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A 26-day public-transport-crazed backpacking tour of Central/Eastern Europe: the Tatras to the Balkans Read more
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  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 1

    Bournemouth Airport

    July 5, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    [JJ] Thomas water bottle count: 4
    JJ water bottle count: 0

    Thomas can't get any water in one of them though soo who's actually winning? Let's get this adventure underway

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 1

    Kraków Airport

    July 5, 2022 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    [Thomas] Made it here in a Krakow a whip, and already had a minor crisis as we (JJ) dropped our bus ticket and the binman swept it up, so we had to very kindly ask for it back! 😂

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 2

    Auschwitz-Birkenau

    July 6, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    [JJ] A very sobering experience. No words are able to truly describe what went on here.

    We saw corridors upon corridors of prisoners' belongings taken from them: kids' shoes, spectacles, cooking pots, even human hair. We walked through the gas chambers, we saw the giant Auschwitz camp, then Birkenau, which was 25 times larger than even that.

    I walked a million steps last month, and if every step were a person dying then it still wouldn't be as many people that died within these fences.    Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    1
    Day 2

    Kraków

    July 6, 2022 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    [JJ 05/07] Our first footsteps in Krakow took us from a tram station to the old town, one of the first ever selected UNESCO world heritage sites, with pretty pedestrianised streets inside the old city walls and surrounded by a cool circular park aptly named 'planty'. We found our hostel: Greg & Tom hostel and immediately tucked into some dinner on the romantic little balcony, narrowly avoiding a barrage of rain.

    After I had a short passport misplacing scare, we then went on a voyage to the local Carrefour and enjoyed the wonders of the Polish language, which is reminiscent of if you've ever smashed your head onto a keyboard. We were first tickled by 'Chleb', Polish for bread, before rediscovering the holy grail of confectionery treats: Plopps! Or at least their Polish cousins with debateably an even better name: BUM boomki! Listen to that sweet pop 😩

    We ended the night by making some Chlebwiches for our trip to Auschwitz tomorrow

    [Thomas 06/07] Free breakfast ✅ Quick dash to bus stop ✅ Bus caught ✅

    After getting back from Auschwitz, we explored Wawel Castle, saw a real-life fire breathing dragon, climbed a tower, walked up and down the main Street many, many times, explored the Jewish Quarter and delighted Thomas by riding on a tram.    Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 3

    Wieliczka Salt Mine

    July 7, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    An 800 year old salt mine as deep as 370m. Everything, yes literally everything was made out of salt (even me), from the statues built by miners to the crystals in the chandeliers. Our tour guide's grandad even used to work here mining too.Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    22
    Day 3

    Zakopane

    July 7, 2022 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    [JJ] After getting off the bus in Zakopane, this evening has consisted of dinner in McDonald's, fighting self service checkouts in Lidl, and missing the bus stop to our hostel because we were having too much fun reminiscing about notable players who've played in the Indian football superleague, causing us to then have to walk through the damp dark Polish woods. We are well and truly amongst some beautiful mountains here, and although I haven't taken any pictures of them yet, we're thoroughly excited to get hiking tomorrow from our hostel: Goodbye Lenin Hostel, where a cat refuses to get off of my bed.Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 4

    Czarny Staw Gasienicowy

    July 8, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    [JJ] The first part of today's hike was astoundingly straightforward (at least compared to the second part, see next). We motored up to this very pretty lake, almost a warm up for the real delight at Rysy tomorrow. We also climbed up over Maly Koscielec before we deviating from our planned route for some gnarlier looking paths.Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    1
    Day 4

    Kasprowy Wierch

    July 8, 2022 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    [JJ] After we descended from Karb, we saw a very pretty and inviting stream which led to the following interaction:

    JJ: *starts drinking from stream*
    Thomas: *looks over at plant further upstream and brushes against it* wow this plant is the most deadly in the UK!
    JJ: *spits out water*
    Thomas: wow apparently death from this plant is instantaneous
    Thomas: *then starts drinking from stream*?!!?

    So in spite of fearing we might have just poisoned ourselves (and in Thomas' case intentionally so?), we decided to trek up the exposed section to Swinicka Przelecz, where there were at least some incredible views to see while potentially dying. In particular, a vast valley unfolded beneath us from the top and looked out over the Slovakian border for the first time. Along the following ridge walk, a torrent of rain came hurtling from the sky as the forecast had been predicting all day. But disaster strikes at this very moment as Thomas discovers that he somehow left his coat at the hostel(!). So in the teeming rain we managed to rush to Kasprowy Wierch mountain and hide in the cable car station, where Thomas dried out a little and gorged on chips a lot before deciding the most sensible action was to take the cable car all the way down to Kuznice.    Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 5

    Mt Rysy

    July 9, 2022 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    [JJ] Rysy pysy 🍋 sqyzy

    Except actually it was difficult difficult lemon difficult. We severely underestimated climbing Poland's tallest mountain: Mt Rysy. After a 9 km hike from the entrance of the national park where the bus dropped us, we found our way to Morskie Oko, meaning 'eye of the sea' and the largest lake in the Tatras mountains. Unfortunately there was still some mountain fog lingering so we didn't quite see it in its full glory. After Thomas's 3rd (out of 6) toilet breaks of the day (get that checked out Thomas x) in the nearby restaurant, we then climbed up to Czarny Staw pod Rysami. This lake had an enchanting emerald colour and served as the backdrop to our ultimatum lunch before the ascent, and opposite to some beautiful waterfalls.

    When Rysy's outline vaguely emerged from the clouds on our approach, we doubted what the hell we were doing, but even then it probably should have alarmed us more than it did. The climb did start off as you might expect a steep hike to, however: twisty, craggy, strenuous. But as we ascended further and further into the clouds and past patches of snow, walking quickly turned into crawling and the path was quickly replaced by mere chains with which to haul ourselves up the cliff faces. The closer we inched to the summit, the more difficult it continued to degenerate: at one point Thomas even checked the map after what felt like a long section of scrambling only to find we had only moved 8 metres! This exposure continued for well over an hour and certain sections really did feel like one misplaced step could well have cost you your life, which I tried to find the funny side in. Perhaps the best way I can find to describe how dodgy the route was is that I finally experienced a collector's item, a swear word from Thomas!

    After mustering the mental strength to heave ourselves to the summit, we enjoyed some incredible views over the High Tatras as the clouds dispersed just at the right time. Looking down on an entire mountain range like that is a feeling I'll never forget!    Read more

  • Backpacking 2022
    Day 5

    Popradské Pleso

    July 9, 2022 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    [JJ] Sat on the Rysy summit, we had a big old head befuddling think and concluded that we didn't fancy going back down the Polish side of the mountain, doing the scrambling we had done on the way up, except backwards. So we decided (without even knowing if we could get back to our accommodation) to hike down via the Slovak side which we knew was significantly easier.

    And luckily, it was not only significantly easier, but debateably more scenic too, as the clouds cleared and we descended through a series of gorgeous valleys. A quick game of 'throw the stone' and a lot of photo stops later and we found ourselves in an immaculate pine forest, which led down to Popradské Pleso train station. In spite of Thomas marvelling at the electric locomotive, the train timetable wasn't particularly favourable and after some problem solving, Thomas magic'd up a route back via a taxi to nearby village Vysoké Tatry, a bus to Lysa Polana at the border, then a final bus to the hostel.    Read more

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