Zdiar, Slovakia

On Thursday 11th July 2019 I travelled from Strbske Pleso to Zdiar, another small mountain town. This involved taking a train from Strbske Pleso to Strba, then another train from Strba to Poprad. From Poprad I caught a bus for the hour or so journey to Zdiar.

I was keen to spend some more time in the mountains, and the main reason I chose Zdiar was because of the hostel there: The Ginger Monkey. This is regularly voted the top hostel in Slovakia and the reviews are almost universally glowing. The (rather rough) NZ map etched into the wall in the kitchen was a nice welcome. 

 

Bookings for the hostel open up three months in advance, so I had been on the ball in order to secure the one and only private double room in the hostel. I'll probably be a backpacker for the rest of my life, but my days of sharing dormitory-style accommodation have well and truly passed! The room had a gorgeous view of the mountains out its window. 

One of the main hostel attractions is Wally the dog. He is a real character, and guests are always welcome to take him out on any of the numerous local walks. It is only a small hostel and there was a friendly family-type atmosphere. Most days one of the two hostel staff would bake, so there was often fresh biscuits or cake left in the communal kitchen for anybody to help themselves to. 

The deck was a lovely place to chill out and watch the world go by, or to share a beer with other travelers in the evening. I also happened to be at the hostel for 'Pizza Night' where literally everybody in the hostel walks down to the local pizzeria for some awesome wood-fired pizza. 

The weather forecast was best for the Friday, so I planned to do my biggest walk on that day.

 

The forecast was true to form and I set off on a beautiful summer's morning.

As I climbed higher there were lovely views looking back towards Zdiar

The first milestone was making it to Siroke Sedlo at 1825 metres above sea-level.

The views continued to open up as I got higher and higher. Below you can actually see the other side of Lomnicky Stit (where I had been a couple of days ago) and other surrounding peaks. It was nice getting a different perspective on the same mountain range.

Doing my best "I'm the king of the mountain" impression...

At Velke Biele Pleso several different trails intersected.

I stopped for some lunch at the small clearing below. I understand people taking dogs on their hikes, but I had never come across anyone taking a cat on a leash for a walk before!

I soon arrived at the Green Lake which has a chateau on its shores. It was a beautiful spot to chill out for a while and take some pics.

It was then time for the final leg which was a very pleasant mostly downhill (or at least flat) section with more glorious views along the way.

The trail finished at a place that was about 20-25 minutes by bus from Zdiar, and the next bus wasn't due for another hour and a half. I wasn't really in the mood to wait around for that, so I managed to hitch a ride back to Zdiar with a couple of lovely Polish brothers, one of whom spoke pretty decent English. Their other brother was getting married in Poland the next day so they had come to  Slovakia to do a day walk (Zdiar is only about 20 minutes from the Polish border) and also to stock up on beer because it is way cheaper in Slovakia! They practically had to pass by my hostel door on their way back to Poland so were more than happy for me to ride with them.

I'm glad I got my big walk in that day, because the weather on Saturday was very average with rain most of the day. I had a lovely relaxed day chilling out in the cosy lounge and working on the jigsaw for most of the day! Wally made a very good wet-weather companion.

The rain eased a bit late in the afternoon so I went for a local walk around the village. I do love the traditional folk-style architecture of some of the houses.

For dinner that night I paid a visit to the 'Goulash Man'. You take a container from the hostel kitchen to an old guy who sits behind a little window in the front room of his house. You hand over the container and a few euros and he hands it back full of tasty goulash!

Sunday was another chilled day. The weather was still a bit iffy so I had a relaxed morning, then did a 2-hour walk along one of the local trails.

Monday was departure day, but I didn't have to leave until 2pm or so. The beautiful summer weather was back, so I did one final three hour walk.

I then got to enjoy some mountain scenery for the very last time from the bus as I travelled from Zdiar back to Poprad. I absolutely loved my time in the High Tatras Mountains and would recommend the area to anyone wanting some incredible hiking and stunning mountain scenery. As a bonus, Whizz Air flies directly from London to Poprad, so it's super convenient and easy to get there from the UK.