Brian Bicycles to Slovakia

On the 14th of October I bicycled to Slovakia, specifically the Dunajec Gorge on the Polish-Slovakian border. I took this trip w/ my friend Tulio, an avid cyclist. (He wore his cycling gloves.) We rented bikes for $1.00 an hour and headed off to Slovakia.

It was a great fall day in Eastern Europe, with sun, little wind and temps around 60 F. The route we took runs through the Dunajec Gorge where the river passes between two mountain ranges of the Beskid Mountains. (Part of the Carpathian Mountain chain.) This bicycle path was carved out by German Cartesian (Carthusian) monks who founded the nearby Red Monastery in the 14th century. As I cycled and looked up (don’t try this at home) I saw the breathtaking limestone cliffs and luxuriant greenery. Some of these cliffs are 900 feet tall. Floating in the river were wooden rafts that people had hired to float downriver. They were piloted by men in rustic Slovakian attire that, except for the cameras on the tourists, made it seem like a period of time in the 1800s.

The cycling was relatively easy as the monks chiseled a level path that ran parallel to the river with only two hills along the way. With each turn a new sight was revealed that showed that autumn was in fact here. After about 6 miles or so of this path we turned around so as to return the bikes before sundown. Cycling the opposite way now opened up a new series of windows into the beauty of Slovakia.

Going to and from Slovakia we had to show our passports which were duly stamped. At the end of the day we ate supper on the outdoor porch of a restaurant situated on the banks of the river. We reminisced about our day and regretted that we had not discovered this place sooner as it would be worth a second trip.