Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia

Štrbské Pleso is 18 km (11.2 miles) from Tatranská Lomnica.  By train it's an hour away.

Štrbské Pleso is another popular tourist town in the Tatras.  

It was founded in 1872 and today it is home to about 200 residents.

Lots more hiking!

The town is located on the southern shore of Lake Štrbské pleso.

The lake is the second largest lake, in the Slovak side of the Tatras.  It is almost 20 hectares (almost 50 acres).

Nearby is the Veža snov (Tower of Dreams), which is also called Tatras Tower.

The tower is 53 metres (174 feet) tall and has a 15° incline.  We wanted to check out the top but it started to rain a bit.  

Tatranská Lomnica, Slovakia

After getting back from our USA trip we spent three days with Kája's oldest sister and their father in the Tatras.  We took a couple of trains and met up with them in Tatranská Lomnica.  

Tatranská Lomnica is a small tourist town in northern Slovakia.  The town was founded in 1892 and is home to less than 1000 people.  It's about 345 km (215 miles) from Bratislava.

People come to Tatranská Lomnica to go hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter.  

We took a cable car up to Skalnaté pleso, which is a glacial lake located at an altitude of 1751 metres (5,744 feet).

The lake lies at the lowest point of the Rocky Valley that sits under the southern cliffs of Lomnické štít.  The lake has a depth of 4,2 metres (138 feet).

The Skalnaté pleso Observatory was founded in 1943.  It has two telescopes and caries out research about comets and asteroids.

From here, it's another cable car up to Lomnické sedlo which is 2190 metres (7,185 feet) above sea level. 

Here you can visit Lomnický štít which is the second-highest peak in the High Tatras.  

It's 2634 metres (8,642 feet) tall and it is the only peak int he Tatras that's accessible by cable car which were first put in between 1937-1940.

There are some really nice views of the mountains from up here.

In town there's a ski museum that opened in 2013.  It focuses on the history of winter sports in the Tatras up until 1945.

TANAP Museum, the Tatra National Park Museum, opened in 1957 in Poprad before moving to Tatranská Lomnica in 1959.  The museum moved to its current building in 1969.  Most of the exhibitions are about the local animals, flora and fauna found in the Tatras.  

We really enjoyed our visit to Tatranská Lomnica.  The Tatras were worth the wait.  I'm looking forward to our next visit.  

We also checked out nearby Štrbské Pleso.

The Tatra Mountains

Tomorrow we're headed to Tatranská Lomnica, in the High Tatras, in northern Slovakia.  Visiting the Tatras has been on my list for a while so I'm looking forward to doing a bit of hiking.  We're going to meet his dad and sister who are already there.  I'm still not 100% over the jet lag from our USA trip but I'll manage.

The Tatras are the highest mountains in the Carpathians and form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland.  Many of the Rocky Mountains exceed 2000 metres (+6,500 feet) tall.  There are three main parts: the High Tatras, Belianské Tatras, and the Western Tatras.  

The Tatras take up 785 sq km (303 sq miles) with about 78% in Slovakia and about 22% in Poland.  The Tatras are basically the "Slovakian Alps" and a favourite place for hiking and skiing.  

The mountains were a problem for hikers back in the day because it was illegal to cross the border without going through an official border checkpoint and there weren't any checkpoints on the border ridge.  At least until 2007, when both Slovakia and Poland joined Schengen and internal border checks became a thing of the past.

There's a Tatra National Park in Slovakia and a Tatra National Park in Poland.  And both are part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

I hope that we survive.  Slovaks love to joke about Czechs getting lost, or needing to be rescued, in the Tatras.  Usually because Czechs took the wrong equipment, wrong clothes or wrong shoes.  One joke is that the world's biggest Czech cemetery, outside of Czechland, is called the High Tatras.

Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia

Slovenská Ľupča is a village in central Slovakia, about 10 km (6.5 miles) east of Banská Bystrica.  It sits on the right bank of the Hron River, between the Low Tatras and the Slovak Ore Mountains.

The village was once a royal town and dates back to 1250.  It's home to about 3300 people. 

The Church of the Most Holy Trinity is a Roman Catholic church that was built in early 14th century, between 1330 - 1370.

The church was just renovated last year.

Next to the church is the local plague column.

Nearby is the Kulturne Stredisko, the Slovak equivalent of a Czech Culture House, or community centre.

The Evangelical church is no longer actually an Evangelical church.  After WWII, the church was transferred to the Catholic Church.

There's some street renovation going on around the church now.  

Next to the church is an SNP monument.

There are over 2500 people buried in the town cemetery.  The oldest grave is from 1866.

On a hill, overlooking the city, is the town castle.  It was built prior to 1250 and served as a royal residence. 

It also served as a guard castle and oversaw important commercial routes.  The castle is a Slovak national cultural monument.

It has been owned by a management company since 2002, which offers guided tours to the public. 

From the top of the hill are some lovely views. 

I'm not 100% whether the view is of the Low Tatras or of the Slovak Ore Mountains, but pretty either way.

Czech Citizenship Exam: Nature and Landscape

Here are the 10 study questions for the Czech Citizenship exam from section 18: Nature and Landscape. 

1.  Which of these places is not on the UNESCO World Heritage List?

Karlštejn Castle.

2.  Which national park is located in Moravia?

Podyjí National Park.

3.  There are several important winter sports centres in the Czech Republic.  Which of these places is known as a winter sports centre?

Špindlerův Mlýn.

4.  Mrs. Svobodová wants to go on holiday to Moravia and wants to visit the mountains there.  Where will she go?

To the Beskydy Mountains.  

5. Lipno is the largest dam reservoir in the Czech Republic.  In which part of the Czech Republic is it located?

In southern Bohemia.

6.  Memorial Mountain of Bohemia is located in the Ústí and Labem region near Roudnice nad Labem.  What is this mountain called?

Říp.

7.  Mr. Novák wants to go on a trip to the castle, which was built by Charles IV for the Crown Jewels.  Which monument does he want to visit?

Karlštejn.  

8.  Which UNESCO-listed city is located in Southern Bohemia?

Český Krumlov.

9.  What is the name of the highest mountain range in Moravia?

Jeseníky.

10.  Which spa town is located in Central Bohemia?

Poděbrady.

Czech Citizenship Exam: Location, Area and Natural Conditions

Here are the 10 study questions for the Czech Citizenship exam from section 17: Location, Area and Natural Conditions. 

1.  What is the international position of the Czech Republic?

It is an independent republic and a member of the European Union.

2.  When does summer begin according to the Czech Calendar?

In June.

3.  Where does the Elbe River originate?

The Krkonoše Mountains.

4.  The Elbe lowland is the largest lowland in the Czech Republic.  Which number on the map indicates the Elbe lowland?

1.

5.  What is the approximate size of the Czech Republic?

79 000 km.

6.  Which river flows through Prague?

The Vltava.    

7.  Which state is the northern neighbour of the Czech Republic?

Poland.

8.  The highest mountain in Moravia is located in the Hrubý Jeseník mountains.  What is this mountain called?

Praděd.

9.  Which countries border the Czech Republic?

Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia.

10.  The highest mountain in the Czech Republic is Sněžka.  What is the approximate altitude?

1600 metres above sea level.