We flew directly from New Delhi to Warsaw. Marta needs to handle some estate stuff, and we’ll do some travelling/hiking at the same time.
A train from the airport? Calgary might have this by 2050A gift from Stalin. Generous guy Europeans have not yet figured out that coffee should be administered by the gallon Fiat 126p – the polish supercar
We take the express train to Krakow, bus to Nova Sacz and stay with Marta’s cousin.
First time we’ve deliberately gone mushroom picking. We take pictures before cooking – just in caseEurope – we’ve gone from no seatbelts/doors in India to needing a high-vis vest for every car occupant. And a fire extinguisher. And a first aid kit. Gas stations have a shelf of candles. Why? For the cemeteriesSo many cheeses and so cheap! I deeply resent the Canadian dairy farmer lobby for making me choose between eating orange rubber or paying 270% tariff on moldy cheese from France. And bread!
Slovakia shares the Tatra mountains with Poland, but got the lions share. We’ve got a good weather window so we head south. 
Slovakia from above. No construction allowed on agricultural land – even for the farmers. Everyone lives in towns and villages. Makes it easy to stagger home from the pub – any alcohol counts as drunk drivingIn case a Delica is too mainstream for you, you can get a Buchanka 4×4 van. If it’s anything like the Lada Niva, expect the cheapest vehicle you’ve ever owned and the highest cost per km
A few more notes about the Buchanka. In production since 1965, which is a record. And the name – means loaf of bread, a comment on the styling.
This will end well. Even less clever than bringing wild boar to Canada. Update – trash pandas were deliberately introduced to Europe in the 1930s.We are hiking in the high Tatra mountains, on the Slovakian side. I expected Borat’s Kazakhstan but everything looks like Switzerland. The High Tatras are striking – a small blob of alpine, granitic mountains in the middle of low rolling hills. Man, Europe has class. Every little restaurant is so stylish.
Our good weather window closes so we had to a park famous for canyons. (Slovak Paradise National Park)
We have the best canyon in the park all to ourselves. Sucha Bela.
Surprisingly good traction, considering it’s a rainy day in mid October. We run across a few ski resorts in the low Tatras. Infrastructure slowly decaying. Probably not getting enough snowA very nice King Bolete. Lots of Roma selling baskets of these along the road. Kania mushroom, also edible and popular. Fly Agaric. Crazy but not stupid. $3 bottle of wine. No liquor stores, alcohol is sold in supermarkets. Slovakia has a spectacular cave system in the limestone Karst of the low Tatra mountains. Demänovská Cave of Liberty is open to the public. Monument to the Slovak uprising in 1944. We’ve been rolling around in this Lancer that belonged to Marta’s parents. Not rolling great at the moment with the wheel lock.
We are heading out tomorrow morning on a three day backpacking trip along the spine of the Low Tatras.
Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures 