weather to head for the mountains.

Our first goal was the Wodospad Siklawita (waterfall).

It was then onward and upward.

We were on our way to Sarnia Skala, a peak of 1377m.

There were good views back to Zakopane below.

We made it!

Lots of walkers had the same ambition.

After taking in the moment ….

…. we started down Dolina Bialego. We passed through the thickly wooded lower slopes.

We bagged another small waterfall.

We continued down to the bottom.

An excellent walk.

This was just one walk of the many possibilities out of Zakopane. The map below gives some idea of the various trails that criss-cross the area.

Poprad

From Zakopane we took a two-hour bus ride over the mountains to the Slovakian town of Poprad, the gateway to the High Tatras.

There are a series of resort towns stretching along the valley below the mountains. The map below provides a simple illustration of the set up. Many people stay at one of these towns, but we chose to stay in Poprad and access different parts of the High Tatras via the dedicated rail line that runs out of the town’s train station.

Walk One: Skalnate Pleso

Our first excursion involved taking the train to Stary Smokovec. A one-day train ticket cost us 7 Euros (seniors).

From the station we walked a short distance up the hill to the funicular station, which then took us to Hrebienok.

This is the starting point for lots of walking tracks.

Already there were great views of the Velka Studena Valley and nearby peaks.

From Hrebienok the trail slowly ascended.

It was a warm, sunny day, perfect for a walk in the High Tatras.

Plenty of other walkers were out enjoying the mountain trails.

Clear signposts pointed the way to our destination, Skalnate Pleso, a glacial tarn (lake) on the shoulder of Lomnicky Stit, Slovakia’s second highest peak at 2634m.

By the time we reached Skalnate Pleso we’d climbed 500m and walked around 6 kms.

The tarn is quite small, but with Lomnicky Stit looming over it the location is spectacular.

There is a cable car station with restaurant and other facilities at the tarn.

We circumnavigated the pleso.

Then caught the cable car down to a transit point.

We then switched to a chairlift which took us down to the outskirts of the town of Tatranska Lomnica.

Tatranska Lomnica is on the train route, so it was then an easy train ride back to Poprad. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. A great experience.

Walk Two: The Ascent of Solisko Predne

The day started back on the train with a trip to Strbske Pleso.

It’s an easy walk from the train station to the chairlift which takes walkers to Chata pod Soliskom at 1840m.

Our aim was to climb to the summit of Solisko Predne (2093m), the most accessible peak in the High Tatras.

As the chair lift had done most of the heavy lifting elevation-wise, we just had a couple of hundred metres to go to reach the top.

note carved sculpture of porter with traditional carrying frame - see below comment

It was, however, all up.

We were again grateful that the weather gods had smiled upon us.

After some huffing and puffing we made it to the summit.

We took in the view and got our breath back.

It was then back down.

Back at the chata (mountain hut) we took this photo of the wooden frames that are still used by local porters to carry goods to isolated, distant mountain lodges. Not an easy gig.

Back down at Strbske Pleso we took a walk around the lake.

It was an easy 2.3 km circuit.

Very picturesque.

Not sure who this guy is.

It was then back on to the train and we returned to Poprad. The town itself is quite nice. We found it to be far less busy than the resort towns, with a vibe that felt more like we were mixing with the locals rather than lots of tourists.

It has a pleasant pedestrian street with numerous bars and restaurants.

Bratislava

Our stay in the Tatras Mountains was only five nights but it was a great experience. We recommend visiting the region, especially if you are fond of mountain walks. It was late June/early July when we were there.

We finished this stage of our journey from Helsinki to Istanbul with a train trip from Poprad to Bratislava, the nation’s capital. We spent just one afternoon and evening checking out the city’s old town.

The sights we took in included the impressive Bratislava Castle.

We also spied the so-called UFO Bridge, given this name by locals due to its unusual appearance. Its real name is the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) or New Bridge. The flying saucer - UFO bit is an observation deck.

We also visited the Blue Church.

And St Martin’s Cathedral.

Conclusion

So ended our trip to the Tatras Mountains, on both the Polish and Slovakian sides.

But the overall trip continued. Our next stop was Slovenia where we went to spend a weekend with our friends Samo and Mircha. And that’s where we’ll pick up the story in Part Four: Slovenian Program 2.0.

Ken and Cally