Poland.. the last days... off to Slovakia

After two days of heavy food with concentration and extermination camps, we feel the need for some fun. And we find it on the internet. There is supposed to be an alternative festival outdoors near Mielec (near the Ukrainian border). Let's go!!. When we arrive, we immediately meet the organizers of the 'New-Moon-Party'. They show us the way to the great place next to several lakes and are excited that people from Germany are coming to their party (and we are too). We park in a dream location. Right by the lake with its own little sandy beach. We are a day early and go to bed early. On Saturday, the party guests arrive one by one. You could think that every villager in Poland is here. Almost everyone is interested in our Knut. What?? Really?? People from Germany?? They can't believe it and so we already get to know a lot of the guests before the party. When it starts in the evening (the party area is about 200m away), we go in and already hear from all sides: Hey our Friends from Germany :)!! What a start!! This can only be a great night... and it will be. The music is to our taste.. the guests too... the decoration too.... we have a beer (for 1 Euro) and then head to the dance floor. I can only say: Thanks to our Friends from Poland :) for this great weekend (we will not forget it). We are right in the middle of it instead of just being there :) and had a great time with the alternative freaks from Poland. On Monday we help a little with the cleanup and on Tuesday we move on.

Our destination: The High Tatras.... the mountain range that Poland shares with Slovakia. After five months (almost) always the coast, we are really looking forward to the mountains. We set off for Zakopane!! (Located at the foot of the High Tatras) It takes us about 4 hours to get there. Long before the High Tatras, you drive through a kind of pre-Alpine region. Our Knut puffs up the mountains at 40km/h. The line of cars behind us is getting longer and longer... Well people!! Where we are.... is at the FRONT :)... Not only the landscape changes, but also the houses (and how). Up here they have a very unique architectural style that we have never seen anywhere else before. Super cute wooden houses, two-three stories high, with angles, terraces, balconies, and towers. Beautiful to look at.. I can't get enough of it. (They remind me a little of Russia). We arrive in Zakopane, and we are almost shocked. The ultimate tourist village. If you don't go to the coast in Poland, you probably go to the mountains in Zakopane. There are horse-drawn carriages, souvenir stands, food booths throughout the city, and hotels, hotels, hotels. Wow!! Checked in at the city campsite for two days (we want to go to the High Tatras tomorrow), we learn that dogs are forbidden on the mountain, on the mountain, and in the entire national park around the mountain!! I am completely flabbergasted. What kind of shit is that??... But it doesn't help.... we can't do anything here with a dog. Instead, we (once again) have really nice neighbors from Feldkirch, who are also traveling in a camper for a year with their two boys. We get to know Marcel, Ivonne, Vincent, and Loris. What a sweet family. The youngest, Loris, is immediately taken with furball Amy. Amy, who is shy as she is, is not impressed at first. But Loris (the little dog whisperer) doesn't give up and in the evening Amy sits, lies down, gives paw, and lets herself be petted on his command. Knowing how to do it :). Marcel and Ivonne have taken their older son Vincent out of school for a year. In Austria, this is not as much of a problem as in Germany. He is taught by mom and dad and has to take an exam next year, then it will be decided whether he will be promoted, or possibly catch up on the missed round. That's great news!! They say traveling broadens the mind, right? Why is Germany making such a big deal out of it? We also learn from both of them that apparently it's really crowded up on the mountain. Almost like mass hiking!! That calms me down a bit. We chat with the two of them into the evening and then go to sleep. Dear Marcel, dear Ivonne: It was a pleasure to meet you... have a good trip to the four of you... and who knows?? Maybe we'll meet again We go to sleep and the next day I check out the campsite. We paid for two days, but we just want to leave. The owner agrees and gives us our money back. Since the dog ban seems to apply to the entire Polish mountain range, we decide to drive into Slovakia instead. The plan was actually to drive the entire Polish mountain chain to the Snowy Summit at the Czech border.... but we are flexible. And so we say goodbye to great great Poland sooner than expected (we've been in Poland for 4-5 weeks now). We were (a little) unexpectedly, totally impressed. The people are open, friendly, likeable.... we had so many nice encounters. Prices in Poland are also amazing. We've never shopped so cheap before. The only downside we had with Poland was that it was difficult to find free parking spots. Many places are fenced off. We often stayed on campsites in Polish families' gardens. That was okay (it doesn't cost much)... but we only stood freely in Poland a few times. And the dog ban in the mountains annoyed me too. But otherwise: People, visit Poland!!! We have only experienced such warm-hearted people in our beloved Sweden so far. Poland is worth EVERY trip!!

Slovakia: We drive through the High Tatras into Slovakia. We stay overnight at a car camp near Lake Orava. A cute little lake with an alpine panorama. Rested and freshly showered, we set off: Slovakia wants to be discovered. Here, they have the Euro again and as we drive by, we immediately see: Diesel 1.35 Euro!! Wow... that's a difference from Poland's 1.10 Euro. We need to go shopping. The joy is not as great anymore. You can feel the Euro. It only costs slightly less here than in Germany. But that doesn't matter... we need a few things. Then we continue towards the Czech border. Through the mountains. It's simply beautiful here and we are happy to finally have mountains in front of us again. The roads are a disaster, but the area is beautiful:) We pass through small mountain villages. The architectural style changes again. Sometimes you could think you're driving through northern Italy... sometimes it looks like Austria. Here, the power cables are placed above ground in an absolutely exciting way, and so in the villages, hundreds of wild and colorful power cables run from house to house... across the street.... simply wild chaos.... Wow!!

Our Knut fights his way up the mountains again... the sky is cloudless... the thermometer shows 28 degrees (mid-September)!!... what more could you want?

We spend the night (quite unromantically - but for free) in a ski lift parking lot in the mountains and decide to go to the Czech Republic the next day (the border is only 20km away). Slovakia is next again when we continue to Hungary. We enjoy the late summer day in the mountains... it's warm... and the lighting here is aaaamazing... mid-September.... in the Slovakian mountains :