From castles and mountains in Slovakia to our sprint through Hungary

The night in the accommodation paid off: it started pouring and we were sitting in the dry! The next morning, the clouds still hung ominously low - so no black hike, but a visit to the Sipsker Castle ruins. Impressive 950-year-old architectural masterpiece on a hill and fused into rocks. In the evening, we treated ourselves to eating out - there was even a beer mug as a souvenir. Karsi already imagined himself at home, sipping beer from the mug with Mucki on his lap.

Wednesday, we got up early again because the day is fully planned: the alarm clock rang at 04:45 and the last things were packed, a quick breakfast (yup, oatmeal), and off we went to the Slovak Paradise 'Slovensky Raj'. There, we started an exciting hike in the stream bed in one of the canyons shortly before 7 am. The park is known for its naturalness, so you walk in the riverbed until the water becomes ankle-deep or the climbs become too difficult and there is human-made assistance. It is not completely safe and free of vertigo, but the impressions are indescribable, and when we reached the top, we were rewarded with sunshine. A short circular hiking trail takes us through the valley and a sporty ascent to the opposite ridge with a great view. A total of 6:30 hours spent with several photo and rest breaks. Back at the car, we had two refreshing draft beers... 2x 0.5l Total price: €2.20. (Editor's note: this is the life!)

Now we have been on the road through Hungary towards the Serbian border for 6 hours. A short ravioli stop and the next stop is just before the border crossing. Tomorrow, we will go directly to Belgrade for a short city tour, and in the coming days, we will travel to the national parks in the south of the country. After that, we will cross the next borders to Montenegro and Bosnia before we end up on the Croatian coast. Kotor in Montenegro will be the southernmost point of our planned trip. Since these are non-EU countries, the next few days will probably be quiet for us internetless travelers, but don't worry, we will be back.. Or from a WiFi hotspot.

Stay healthy and see you in a few days.
Stolperlotti and Schlitterkarsi