My Life is Full of DETOURS

We had 2 days off from the shop this week. My fellow volunteer and I decided that we didn't want to just sit around in Krakow. After all, everything was going to be closed anyways! So, we pulled out my book on central Europe and decided we should plan an adventure. And we had one!!

I never paid much attention to European geography until I moved here. I knew Slovakia was below us, but did not realize how close it actually was to us! So, we decided to go to Slovakia, see some castles and some mountains. I borrowed a car from a friend, he gave us a map and sent us on our way!

We left Monday morning and crossed the boarder in a couple hours. The drive was BEAUTIFUL!!! As soon as we left the city we were in rolling hills and eventually mountains. On and on we went until we got to Spis to see castle ruins. It was a huge castle from the Romanesque period. It was on a huge hill above a small town. We climbed the hill following the trail that is not the main trail.... We walked around and around the hill on a tiny path just wide enough for one step. And if I misstep, down the steep grassy hill I would roll! But, when we finally found out how to enter the castle, it was well worth the creative way to get up there. We explored all of the rooms and ruins before we tromped back down the hill.

We then continued on our drive around the mountains. We found a resort on the side of the mountain. This resort boasted mineral hot springs that could cure anything. So, we crashed there for the night and had a relaxing morning in the pools before heading out to explore some more of the mountain range.

While exploring mountain roads we stumbled upon some caves that we decided to explore! We hiked up the mountain side and wandered through a cave filled with tourists?! But, it was still really neat to see. Along with all of the cave juice that was splashed between the two of us!

After our hiking through the cave we decided it was about time to head back to Krakow. So, we took the long beautiful mountain roads back to the city. It was a great getaway. We didn't have much of a plan when we stated and we got to see all kinds of beautiful scenery. We also spent time getting lost on the roads and on the trails. We took a lot of detours and found a lot of beauty. Sometimes we need those extra twists and turns in life!