E8 Trail

Today is the last day of my four-day hiking trip. I get up early and first walk back four kilometers from Mikulcin Vrch to Mechnac, the section that I did not walk last night. From Mechnac I walk the same way back to Mikulcin Vrch, to the inn, where I have my breakfast and pick up my backpack.

During my walk before breakfast it has started to rain, like it was forecasted. When I continue half an hour later it still rains. The next kilometers from Mikulcin Vrch to the Slovakian border are not exciting; rain, increasing wind up on the hills, limited visibility due to the fog (of course!), and no excitement along the Trail. After a few kilometers of muddy paths the Trail follows again the Czech-Slovakian border. There is no corridor here as the main ridge of the hill is an open meadow. On top of the hill Machnac at 771 meters, the border goes north, and the Trail goes to the southeast, back into Slovakia. There is no view on top of this hill, of course, due to the fog. The next kilometers are probabely nice in the summertime, walking in the forrests and overlooking the fields, but today it is grey, wet and cold. After leaving the forrest I cross the village of Drietoma, and then cross the hill on my way to today’s finish: the city of Trencin. This last hill is kind of difficult as the signs are not clear and I spend some time before I find out that the next signs are situated in the middle of a huge section of farming land. First I need to cross it for 300 meters before I find the sign. After this “excitement” I am heading for Trencin, one of the biggest cities in Slovakia. Its characteristic castle on top of a rocky hill is visible from far away, but in this gloomy weather it is not impressive. The final kilometers of today’s stage are disappointing: I cross a huge section of open land where the construction is done for a new highway, and consequently some kind of industrial area. Finally, after crossing the suburbs of Zlatovce, I cross the river Vah, and I arrive in downtown Trencin. Another milestone in my E8 is achieved. I have the feeling I am really far away from home, now.

Trencin

I get a room in an inn along the E8, in Trencin’s city centre. Trencin is a big-sized city in Slovakia, which means there are some restaurants, some bars, many shops and a railway and bus station with many connections to all corners of the country. Partly due to the location of the city at the foot of a steep rocky hill there has never been much space for the city to grow, so everything is sort of “around the corner”.

Today is the third day of my four-day hiking trip. I get up very early in the morning and leave at 4.00am.

I want to start as early as I can because I have a long day ahead of me. And it’s an exciting one: I will be going to the Czech Republik for the first time in my life! First I cross Brezova in the dark early morning hours. The signs are well placed and with the street lights and my own head light it is simple to follow them through the village. After the village the Trail goes up the hill Bradlo, and crosses a meadow first. The map shows that at some point I must leave the meadow and go to the right into the forrest. This is not clearly marked and I loose some time there taking the wrong path. Once back on the dark track I manage my way through the forrest and up the hill all right. Just below the top of the hill there are some tourist facilities (skilift, snackbar, parking lot). The daylight is starting to show up as I make my way down the hill, going north. My feet are hurting a little bit, due to some blisters, and it gets easier when I pass the village of Polianka, as the Trail follows here the main road. After the village the Trail splits into a country road. On the map I can see that both the main road and the country road are heading for the city of Myjava. The concrete of the main road will be easier for my feet, but I decide to be strict and follow the signs onto the country road. Two kilometers further the road enters into Myjava, near a gasstation. I buy some refreshments and some chocolate bars. It is Sunday morning and I do not expect to come along another point of sale today. Myjava is more modern than I expected, there are even western supermarkets. There even opened on Sunday!

Leaving Myjava the Trail goes up the hill. Once out of the city the last descent for the final climb is done, and then the Trail is heading straight north, to the top of the Velka Javorina hill, to Czech. The weather is very nice. The sun is shining, and there’s no wind. The climb up the hill is not exciting, but long. There are a few other people on their way, Sunday tourists. A few kilometers before the top of the Velka Javorina hill the Trail starts following the Czech/Slovakian border. There is a corridor along the border straight through the forrest of approximately 10 meters wide. Every 50 meters or so there are small signpoles that indicate the border between the two countries. Just before arriving on top of the hill I pass a mountain refuge. It is closed for business due to reconstruction. The new owner is working to get the building ready for the winterseason. His father-in-law is helping him out. He turns out to be Austrian, and he tells me he is not confident in his son-in-law’s activities. “Not as much tourists as in Austria, not as much snow in the winter as in Austria”, he tells me. In a few minutes I walk up to the top of the hill. It is covered in fog, of course.

Velka Javorina (970m)

From the top of the hill I will enter Czech, but it takes me some time before I see where to go, as the signs are not clear. *(see comment below). Once I am on the right way, the signs apear again. A few minutes later a man comes in the opposite direction out of Czech on his way to Slovakia. He asks where I come from and where I go to. We chat a little bit and he offers me a piece of apfelstrudel, which tastes great. After we have split up and continued both our own way I wonder if it was Czech or Slovakian apfelstrudel that I have been eating. Further down the hill the weather gets better and the visibility improves. The next kilometers are not exciting. The Trail followes the main ridge of a small hill group named the Lopenicka Hills. Here and there I have a nice overview of the valley with some small villages. Unfortunately, the twilight sets in when I still have to cover a few kilometers to the next place of civilization, where some hotels and pensions are situated. I see no other option than to put on my headlight again, and make my way along the trail. The signs are pretty good, but the forrest road is here and there in very poor quality due to recent maintenance of the forrests. It is 7.10pm when I leave the forrest and enter the main road in Mechnac.

It is extremely dark here. There’s no street lights, no traffic, no buildings are lit, there is really nothing to see when I switch off my headlight. The hotels that I had found on the internet are situated on the main road in this small and widely spread village. I walk up and down a few times to check them out but they appear all to be closed outside the tourist season. I am considering my options, as the nearest location where the Trail is passing is the village Mikulcin Vrch, but that’s another 4 kilometers up the hill. While standing there in the middle of nowhere all of a sudden I am standing in the headlights of a car that is parked only 10 meters away from me. I have not seen it at all! I walk towards the car and see that it is a police car. It is probabely parked here to be located centrally in a big region, that it is supposed to cover. I explain to the policemen where I come from and that I am looking for a place to stay for the night. The police officers discuss briefly and then tell me to get in the car. They drive a few kilometers in the other direction from where I will be going tomorrow, which does not make me feel easy, but I need a place to sleep and I will not find it myself in these ouskirts of the Czech Republic. After ten minutes we arrive at an inn, but it is closed. The policemen discuss again, also with the police station on their radio. They turn the car and drive back to where we came from, and then continue up the hill to Mikulcin Vrch, further up the E8. It is not even a village, it is a wide spread collection of small hotels and inns, and they are all closed. The policemen drive to an inn in the back of the main road where only one small light is lit outside. They ring the door bell and explain to the owner of the place what I need. They tell me I am welcome in the inn and whish me luck. I thank them for their assistance and I am glad my day is over. The owner of the inn tells me, in some German words, that today the inn was closed but that I can stay for the night. A great day has come to an end. I met three times people here in this new country, and all of them have been friendly and helpfull.

* comment: When the E8 was mapped in 1986 the Trail was crossing one country in this part of Europe: Czechoslovakia. Due to the decision of the people in Czechoslavkia the country was split up in 1993 in two: Czech and Slovakia. It was like that for many centuries before the 20th century. It turned out that of the approximately 700 kilometers between the Austrian border near Vienna, and the south of Poland there were only 46 kilometers in the new Czech Republik, and the other 650 kilometers in Slovakia. Adjustments were made in the E8 to keep the Trail inside Slovakian borders completely. Nowadays the E8 goes from the top of the Velka Javorina to the southeast, back into Slovakia, to the city of Nove Mesto. From there the Trail leads to Trencin.

Today is the second day of my four-day hiking trip. I get up early and get going as quickly as possible.

The weather is like I have experienced every hiking day in Slovakia so far; completely clouded and some fog. Immediately after the start I need to climb the Zaruby hill, 450 meters up to 767 meters. After some 20 minutes I pass the ruins of an ancient castle. There are some people on their way for a morning walk, or so. No backpacks. The further I get up on the Zaruby hill the more fog is hiding any view. At the top there is apart from a dense fog also much wind that makes me leave immediately again.

Zaruby (767m)

After the steep descent from the Zaruby, through the forrests of course, I pass the small village Horne Mlyny. Like many Slovakian villages it is long spread, as all the houses are built along the main road.

Horne Mlyny

The next kilometers are crossing forrests again, untill the big village of Dobra Voda. Just before leaving the village there is a bar, where I get a refresment. There’s not many people on the streets and I am also the only guest in the bar. Tonight is Saturday night, I hope they will be more busy then! Following the Trail to the end of the village, into the woods, there is a remarkable area that needs to be covered: the local cemetary! I walk back some 50 meters to check the signs and make sure this is where I am supposed to go. The white/red/white signs on left and right side of the front gate of the cemetary are clear about the direction of the Trail.

Dobra Voda

I continue my way as if I hike on cemetaries with a full backpack all the time. At the end of the cemetary there is a small gate, after which the Trail continues up the hill, very steep again. There are some other people walking up there, just for a weekend stroll or taking their dog out. I continue my way, but my feet and toes start hurting. A few kilometers further down the road, near the village Hradiste, I feel the first blister on my foot. I continue in a moderate pace, planning to finish today in the next big village, Brezova pod Bradlom. The map shows that there is an inn or hotel just before entering the village. When I pass it, it is obvious that it is closed, and I need to find another place to stay for the night. Exiting the forrest and entering the regular road at the beginning of Brezova I pass a gasstation.

I buy some chocolate bars and ask for a recommendation to stay. The guy behind the counter tells me to go two hundred meters further up the road to a former orphanage, that is now used as holliday resort for schools. There are some buses parked there, so apparantly there’s business going on. The guardian is surprised to have a demand for one room only, but he has one room available, and at 6.00pm I am done for today. This is the cheapest organized sleeping arrangement I have used so far along the E8: 2,90 euro’s. It is clean, simple and safe. Perfect!

I travelled to Slovakia for a four-day hiking trip. In Bratislava I take an early morning bus to the village Pezinok, and from there to Sedlo Baba (the official name of the bus stop is: Pezinok, Pezinska Baba Chata). During my previous trip I had very dense fog due to which I could not see anything while being on the Trail. Only on the day that I travelled back to Bratislava I had a clear blue sky and I could see that the surroundings are very nice. This morning I have to do it with that memory, as it is cloudy and foggy again, although not as bad as the last time I was here.

Todays stage is taking through forrests and woods, along trees and more trees. I am carrying a full backpack, as I have not been able to prepare various accomodations to stay for the nights during this trip. I am passing some camping sites, so perhaps I have to use my tent & sleepingbag. The weather is okay; for hiking in November the temperature is okay, and it is dry. The soil is muddy as it has been raining during the past few days. Immediately after the start the path is crossing steep hill sloopes. I am used to cover lots of differences in altitude, in the Alps, but what I experience here is different. When the path approaches a hill, or some other steep section, it just goes straight ahead up the hill; no curves or serpentines to make the slope easier for the hiker, no, just straight up the hill. It is very exhausting to walk like this for hours.

road sign

Due to the trees the views are not many or great. Descending from the Skalnata hill there is a nice glance at the Piesok village. The Male Karpaty Hills, or White Karpats, are pretty isolated from the civilized world. It’s not just that I hardly meet or see anyone all day, also the mobile phone has a limited coverage here. I estimate that only during 70% of the time I have sufficient coverage to have a telephone call. It makes more important to be on the safe side. The woods are in autumn condition, which means not much leaves left on the trees, hardly any animals around, and a grey sky all day long. During the afternoon the louds partly fade and I get a glance on the horizon where the rocks shine grey or white.

The highest climb of today is the Kapenna hill. I need to climb 450 meters to reach the top at 752 meters. There are some slippery sections, where slippery rocks peep from underneath the leaves. If you step on it without noticing you can slide easily. There’s no view from the Kapanna, and I continue my way down. At 5.10pm I arrive at Brezinky.

This is an area on the foot of the hills where some tourist facilities are situated, like a hotel and a camping site near a lake. There’s not much activity in November, apparently. I am satisfied with today’s performance, although I had hoped to be able cover more kilometers than the 30 that I did. Three more days to go, and they should bring more excitement than this first stage of the trip.

Today is the third day of my three-day hiking trip. After the milestones of two days ago (2000-kilometer mark) and of yesterday (arriving is Slovakia) I will have my first Slovakian stage today. The taxi takes me from the hotel back to the monument.

I have bought myself a map of Bratislava which enables me to find my way out of the city, and up the hill Kamzik. There is a huge broadcast tower on top of this hill, directly above the city.

Kamzik (439m)

Unfortunately the whole world is covered in extremely dense fog that leaves hardly any visibilty of the surroundings. After leaving the city I pick up the Trail signs again easily. Going uphill at Kamzik, and further up in the hills, the signs are of a impressively high quality; the signs are clear, well situated and there are many of them. I pass a section in the forrest where, on a distance of approx. 100 meters there are 8 trees on the right side of the road, and each single one of them has a white-red-white Trail-sign. Due to the very dense fog I am not at all distracted today by any nice views or so. I only see the trees that are directly next to the road.

road sign in the fog at Biely Kriz

It is also very chilly. Combining these two circumstances explaines perhaps why there are no other people on their way. The altitude differences are not so bad; the first uphill section on the Kamzik is steep, perhaps even very steep, but afterwards the Trail does not lead through big altitude differences. At the end of the afternoon I arrive at Sedlo Baba, a pass (sedlo) in the hills where the regular road crosses the hills, going from one vally to the other.

There are some big advertising signs near the one building that I see that point out wintersport facilities to passerbys. According to my map there should be here a pension or inn kind of place to sleep. I knock on the door of this one building/house. The lady informs me, standing on the balcony on the first floor, that there is another building , a hotel!, some 50 meters further down the road. Even during “daylight” it can not be seen through the fog. First I find a building (it is still extremely foggy) with a sign “hotel” but it turns out to be completely booked. There are apears to be another one, another 50 meters further down the road. Finally, there I am welcome, and I enjoy a nice and complete Slovakian dinner. I do hope that the next stages in Slovakia, during my next trip, will be more interesting. It seems that there is a whole country hidden behind all this fog!