The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Terchova, Slovakia

Yesterday morning, Michal, our couchsurfing host in Zilina made some phone calls for us to try and find us somewhere to stay  in Terchova. Because Terchova is a popular outdoor destination area, there are a lot of pensions (guest houses) and private accommodation available.

But because it's a weekend coming up, some of them were fully booked!

Eventually came across one that looked nice at http://www.chalupanauboc.sk/ It's all in Slovak though, so it's a good thing for google translate! They said they could accommodate us for 4 nights, through until Monday, for 10 euros per person per night. Works out to about $25 per night total.

Said goodbye to Ivona and son Daniel, and then Michal drove us to the bus station. We had such a good time with this young family, and once again our experiences with couchsurfing are extremely positive. We might see them again this weekend if they decide to come to this area for a hike! Thanks for everything Michal and Ivona!

Our bus left right on time at 11:15am and we were in Terchova right at 12 noon. Walked the five minutes over to our pension and the owner's son Mark was out cutting the grass. We were told Mark could speak some English, and it turns out he is quite good!

Here is our room.

There are two private rooms on the main floor and we share kitchen facilities and bathroom with the other room, which is currently vacant. Upstairs is a larger flat that has it's own kitchen and bathroom, but it's vacant too, although apparently Mark and some friends will be using it this weekend. Hopefully we will get some sleep! 

Our kitchen.

So, for approximately $25 a night, we are totally happy.

We got ourselves settled and walked just down the street to get some groceries. Came back and made some lunch, and then went for a walk around town.

There is a pretty little stream running through town.

And a large statue of Slovakian folk hero Juraj Janosik. He was the Slovakian version of Robin Hood, and was apparently born in Terchova.

He has a nice view of the town!

Kevin, with Juraj!

Terchova is a nice little town.

After our walk, we just came back and sat out in the garden with a cold drink and relaxed! Slept like a rock last night, it was totally quiet, but then we are the only ones here right now. Hopefully we will sleep okay through the weekend.

We had bought some milk yesterday afternoon. Opened it this morning to put in our tea and coffee and it was totally sour. Yuck. A litre of milk here is only about $0.80, but I still had the receipt so I walked over to the store which is only two minutes away. It's a fair size Lidl grocery store, but it has no customer service desk. The cashier was pretty busy, so I went up to the big security type guy and asked if he spoke English. Nope. "German?" he asks me. I say nope, and we both laugh. I point at the milk and put a sour look on my face. He laughs again. I point at the milk counter and he nods his head. I guess that means I can go get another one! So I do, and I go wait in the cashier line. The security guy comes over to the cashier and says something and she waves me through.

Who says you need to speak the language? Too funny.

Get back to the flat, and of course this milk is sour too!

So, back to the grocery store, where both the security guy and the cashier laugh with me. Oh well, no point in crying over sour milk. Or is that spilled milk? Whatever. This time, I pick up a different brand at a different price, and they just wave me through anyhow.

A bit overcast looking this morning, but we're going for a hike anyhow. This one is a little more level than the one the other day, and goes through some of the tiny villages, but it's around 13.5 kms (8.5 miles) long so we'll be out for a while.


14 comments:

  1. So far, haven't had any sour milk in Europe, but I think it may be because you're in a small town? The other thing too is, my impression is that Lidl is kind of the "Bi-way" version of a grocery store. Kind of like "Aldi" or "Hofer" here in Austria. It seems they get products that are getting close to the end of their shelf life?
    Gotta check those dates on dairy products. Well, most everything really.
    I'm finally getting better at it, since my wife has given me a "sour look" from time to time when I'd forget.
    At least you finally got your milk.

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    1. Yes, the store is very much like an Aldi but up until now we haven't had any problems with them. We did look at the date and it was a good date, I think that the milk must have sat out for a while and not refrigerated. We got mild in the end and this makes for a funny story!

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  2. What a beautiful view of the town from the statue. You guys are amazing how you manage so well without speaking the language.

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  3. haha, nice story with MILK :o))
    I called yesterday with the owner of the apartment to be sure that you arrived safely. she confirmed that you met with her son, so I hope everything is ok.
    enjoy your time in terchova and mala fatra, if we decide to go there we will definitely let you know somehow. thank you for visiting us in zilina!!

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    1. Thank you for checking up on us Michal. We appreciate all the help you have given us as well as your hospitality, we had a great time with you.

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  4. no use 'crying over sour milk'..funny story!!!

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  5. You guys should create an e-book on how to get the deals on all the things you've done. You've got knack!!

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    1. The internet is a great thing! As for the deals, quite a few of the penzions charge 10 Euros each a night so not really as good a deal as it sounds.

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  6. hi guys, we have finally decided to visit SULOVSKE SKALY on saturday, so we will not meet you again in mala fatra. anyway, enjoy your time there!

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    1. Sorry that we won't be able to hike with you. Hope you have a great time with your friends.

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  7. 58% of cummunication is body language. Works everytime. This place should get a "deal alert" notice.

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  8. Another pretty little town - it's so green there. All these small places look like something out of story books - little villages nestled amongst the hills and valley's. Such wonderful places you are visiting. Great find on the room, nice to find something reasonable - and your couch surfing has turned out wonderfully for you so far, that's super! I would have been nervous about that but I'm really thinking now we'll have to try it on our next trip overseas.

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    1. They actually have used one of the castles that we have visited for Czech fairy tale movies! The towns and villages are beautiful. You can do Eastern Europe so much cheaper than Western Europe and see much the same type of thing. Many of the penzions in this area are about 10 -15 euros per person so even though it sounds like we got a great deal it is quite normal. We love couchsurfing and definitely think it is the way to go. You learn so much more about the area and the people this way. We haven't had a bad experience yet!

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  9. hi Kevin and Ruth, iam glad, that you liked your small village and our accomodation and could look at piece of slovak beauty. I saw your hiking, what you shared here, there is nice view from the top, isnt it? I hope you god all right to the Dolny Kubin, enjoy some days in Slovakia. I hope, you sleeped in the weekend nights, if we waked you, sorry :) your "couchsurfing" man in our accomodation, Mark...

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