It was time for a break from cities so I took the train from Bratislava into the Vysoke Tatry - High Tatras. It's at the edge of the Carpathian range and considered an extension of the Alps. There's a line of small to tiny villages along the foothills of the highest peaks, all connected by trains that run back and forth through the forest. I guess they are what you would call resort villages because from any of the main three you can go skiing, sledding or snow hiking, and you can spend a lot of money if you are so inclined. I'm staying in the easternmost of the three main villages, Tatranska Lomnica. This picture is of the Grand Hotel in Stary Smokovec which has a fabulous restaurant and is the starting point for one of several hiking trails that stays open in winter.
On my last day in the Tatras the sun finally came out and the wind died down enough for the cable cars up to Lomnicky stit (peak) to operate. I had time before my train left for L'viv so I went. You go up in two legs... first in the 4-person ski lifts that go partway up the mountain all the time, then in a 16 person cable car that goes up and back every 30 minutes. Total elevation gain from the town is about 1650 meters.
If you look closely in the lower right quadrant of the picture you can see a little red dot that is the cable car we're waiting for on its way back down.
While we were waiting, we heard several snowfalls and a couple of rumblings that sounded like mini avalanches. The thing that looks like a waterfall toward the bottom of the picture is a snowfall. You can see the observation post at the top of the mountain, and the little red cable car just below that.
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| Going up... really cold out there! |
This is my favorite Lomnicky picture... I was in the back of the cable car going up. I snapped this picture just as we were entering the docking station at the top and the car tipped a little bit as it went in - you can see a little bit of the railing of that in the bottom right. Basically, you can see how the last part of the cable way is almost straight up - at the top of the picture is the set of cables we are dangling from.
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| Observation deck |
Self portrait
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| The top of Slovakia |
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| Amazing view on the way up... |
While we were waiting, we heard several snowfalls and a couple of rumblings that sounded like mini avalanches. The thing that looks like a waterfall toward the bottom of the picture is a snowfall. You can see the observation post at the top of the mountain, and the little red cable car just below that.
This is my favorite Lomnicky picture... I was in the back of the cable car going up. I snapped this picture just as we were entering the docking station at the top and the car tipped a little bit as it went in - you can see a little bit of the railing of that in the bottom right. Basically, you can see how the last part of the cable way is almost straight up - at the top of the picture is the set of cables we are dangling from.
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