Slovenia: Triglav (13/28)

Our visit to Slovenia was ever so slightly premature. We’d been planning to drive from Hungary to Austria and then down into Slovenia (to avoid paying for an expensive Slovenian vignette). However we arrived at a border crossing only to discover it was the Slovenian rather than Austrian border! We’re not really sure where we went wrong but obviously at some point we’d taken a wrong turn. Keen to avoid paying €30 for the vignette we cut across the corner of Slovenia, avoiding the motorways, and back onto our original route in Austria.

Crossing back into Slovenia, for the second time, we parked for the night at an excellent little camper van car park provided by the town which offered free water & electricity. The next morning we sorted out some supplies and headed to Triglav National Park. We’d previously climbed Triglav in 2017, and so decided to use a different route this time. We parked the van at the end of the tarmac, thinking we weren’t allowed to drive on the gravel tracks, and then promptly walked past two car parks where we could have left the van much closer to the start of the footpath.

Taking the path, we traversed the hillside climbing consistently but not too steeply. The sodden ground from yesterday’s rain making the air thick and humid, as it was heated by the midday sun. A short, steep section took as to a saddle where we stopped for some lunch.

After our break we continued on to the hut, admiring the dramatic scenery, even if it was slightly obscured by swirling cloud.

That evening, over a hearty serving of goulash, we chatted to a couple of Dutch lads who were driving to Croatia in their van. They hadn’t had any time to do any conversion on theirs so when they wanted to sit outside, they were unbolting the back seats and taking them outside.

The next morning we were up early, keen to make full use of the clear morning air and have a cloud-free summit.

We took the path, and then climbed steeply up to a second hut, perched on the edge of a plateau 400m below the main summit. A helicopter, which had been buzzing overhead, then proceeded to skilfully land and drop off two people. This was for the resupply of the hut. As we continued on our route, we watched it a couple more times, hover overhead with the people on the ground guiding the cargo net down and un-hooking it, before they were picked up again after the final drop.

We’d reached the via ferrata and climbed up onto the summit ridge. We then joined the other path coming from a different hut, and followed the crowds to the top.

After a spot of lunch with a panoramic view, we headed back along the ridge, taking a slightly different route back down to the hut we’d stayed at the night before.

We’d originally booked a second night here, but as we were feeling fit we decided to carry on down and save the money. So now retracing our steps from the previous day we headed back to the van.

With limited camping locations around the national park we headed back to where we’d stayed two nights previously. Feeling sweaty from our two day excursion we rushed to the public swimming pool, 20 minutes before closing, for a quick shower. Famished from our walk we treated ourselves to two gigantic pizza’s and cold beers for dinner.

The next day we visited some lakes. The first, Lake Bohinj in Triglav National Park. A beautiful, clear lake with steep sided mountains in the background. We took a couple of swims to cool off.

The second we visited was Lake Jasna. After paddling across the freezing, glacial stream to get to the beach we both decided we definitely weren’t going in this one. Instead we sat and read our books in the shade by the cool water before continuing our journey to Austria.

Hungary: Kékes (12/28)

We had actually already driven through Hungary but made a snap decision to climb the Polish and Slovakian peaks first in order to hit a good weather window.

On our first pass through Hungary we stopped at Miskolctapolca cave bath. I had read good reviews about this and was under the impression this was a hydrothermal pool/spa in a cave. However, when we arrived it looked rather more like a kid’s pool party, I'm not sure how much of the cave was actually real but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone else. Although apparently people make a trip from Budapest just to visit it. However it served a showering purpose and we headed on to Slovakia.

After completing the Slovakian and Polish peaks we drove back into Hungary and headed for a campsite in Eger, mainly to use a shower, but also to visit a wine region known as "The Valley of the Beautiful Women". Here, cellars carved into the soft rhyolite rock, serve wine supplied from the surrounding vineyards.

Apparently these artificial caves are an ideal temperature for storing wine and the mold which grows on the internal walls adds to the taste. Luckily our campsite, which was only £10 a night, was only a 5min walk from the cellars, bargain! Unfortunately just as we headed out it started to rain so we made a dash to the nearest cellar. Wine tasting in Hungary doesn't seem to work the same way as it does in South Africa. Instead of paying for a tasting you just seem to pick a wine from a list and buy a glass. This is OK as it worked out as 42p per glass. We chose a sweet red which was a little tangy then headed onto the next cellar.

Here we tried two more local wines but unfortunately not the famous "bull’s blood". We decided three was enough and headed back to the campsite. Apparently we haven't mastered the Hungarian word for 'thank you' as the waitress laughed at our attempts. We made a quick stop for ice-cream which turned out to be more expensive than all the wine but still quite cheap.

The next morning, after we did some van chores, we headed for the highest peak. You can basically drive to the top and after a couple of hundred metres walk we were at 1014m.

There is also a tower which you can pay to climb to the viewing deck. We decided to also do this and admired the flat scenery of Hungary.

After another ice-cream we headed back to the car and drove towards Lake Batalon. We were there in time to sit by the lake and watch the sunset whilst some ducks floated by.

The next morning we left early to avoid paying for parking and visited the Tapolca lake cave which was in the direction of Slovenia. Again there was no English tour, but it seemed to be very comprehensive. We were wondering why the tour seemed confined to the visitor center for the first hour but soon realised that the actual section of the cave above water is very minimal.

The cave was discovered in 1870 and was quickly explored by cave divers pictured wearing only speedos and rudimentary breathing apparatus. The exploration continues today with underwater digging to try and connect two areas of the cave.

Eventually we entered the actual cave and after a few flights of steps we reached the queue for the tin boats. The most exciting bit of the tour is paddling a short circuit of cave with a low roof. I thought this was very fun and novel. I was also pleased that the boat man let us go for a second circuit. The water was lovely and clear and I can see why people were keen to cave dive in it, apparently some underwater areas are also fed by hydrothermal springs which may explain the speedos..

After the tour we headed back to the car and in the direction of Slovenia for the next peak.

Slovakia: Gerlachovský štít (11/28)

With an early start we’d made it back down in time to visit the local mountain guide office. Slovakia is unique, within the set of mountains we’re trying to climb, as it requires you to hire a guide to summit it’s highest peak — Gerlachovský štít.

We eventually located the office, and the lady at reception started ringing round to try and find us a guide. We also chatted to her about the provisions in the regulations that allow you to climb without a guide (if you’re members of a UIAA affiliated club, and climbing one of the harder routes), she commented that we ‘didn’t look like real climbers’, and continued to try and find a guide for us. 

We were hoping to arrange one for the next day as the weather was deteriorating throughout the week. She couldn’t find one for the next day, but managed to organise one for the day after. This was probably for the best, as it gave us a day’s rest between mountains.

We spent the day in the ski lift car park; which was much better than it sounds. Quiet and with clear mountain views and the occasional deer roaming around. We caught up on writing our blog posts and editing some photos.

The next morning we were up early to have a quick breakfast before driving to meet our guide at 5:30am. Amongst other groups of people, milling around, we found our guide, and jumped in the back of his land rover for a lift to the start of the route. 

By packing our own helmets and harnesses our guide determined that we were real enough climbers to take the harder scrambling route to the summit. We both readily agreed, and it was a great decision, we only saw one other group on our ascent.

Leaving the path we crossed a boulder field, before scrambling up to the base of a Gulley. Here we donned our helmets and harnesses, and our guide led off. A short section of tricky moves, helped with a few fixed aids, gave way to less technical, but steep ground to the ridge at the col. From here we scrambled across an exposed ridge to the summit.

At the top we met a number of other groups who’d come up the other way, stopped to have our photo taken at the top, and had some lunch — even though it was only 10am. Then we descended of the other side of the ridge, down a well trodden gully to reach a small plateau with a perched lake at the far end. We followed the path back, traversing round before descending back down to the hut where we started.

We celebrated with a non-alcoholic Raddler while waiting for the other groups to arrive back, before catching a lift back down to the van.

The next morning we headed toward Hungary, but not before stopping at Dobšinská Ice Cave. An impressive cave, which was quickly turned into a tourist attraction after its discovery in the 1880s. It was also used as an ice rink when the USSR had power shortages and couldn’t afford to create ice rinks in more convenient locations! Unfortunately there were no English tours so we had to make do by eavesdropping on someone else translating for their friends.

So with two peaks done in quick succession we headed back to Hungary.

Poland: Rysy (10/28)

After a rash decision over lunch in Hungary, we decided to skip the Hungarian peak and head straight to the High Tatra mountains. These mountains are the location of the highest peaks of both Poland and Slovakia.

After making the decision, we then realised there was only a two day weather window before thunderstorms set in for a week. This put a spanner in the works as the Slovakian highest peak requires the accompaniment of a UIAA mountain guide. Obviously we had to book this, on ringing the guiding federation we discovered quite rightly, the office of mountain guides would only take a booking this close to the date in person. But not to worry their office hours were 13:00 to 18:00. We weren’t going to make it to the office that evening but we decided that if we could get an early start on the Polish peak we could be down in time to book our guide for the following day to climb the Slovakian peak.

With a new plan formulated we headed in the direction of Slovakia. As we avoided vignette motorways this turned out to be a very scenic journey and we were lucky enough to spot a couple of flocks of starlings murmurating. Also we are now back in Schengen which means lengthy border crossings are a thing of the past. Seamlessly crossing into Slovakia we headed for a camping spot which would be the start of the climb to Rysy the highest peak in Poland.

Here you may point out that we are in the wrong country, however Mount Rysy can be climbed from both Poland and Slovakia as the summit is effectively on the border. The parking logistics were a little easier on the Slovakian side and there is less walking on tarmac so we opted for this. Also it was closer to the mountain guide office.

We parked up, had some dinner and got an early night in preparation for our early start. I think this is the earliest we have every started a hike for a peak as we were away from the van at 05:50am. This is also the coldest it has been with the temperature around 5 degrees.

We headed up the tarmac track with a surprisingly large number of other hikers. Some of these seemed to split off at the end of the tarmac towards a lake and a hut whilst we turned left following the signs for Rysy summit.

Here we saw a sign in Slovakian with what looked like some sacks on wooden carrying frames. Later with Google’s help we translated this to mean carry a 5-10kg supply parcel to the Chata hut and receive a free refreshment.

The rocky path first wound its way through some pine forest before crossing a few streams. The pine trees soon gave way to short stubby pine bushes and eventually grasses, then lichen.

Climbing higher we got to see the impressive sharp ridge lines the High Tatras are famous for. On the path we overtook what looked to be someone carrying a wooden frame with a barrel of beer attached. I thought maybe this was a sponsored climb for charity. We saw another two men carrying huge heavy packs and concluded with the additional evidence of many hikers descending the path we were ascending that they must be restocking a hut further up the mountain.

The path became a little steeper and there were even sections protected by chains and metal ladders. Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw a wooden plaque welcoming us to Chata Pod Rysmi, the highest and oldest mountain hut in the High Tatras at 2250m.

This hut is only open in summer and after doing some research I can see why, the hut has been hit by avalanches 5 times since 1955, in 2000 half the cottage was demolished by an avalanche. This winter the boiler, railings and parts of the chimney were torn off despite a concrete protective shield deflecting most of the 8m high avalanche. 

I also read that the High Tatras employ Europe’s last porters, instead of the huts being supplied by helicopter as in the Alps or the Dolomites. Porters are paid to carry food fuel and most importantly beer to the remote mountain huts. The Chata Pod Rysmi employs six Sherpas between spring and autumn but many worry this trade could die out with advancements in technology.

I think we even walked past one of the most well known Sherpas in the region, Viktor Beranek who has been working as a Sherpa for over 40 years and is now in his 60s. In an interview he stated that its a hard job but he likes the lifestyle. The reporter quoted him as saying “The first time I tried Sherpa work, I walked 50 meters and thought, oh my god this is harder than I thought”. The porters are paid by the kilo an most carry around 90kg at a time.

Beranek has the nick name “King of the mountain” as his best carrying weight is 122 kg. They carry their loads on a birch wooden frames with wide canvas straps made from old fire hoses.

Beranek organised the first, of the now annual, Sherpa rally where competitors from around the world race carrying a load up the mountain (60kg for men 20kg for women). He has won it a number of years. He hopes the popularity of this race will help prevent the High Tatra sherpa trade from dying out.

After a quick break at the hut we had a little route finding difficulty. Eventually we worked out where the trail of people had come from and made our way across a snowy patch before reaching a ridge line. Here we got to see a brand new view of some of the northerly peaks. Following the ridge we had another route finding issue where we followed a little path directly along the ridge rather than the markers which ran lower along the slope. We soon found ourselves at a knife edge with a 400m drop on either side. Back tracking to the path we scrambled up the last section before reaching the summit just over the border in Poland at 2499m. Mount Rysy has three summits, the highest is actually on the Slovakian side at 2503m, but we were there for the highest peak in Poland!

In the past climbing to the Polish summit from Slovakia would have been illegal. Many mountaineers were fined for crossing the border not at an official crossing point. In 1999 an official border crossing was placed at Mount Rysy allowing mountaineers to reach the summit. Luckily for us however in 2007 both countries joined Schengen and we are free to hop across the border as many times as we wish.

We luckily had a cloud free summit and soaked up the views before getting someone to take a summit photo for us. At this point we realised we couldn’t remember which way up the Polish flag went. I guessed and we had our photo taken. They must not have been Polish or thought we were idiots as I got it wrong and we are holding the flag upside down. 

Well it was the right we up if we were on the highest peak in Indonesia! Luckily we had taken a couple of back up summit selfies with the flag in both orientations just in case.

It seemed like our early start had put us ahead of the crowds and we met a stream of people coming up as we made our way down. We made it back to the car in around 8 hours, paid our parking (after an angry note had been left on our car for not paying earlier) and reached the Slovakian mountain guides office only an hour after they opened.

Romania: Moldoveanu (9/28)

We paid the toll and crossed the Danube into Romania. We presented our passports at the border control, and then were asked for the vehicle’s documentation. I’d left the V5 at home. We didn’t have any documentation. We we’re asked to park up, just past the gates, and a border guard approached us. He asked us where we we’re going, and ‘what we could do to resolve this?’. I showed some electronic documents on my phone, this wouldn’t get us off the hook. I thought I’d understood some of the subtext of his questions and took €25, and laid them on the driver’s seat; asking if this would resolve matters. He took €20, agreed that it would substitute for the documentation, and told us that we should get out of here.

Stopping just outside border control, to buy our Romanian vignette, we were approached by a stern looking Romanian border guard. We’d only cleared the Bulgarian border, and had failed to clear the Romanian border. Apparently €20 was too little for this type of bribe. He wanted €100. We, truthfully, said we didn’t have the money and he replied that we’d have to go back to Bulgaria then. We followed him back to the border gate; him walking, us crawling behind in first.

He took our passports and shortly returned telling us we really should have the documentation, and that he’d let us off this time, and that at the next border crossing we should just tell them we lost it instead.

And so, relieved, we took to the road towards Moldoveanu — Romania’s highest peak. We stopped overnight overlooking a dam, while looking for the spot we followed another VW Transporter along the gravel road, and so concluded we must be in the right location.

After a visit to the supermarket we headed for the car park at Stâna lui Burnei. When researching the hike here we’d consistently seen trip reports of 4 day hikes to access this peak, however one blog post outlined a route where you could hike up and down in a day. This was logistically much easier for us, and so we opted for this. It did involve driving up a gravel track, which we carefully navigated over 2 hours to cover 35km.

In the car park that evening we met Adam & Iain, in their GB registered car. Adam’s is attempting a similar, but harder challenge to us by climbing the highest peaks in the 48 countries of geographical Europe. We shared some of the interesting tales of our adventures. You can follow his progress on Instagram at @europeanpeaks.

Early the next morning we set off, with a number of other groups, up the steep track signposted to Moldoveanu. Passing a steep waterfall we gained the plateau, and crossed it where some donkeys grazed nearby. We climbed steeply again to gain the ridge, where a red roofed mountain hut perched on the saddle. By this point we’d passed all the other groups, and after passing a final one on the summit ridge we had the peak to ourselves.

For some reason, unknown to us, there was an Irish flag flying alongside the Romanian one. With no one around we struggled to take our summit photo, but after several awkward self-timed shots we got something vaguely acceptable.

We headed off the summit in the opposite direction to the one we’d come from, taking a circular route back to the van. We passed a group of shepherds grazing their sheep on the lush high-altitude grass, before traversing round and descending steeply through pine woods to the car park. With no-one around we took the opportunity to wash in the icy cold mountain stream.

The next morning we headed back down the gravel track, briefly stopping to allow a herd of sheep & donkeys pass us.

We made our way to The Transfagarasan Highway, a winding mountain road across the Fagaras mountains. It was made popular by an episode of Top Gear, and is now one of Romania’s most popular tourist attractions.

At the top of the pass, the Capra tunnel cuts through joining both the roads. When we reached here we had to queue in traffic for 30 minutes, in the tunnel, as people queued for a car parking on the other side. We decided to skip this chaos and drove a bit further down a lay-by, where we could admire the scenery just as well. We ended up staying the evening here before setting of for Cluj-Napoca in the morning.

Anya had a work conference scheduled so caught a flight back to the UK. Meanwhile I holed myself up in an Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca for a few days.

When Anya returned, we set of for Hungary via a salt mine in Turda. We’d expected a low-key historical exhibit but it was actually a bustling tourist attraction. The main chamber was a 42m deep, parallelepipedal chamber which featured a Ferris wheel and bowling alley.

Another 50m down, in an adjoining excavation a lake had formed once the mine workings had been removed. Here you could hire a rowing boat for 20 minutes and row around, which we did.

After overnighting next to a second Romanian dam, we reached the border. With the V5 in hand, which Anya had picked up on her trip back to the UK, we crossed smoothly into Hungary.