Slovakia: Day 12 - Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty)

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 12.

9/8 Day 12: Visit Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty).

Costs
(1) 1 bus ticket from Liptovsky Mikulas bus stop to Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty) - EUR1,60 (from the bus driver)
(2) 1 bus ticket from Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty) bus stop to Liptovsky Mikulas bus stop - EUR1,55 (from the bus driver)

(3) 100-minutes Long Tour for Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody - EUR24

Food
(1) Lunch at Fabrica Bistro - Fish fillet with vegetables EUR14,90, alcohol-free beer EUR3,90, 

(2) Ice-cream at Gelato Dolcino - gelato 2 scoops EUR3 and waffle cone EUR0,40

The Story

09082026: Today, we will visit a cave! Quite excited by it as it something different than being in the mountain. The day started with espresso, and home-prepared sandwich with a boiled egg, yoghurt and apple juice from yesterday's grocery. Good breakfast! There is an expresso machine in the apartment and the host gave us coffee capsules. We bought extra capsules today as we drank espresso in the afternoon too. The provided capsules were sufficient for 2 mornings.

We walked to town to get to the bus station as we will take the bus to visit Demanovska Jaskyna Slobody (Cave of Liberty). We were looking forward to the cave visit as it will be cooling inside. Seems like it is common to have caves in Eastern or Central Europe - Barac caves in Croatia in 2025, and Postojna cave in Slovenia in 2024. The bus station is beside the train station, so it is almost the same place that we were yesterday when we arrived here.

We went through the town center.

Slovakia: Day 11 - From Tatranska Polianka to Liptovsky Mikulas

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 11.

8/8 Day 11: Hotel ride from Sliezsky Dom to train station Tatranska Polianka. Train from Tatranska Polianka to Poprad to Liptovsky Mikulas. 

Costs
(1) 1 train ticket from Tatranska Polianka to Tatry Poprad - EUR4 (from the app)

(2) 1 train ticket from Tatry Poprad to Liptovsky Mikulas - EUR5,30 (including EUR1 booked seat) bought from counter

Accommodation
(1) Airbnb at Liptovsky Mikulas, 3 nights - Apartment EUR301,11 for 3 persons, EUR100,37 per person

Food
(1) Ice-cream from cafe at Poprad - 1 scoop EUR1,50 + waffle cone EUR0,40 

(2) Lunch at Chinese restaurant, Liptovsky Mikulas - Shared sweet and sour pork EUR8,20, crispy chicken EUR8,50, stir-fried vegetables with bamboo and cabbage EUR5,80, 3 bowls of rice EUR4,50 = EUR11,67 per person
(3) Grocery from Kaufland - shared tomato, bell pepper, buns, egg, yoghurt, butter, apple juice, cheese, salami to make sandwichs for evening snacks and tomorrow's breakfast EUR21,63 = EUR7,21 per person

The Story

08082026: The day started with buffet breakfast, similar food as the day before yesterday. Today, we leave the High Tatras and will visit the Low Tatras. On hindsight, one should visit Low Tatras first and then the High Tatras because, for me, the High has a better view and trail than the Low. Or maybe we just did not where to look for the trail.

The hotel offers transportation to Tatranska Polianka station and I gladly took the offer. Initially, my travel companions were very gungho to walk and I did not want to follow them. I told them that I will see them at the train station then. Haha! In the end, they took the transport too. Good thing we did because the path to the train station was not a hiking trail. It was on the road and we passed by walkers and cyclists going uphill while the transport drove past them. The walkers / hikers / families with strollers did not look like they were enjoying the walk due to the heat and also narrow when a vehicles drives by. 

We left at 10am.

The transport stopped across the road from the train station. The ride took 15 minutes.

I wanted to buy the train tickets at the counter but a note on the window states that we have to buy from the app Ideme Vlakom. It is easy to use their app and I could easily input my card details to purchase the tickets. However, I don't understand why there are 3 staff in the counter if they are not selling tickets. I saw that a toilet visit costs 50 cents. That could be one of their tasks. But to need 3 persons? What else do they do? Hmm.

I bought the 10.48am ticket from Tatranska Polianka to Poprad. From Poprad, we will continue our way to Liptovsky Mikulas. There is no direct train from Tatranska Polianka to Mikulas. We arrived Poprad at 11.25am. We were at Poprad a week ago, to start our hike in High Tatras. 

Slovakia: Day 10 - Half day hike to Dlhe Pleso (1939m)

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 10.

7/8 Day 10: Half day hike to Dlhe Pleso (1939m). Rained heavily midday and spent the rest of the day in the hotel.

Food
(1) Lunch at restaurant in Hotel Sliezsky Dom - Chicken soup with bread EUR5,80
(2) Dinner at Tourist restaurant - Halušky (Potato dumpling filled with sheep cheese, bacon pieces and spring onion) EUR11,50 

The Story

07082026: Buffet breakfast spread was the same as yesterday. I had my two cups of coffee and lots of juice to keep me hydrated. It was predicted to rain between 11am and 4pm. So, we hurried with our breakfast and started the hike by 9am. We saw some hikers yesterday hiking back from the route so we wanted to do the same. It is a route from the lake near the hotel. It is a short route and way better than the routes we hiked when we stayed at Zamko mountain hut. As in it is less straining to the legs. Either we got used to it or we just got more skillful? We did not have a destination and just wanted to see what was at the top. Later, I found out that we hiked up to Dlhe Pleso which was not 2000m. Sad. We wanted to hike higher than Teryho chata (2015m). 

The day started sunny. My travel companions were skeptical of the rain. I know it is going to rain because the weather forecast says so.

Walked under some cliffs and thought that this can serve as a good shelter if it rains.