We had breakfast at our guest house yesterday morning. Nice enough, but we felt it wasn't really worth the €5.00 ($6.25) per person. So we will make other arrangements for breakfast today and tomorrow.
We planned a hike in the mountains for yesterday, but first we had to get to the mountains!
The waterfront where we are staying at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Made it to Poprad!
So this time, our bus arrived on time at 8:45am yesterday morning, and it was a forty minute ride to Liptovsky Mikulas. There, we caught the train to Poprad.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
What happened to our bus?
Yesterday, we sat at the bus stop for a half an hour after our bus was supposed to come by. But the bus never showed up!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Living out of a backpack.
The type of travel that we're doing right now sure is interesting, but I have to admit that I miss traveling in a motorhome.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Hiking into the clouds
Despite the fact that we couldn't see anything, there were still some highlights to this hike!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
When no means yes...
There are certainly some funny issues that we've encountered traveling in a country where we don't understand the language. For example, "no" really does mean yes!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Our first hike in Tatra National Park
It's a little difficult to plan a route because there are so many marked hiking trails in this park. We decided on a 16.8 km (10.5 mile) hike with an elevation gain of about 700 metres (2,300 feet).
Friday, August 24, 2012
Travel days are never boring!
So we set off yesterday morning, headed for the village of Zuberec, without any idea of where we were staying. We walked down to the train station in Istebne, with lots of time to wait for our 9:52am train. And we waited. And we waited.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
It was a hot one!
It was a hot and humid day yesterday. I think it went to 34C (93F). But that's no excuse not to go for a hike. Jana and her sister Monika came and picked us up at around 1:30pm and then we picked up Jana's boyfriend Lucas and we all went for a walk to a waterfall!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hanging out with the young people!
Yesterday morning we walked into the nearby village of Istebne. They have one of the oldest churches in Slovakia in this village, one of only four remaining wooden churches.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What do you get for €11.00 ($13.75) per night?
It was time to move on yesterday, so we took the bus from Terchova to Dolny Kubin, a distance of only about 30 kms (18 miles). We didn't know for sure where we were going to end up staying last night, but we had some ideas.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Just another perfect day...
Woke up to blue sky and sunshine on Sunday, and didn't see a cloud in the sky the entire day! For that matter, it's exactly the same as I type this at 8:30am Monday morning.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Okay, I have a bone to pick with you ladies...
But we'll get to that in a few minutes.
We were going to use Saturday as a day of rest, but because it was turning into such a nice day we figured we shouldn't waste it just in case Sunday wasn't as nice. (So far, Sunday is great too!)
We were going to use Saturday as a day of rest, but because it was turning into such a nice day we figured we shouldn't waste it just in case Sunday wasn't as nice. (So far, Sunday is great too!)
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Never pet a dog who's taking himself for a walk!
We set off on what was supposed to be a 13.5 km (8.5 mile) hike yesterday at about 10:30am. The sky was overcast, but it really didn't look like it was going to rain. This hike went through several little villages in the middle of nowhere, and it was an informational trail with ten different boards to read along the way.
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!
But because it's a weekend coming up, some of them were fully booked!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Best Hike Ever!
Well, we think it's one of the best hikes we've ever done anyhow! It was only 8.5 kms (5.3 miles) but it took us six hours from start to finish. Quite a few people on the trail considering it was the middle of the week, but it's because it's such an interesting trail.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Slovakia!
Another new country for us, and so far, we're impressed! Once again, some of that comes down to the people you meet, and our new couchsurfing hosts here in Zilina are once again, fantastic!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
We cheated.
And we're not proud of it.
We did a hike yesterday to the top of Radhost Mountain. Problem is, we took a bus 90% of the way up! Every time we've done something like this, we've been kind of disappointed in ourselves, but we had been told to do it this way. And there was some justification to it.
We did a hike yesterday to the top of Radhost Mountain. Problem is, we took a bus 90% of the way up! Every time we've done something like this, we've been kind of disappointed in ourselves, but we had been told to do it this way. And there was some justification to it.
Monday, August 13, 2012
A hike in the mist
It rained much of the day on Saturday, so we used it as a relax day! And then on Sunday, we woke up to drizzle, but our couchsurfing host Blanka and her boyfriend had a hike planned for us in the morning with the local Jack Russell group that she gets together with.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Why we're doing what we're doing.
Many readers have commented over the past five years that we
are “lucky” to be doing what we are doing at our age. But it has nothing to do
with luck. It has to do with a conscious decision to do something different in life.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
A record long hike!
We've done several hikes over the years that were 16 kms (10 miles). Yesterday, we planned out a hike that we figured was about 14 kms (9 miles) but turned out to be a bit longer!
Friday, August 10, 2012
What is a Wallachian?
Well, we'll get to that in a minute. Yesterday morning, we headed out fairly early because we had to meet our train schedule. The train doesn't go by that often so we planned on making the 9:35am run from Zasova to Roznov pod Radhostem. It's only 7 kms (3 miles) and we got on with no problems.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Due for a relaxing day
And so that's what we arranged for ourselves yesterday. In the morning, we walked down the hill to get some groceries, and in the afternoon we went for a two hour hike.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Olomouc, day 4
After the rain went through Monday afternoon, the temperature began to cool off a bit, and yesterday was just about perfect! Sunny, and a high of around 26C (79F). Perfect for our last day exploring the city of Olomouc.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Holy Hill and Fort Radikov
It was a baking hot Monday morning. Temperature expected to be 34C. The museums are closed on Monday's, so we decided to take a local bus up to the basilica at Holy Hill, and go for a walk in the forest to Fort Radikov.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Exploring the City of Olomouc
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Once upon a time in the 13th century!
We have a lot to see in the city of Olomouc, but yesterday we decided to head into the surrounding countryside for a day at Bouzov Castle, only about 35 kms (22 miles) away. They were having a special day at the castle, where everyone is dressed up in period costume with displays of jousting, dancing, and entertainment that you might have seen in the 13th century.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
The City of Olomouc
People who visit Czech Republic most often go to Prague. It's fine to visit the big cities in Europe such as Prague, or Paris or Rome...but there is so much more to see, and if you limit yourself only to the big cities, you will miss so much. Or at least that's what we think. So we only spent one day in the city of Prague, preferring instead to see places that the typical tourist doesn't.
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Ruins of Boskovice Castle
In yesterday's post, we showed a picture of a what looked like a castle way in the distance. So we figured out how to hike to the castle and we set off around 10:00am.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Svitavy to Boskovice
Yet another interesting day! Our travel days seem to stand out, and usually it's because of the new people we get to meet. Yesterday was one of those days.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Exploring Castles and Countryside
Our couchsurfing host Andrew was able to
take some time off work yesterday and so he picked us up mid morning and we
went back to his place to collect his family. Good thing they have a 7
passeneger mini van because we needed all of those seats! Andrew suggested we
first go to a nearby town where there is another UNESCO listed castle to visit.
July expenses
As you know, we try and keep our expenses
to around an average of $1,000 a month,
but there can be a wide variance depending on a lot of factors. So we weren’t
sure what to expect with a full month of being across the ocean. We stayed
the first three weeks of July with Ruth’s cousin Helen and her husband Tony , so we had no
accomodation expense for that period, but we did of course contribute towards
expenses for the four of us while we were there. And sometimes we paid for
things, and sometimes they did, so although some categories are higher than
normal, some may be lower but it’s hard to know exactly which is which. Plus,
we had some travel related expenses such as our flight from Bristol to Prague . Either way,
we think we did very well, with expenses coming in at a total of $1,189.73 for
the month.
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