2.7.2020
If it weren't for Covid, I would probably be getting off the bus in Kaliningrad, Russia at this time. Instead, we decided to visit our eastern neighbours, closer to us, the Bratom Slovaks. Since I only know the High Tatras, Košice and the border crossing with Ukraine Vyšné Nemecké from Slovakia, we decided to make a change this year by visiting Malá Fatra.
NP Mala Fatra - Sedlo v Stenách, Stoh and Velký Rozsutec at the back
On Thursday I finish work a little earlier and take the train to Kolín, where I change to the Leo express, which will take me and Zanet, who will join me in Ostrava, to Vrúty, Slovakia. According to the maps, these seemed to me to be the best starting point for our originally planned trips. Crossing the Czech-Slovak border is not only recognizable by the fact that the train suddenly starts to curl, but also by the fact that it is still obligatory to wear drapes on the train. We arrive in Vrútek on time. Our accommodation, the Burra guesthouse, is across the road, so we don't walk or travel anywhere further. As a Covid surprise we get a bigger and more expensive room at the original price. Once settled in we go for another short tour of Vrútky, which strikes me as a slightly more modern Ukraine, and then go to bed as we have quite a hike ahead of us.
3.7.2020
Unusually for us, we wake up early, and even manage to start at 8:30. It's necessary. Today we want to walk at least 30 km with an elevation gain of 1200 m. The predicted rain hasn't arrived yet and we are slowly weaving our way through Vrútky to join the yellow hiking trail near the village of Lipovec, which is supposed to lead us to the hut below Klačianska Magura. Right after the first five hundred metres we got lost. Because the route crosses the construction of high tension poles. The following path was camouflaged and lay in a rather unexpected place.
Vrútky - Fast train to Košice
Lúčanská Malá Fatra
Vrútky - Velká Fatra in the background
NP Mala Fatra - Panošiná - Monument to the Unknown Fighter
NP Mala Fatra - Panošiná 1022 m a.s.l.
The path led along narrow bear paths and during the whole two-hour journey we did not encounter a single person and fortunately not even a bear. We met a few people at the lodge, where we stopped for a beer. Pernštejn from Pardubice was on tap there. I've never heard of it in my life, but it's quite popular around here.
NP Malá Fatra - Cottage under Klačianska Magura
During the break it started to rain and we walked for another hour on the green marker all alone again. As soon as we arrived at the saddle after Suchy, the fog fell and there was nothing to see. Here I recommend those suffering from vertigo to continue on the yellow mark and not to go up to the saddle and the red mark. By being foggy, fortunately we cannot see what is in front of us and sometimes fortunately we cannot see what is below us. The climb to the top is a solid scramble up a steep hill. We climbed to the top of Suchý, totally wet, and after a short break we took the red route to Biele skály and the Vráta saddle.
NP Malá Fatra - Peak Suchý
After about ten minutes of quite relaxed walking, we come across the first small rock pass, which is just a small foreshadowing of the carnage that awaits us. After a few more meters, the rock climbing begins. In the rain and with Zanet's dizziness, it's a real adrenaline rush. That is why I advise people with vertigo to avoid this route and follow the yellow trail, which bypasses this climbing part.
NP Malá Fatra - Climbing the White Rocks
We arrive at the White Rocks after about an hour and a half instead of the thirty minutes indicated by the sign. There is a solid descent below us, which fortunately we cannot see. We take a short break and climb down the rock towards the Priehyb saddle. This was already pretty cool without climbing.
NP Malá Fatra - It's a good thing we can't see what's underneath us
Zanet was starting to fall off, so it was clear that today's final peak would be Malý Kriváň 1671 m above sea level.
NP Malá Fatra - Malý Kriváň peeked out at us for a while
From there, it is still less than 11 km downhill along the blue trail to the village of Súčany, from where we take the train to Vrútek. We will have a good refreshment before the journey. Then we just descend and descend. Below the peak we meet the first and last person on this route and while passing through the dense forest we pray that we will not meet a bear, which according to the latest estimates are eighty.
NP Malá Fatra - Descent to Súčany
NP Mala Fatra - Cottage Vendovka
On the way on the least clear trail we scared something away, but it was probably not a bear, this article would not have been written. We arrive in Súčany after seven o'clock and miss the train to Vrútek. The two-hour wait for the next connection is cut short by Golden Pheasants and Kelt from the local Tesco. Local customs are demonstrated by the local Roma youth, who hang out all over the area. Breathtaking is that they are drinking Ostravar in the station pub. Our train arrives at nine o'clock, we buy tickets from the conductor for 22 cents per person and we arrive at our accommodation around nine thirty. We make Chinese soup for dinner, from the Súčanské Tesco, and after a quick shower we fall asleep in bed in front of the TV.
4.7.2020
Today the plan was to cross the Lúčanská part of Mala Fatra and walk up to the Strečno Castle. But after yesterday's hike, Zanet's movements in the morning reminded me more of an eighty-year-old grandmother than a young girl. Therefore, we change our plans and I find a train to Strečno on the website of Slovak Railways. It doesn't leave until eleven o'clock, so we have plenty of time to rest. The train takes about ten minutes and we get off at the castle at the Nezbudská Lúčka-Strečno stop.
Interesting train combination
Stop Nezbudská Lúčka-Strečno
From the station we go straight to the castle. We will stay in an ancient village on the way and then continue to the castle. The entrance fee is 6 Euro and the tour takes about half an hour depending on how much you take pictures. From the castle there are nice views of Váh, Malá Fatra and Žilina.
Castle Strečno
Castle Strečno
Strečno - Views from the castle
After the castle tour we would like to have lunch. The Panorama hut on the opposite bank with a view of the castle seems ideal. Despite all the directional arrows, we take the shortcut shown by maps.cz and reach the hut through a private warehouse, where the sign on the other side says no entry. Unfortunately there is some sort of children's day and concert going on here today. Because of the concert, the hut closes at 2pm and refreshments are only available at the stalls. Since no one is offering the gnocchi we came here for, we decide to try our luck on the opposite bank, where I saw a guesthouse with a restaurant.
View of the castle and Fatra from the Panorama hut
To our semi bad luck there were some two parties so we could only sit outside, which was fine, but the service was clearly not up to speed. So lunch dragged on for about an hour and a half. Anyway, we waited for the train anyway. The long wait was made up for with some excellent garlic soup and probably the best halushki I've ever had in Slovakia.
The icing on the cake was the guy who came and sat down at the table and fell asleep. To my surprise, the staff ignored him.
After lunch we still had time, so we cut the wait short at a local taproom with a Martiner beer. The pub smells and looks like a proper village pub.
We take the train to Vrútek. We take a rest and around six o'clock we go hunting for Tatra tea. Hunting because we can't find it anywhere. In Tesco they had it, but only in the information, where no one was, and in Lidl they didn't have it at all, just in case. Finally, on our second try, we snagged it in Tesco. The shop assistant, after asking if we wanted a large or small bottle and our clear answer of "large", jokingly stated that it would be a solid teleport and then wished us more good taste at the end. With our catch, we go to our room and end the day by sipping this delicious and quite strong drink.
5.7.2020
Today we will return to Friday's scene of the crime and finish the ridge route from Velký Kriváň to Velký Rozsutec. In order to make it, we're going to cheat and let the cable car take us up. Once we've done it once, there is no need to linger on the rather boring climb again.
We have to wake up early for the 8am train to Žilina. I originally wanted to take the Leo Express, but it charged 49 CZK for this one stop compared to 1.1 Euro for ZSSK. We have three quarters of an hour in Žilina, which we use to walk around the city centre.
The cable car is located near the town of Terchova, which is the starting base for the Little Fatra. In addition to the cable car, there are also gorges called Janosik's Holes near the village of Štefanová. It was the amount of cars and people in Štefanová that made it clear that it would be a massacre on the mountain. And the reality exceeded expectations. At the cable car and ticket office there were endless queues of half and half Slovaks and Czechs.
Queue for tickets
Queue for the cable car
When asked if we'd rather walk the green, Janet said a definite no, and so Janet queued for tickets and I queued for the cable car. The trip up to the foot of the Velký Kriváň cost an ungodly 11 Euro per person (return 12 Euro, ISIC discount on the return trip 11 Euro). Who doesn't want to pedal uphill or wait in an endless queue for the cable car, I recommend getting off at the Starý dvor stop and letting the empty cable car take you to the Grúň hut. So instead of the planned ten we got up at eleven. We took a few photos and went to the highest peak of Mala Fatra - Velký Kriváň 1709 m.a.s.l. The weather is perfect today and we have great views of Mala Fatra including Malý Kriváň, from which we didn't see much on Friday. Unfortunately the proximity of the cable car matched the traffic, so there was an incredible amount of people.
NP Mala Fatra - Upper cableway station
NP Mala Fatra - Velký Kriváň
NP Malá Fatra - Malý Kriváň
NP Malá Fatra - Chleb and Steny
The Great Krivan was a treat for us. Now we are heading over Chleb Steny towards Velký Rozsutec. On Chleb there is the same concentration of people as on Kriváň, but unfortunately the flow of people does not let up.
NP Malá Fatra - Velký Kriváň
NP Malá Fatra - Chleb
NP Malá Fatra - Hromove
NP Malá Fatra - Steny
At Polodňový Grúň, most people turn yellow towards the Grúň hut. Towards Rozsutec, it finally clears up. We skip the top of Stoh by taking a shortcut on the yellow trail, but even so we can avoid the short steep climb. The yellow trail towards Meziholie is quite slow. It is contoured but narrow, slippery and full of roots to climb. At half past two I am below Velký Rozsutec. The pointer shows one and a half hours towards the top and one hour ten down to Štefanová. We don't want to go to the top anymore and we have a great chance to catch the penultimate bus to Žilina.
NP Malá Fatra - Polodňový Grúň
NP Malá Fatra - Velký Rozsutec
We arrive in Štefanová ten minutes before the bus departs. Janet is starting to pay for her fatal mistake of not wearing sun cream and her sunburnt skin is starting to reverberate. We have three quarters of an hour in Žilina again. Zanet runs to the pharmacy to get some burn cream and I order two gyros at a local fast food place. They took so long that we almost missed the train, but luckily we managed to finish everything. At home, we managed only a shower and a few drops of Tatra tea.
6.7.2020
The last day will be a return day. For the third time, I fulfilled my vow and did not use the services of the state-owned ČD and ZSSK, which offer the cheapest fare, but you have to buy a seat ticket (otherwise you will surely be standing the whole way), and for that they charged a nice 160 CZK per person. So unfortunately, today we are taking RegioJet. It was 15 minutes late on arrival, but there were former first class cars running in Lowcost class. The only thing to complain about is the air conditioning, which was absolutely not up to scratch and the carriage was like a sauna, even in the Czech Republic, where it was perhaps only 15°C. From Pardubice we had a few more changes with ČD trains and we were home by 6pm.
Useful links:
Leo Express
RegioJet
Czech Railways (CD)
Slovakia railways (ZSSK)
Pension Burra
NP Malá Fatra
