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| Hrebienok |
The intense strange sounds we heard overnight turned out to be high winds. All the furniture on our balcony had been blown off! Trees were downed and debris were everywhere. Unforunately this also meant that all chairlifts across all resorts were closed today :( We had to abandon our plans to ski Tatranská Lomnica. Even the funicular that went from Stary Smokovec to Hrebienok was closed for debris to be cleared off the tracks. Fortunately for us, this was done relatively quickly and a succesful test run was done at around 1030am. By 11am, the whole group was in the train for our 7 minute trip to Hrebeinok.
Hrebienok is tiny. There are a handful of buildings and that is pretty much it. It is, however, a starting point for many hikes and trails. If the weather had been on our side, it would also have been the starting point of an awesome 2.7km tobogan run. But alas, it was not to be...the group explored then had cafeteria style lunch together at Hrebienok Restaurant before going our separate ways. The grandparents went back down to Stary Smokovec and the rest went for an alpine hike.
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| On the funicular! |
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| An ice castle! Unlike at Kosice, they were smart enough to enclose this and so it has been protected from the above zero temperatures |
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| We think its a double bass... |
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| The views from Hrebienok |
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| Looks ordinary but acually very nice! Duck with cabbage |
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| Another new discovery. Steamed dumpling filled with jam then topped with butter, then poppies or nuts, then chocolate |
Being higher in altitude, the snow was plentiful for the children to have fun along the walk. Snowball fights, sliding on their tobogans and making snow angels all helped them forget the disappointment of not being able to ski today. For us, it was a surprisingly pleasant walk along snowy paths! We reached vodopády waterfalls unscathed but were too afraid to keep walking down for a better view as we had to walk all the way back UP the mountain. Fortunately, Lara's frequent needs to have a "cool down" break meant the adults could rest...
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| The high tatras range behind us |
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| A mountain chalet on the way, unfortunately closed. No hot chocolate for us! |
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| Lara kept "overheating" and needed to cool down |
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| The children had fun along the snowy paths, using their tobogans and throwing snow balls |
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| Fallen trees from the strong winds overnight |
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| Sliding seemed much faster than walking... |
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| Our very first alpine walk! |
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| Made it to our destination Vodopady waterfall |
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| It went all the way down but we were worried about having to walk back up! |
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| Daddy love. Doing up her laces and fixing her boots while she cools down... |
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| The frequent cooling stops were getting ridiculous... |
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| Trying to make a face print in the snow 😂 |
The Europeans mostly celebrate Christmas on the 24th and so our guide organised a traditional Slovak Christmas meal for us for dinner at Koliba Kamzik. The timber restaurant was beautifully decorated and it was a special experience. We had earlier seen the carp being sold at the Christmas markets and saw it here served as a Christmas dish. Everyone received a gift of either delicately decorated gingerbread or a small bottle slivovica (Slovak version of home made brew - literally translated to plum brandy). Not being a fan of the English Christmas cake or pudding, I was relieved to have walnut cake instead for dessert!
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| I love the blue for decorations! |
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| How is this for pretty?!? |
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| Honey brandy |
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| Daddy love |
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| The boys "best" shirts on the trip |
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| Traditional carp |
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| Pork with lentils, spinach and potato. Tastes better than it looks! |
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| Walnut cake |
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| The Marrs generously bought all of us gifts from Tokyo Disney! |
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