Poprad and the High Tatras/Slovakia

Hello friends. Last winter we visited Poprad, a city in Northern Slovakia, located at the foot of the High Tatras. The railway station marked the beginning of our journey into the city. The railway station has played a significant role in the city's history. The city center is just 800 meters away from here. As we approached the city, we encountered the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is located near the Poprad River surrounded by trees filled with crow nests, which I've never seen so many of in any other city before. Near the center, there is also the Tatra Museum. Poprad city is located in northern Slovakia, on the banks of the Poprad River, at the foothills of the Tatras, reaching up to 700 meters in altitude. The city's population is nearly 50.000.

The historical center of Poprad, Square of St. Egid, is generally surrounded by low buildings, but the value of the square and the entire city lies in the Church of St. Egidius. This church was built in the late 13th century, with a bell tower added later, resembling more of a defensive tower. Next to the church is the Anglican Trinity Cathedral, built in the last century.

There is a large water park here, Aquacity Poprad, which has become quite popular. If you are going for a hike in the mountains, this is a starting point for many tourists. If you're not planning to rent a hotel room, this water park can be an alternative.

After arriving in Poprad, the first thing we did was settle into our hotel and park our car in a large hotel area. There is a trampoline park and some restaurants here. The red hotel room was quite small, with a bathroom and a shower cabin, but it had all the amenities. The red carpet matched the walls well.

On our second day, we left the Red Room and wandered around the city for a bit. Our hotel was right next to the Poprad River. After having breakfast, we headed towards the mountain village of Starý Smokovec, also known as the High Tatras according to Google. We parked the car in a second parking lot. There are many important tourist spots around Slovakia. In the future, there were ski centers, this was once a place called Starý Smokovec, the administrative center of the High Tatras, located at an altitude of 1010 meters. Sea level, the official population in 2017 was 47 people, now has an advanced infrastructure with a modern ski center. The winter season gives way to the summer season and thousands of people go hiking to see waterfalls, touch mountain lakes and conquer the peaks of the High Tatras. You can reach Tatra Lomnica or Strbske Pleso by railway.

We went up. There is a cable car here, according to Wikipedia the only working cable car in Slovakia. We didn't get on the cable car because it operates every half hour. But actually walking in the mountains is more pleasant. Nature was still waking up here. As an alternative to the climb, there was a trail. We didn't take trekking shoes because we didn't know exactly where to go and therefore we walked almost entirely on asphalt.

There was an observation terrace. Frankly, you shouldn't expect too much from this observation terrace because Poprad city and trees obstructed the view. We climbed to 1300 meters altitude, this was the upper station of the cable car. Here we had the opportunity to see the ice house. The ice house in the Tatras is located on Grebenok Mountain above 1300 meters. The ice dome has been built every year for ten years and set a visitor record this year, many people came to see this temporary work of art. It offers the opportunity to walk among ice sculptures, but touching with hands is prohibited. This year's ice sculpture was a copy of the Holy Sepulchre Basilica in Jerusalem and 22 sculptors used 225 tons of ice. Its highest point reached 10.5 meters in height and the dome had a diameter of 25 meters.

A different theme is chosen here every year, offering visitors to the ice house a unique experience. Grebenok Mountain boasts many tourist routes, with mountain waterfalls positioned gradually and in the summer months, there's even the chance to slide with tubes. The region has good infrastructure for tourism and you can even reach it by bicycle. Afterward we had dinner and returned to Bratislava.

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