COLDEST Wild Camp Yet! ❄️ Surviving Freezing Night in Slovakia | Bike Touring Tatras Mountains

Day 248. 52km (92,158kms 8yrs)

My first cold night! Two hours before sunrise I was up and restarting the fire to warm myself. Near the water some of the grass had the lightest touch of frost. Even in the early sunshine I needed gloves for the first hour or so until the sun rose higher. But it was dry, and I don’t think you’ll ever catch me complaining about cold *and dry*.

From Kosice I’ve turned west and am therefore on my way ‘home’. I’ll see as much as I can in northern Slovakia but I won’t be taking extravagant loops to see everything. Today I picked a route via Spišské Podhradie aka ‘Slovakia’s Vatican’. There was much renovation in the lower portion but the Romanesque-meets-Gothic cathedral was open, and free to enter the first few metres until a red rope. After which a guide was required, which is very nice way of doing things in my opinion.

Continuing to Levoča I passed through quaint towns of pastel homes around cobbled squares, but also shanties of corrugated metal dwellings built along the roadside, rubbish strewn the length of the verge.

Levoča was another particularly beautiful town. Like Kosice a very long narrow ‘square’ was surrounded by especially grand pastel buildings, some with distinct patterns and crenelations. Children played in the piles of crisp yellow fallen leaves beneath the basilica. Marking the centre, it was already closed for the day but a couple of faded frescoes in the entrance could still be admired.

As usual I would’ve like to have stayed longer, but the sun was already low in the sky and I needed to find a good camp; the forecast was for another sub-zero night. Heading towards some trails into the forest I’d initially ruled one out as being too close to a string of houses, but on closer inspection I saw these buildings were abandoned chalets. Perhaps some shelter was to be had here. The first building a was open but grim, broken glass everywhere. Walking towards the chalets I didn’t imagine my prospects were good as they all appeared closed but to my amazement the door of the first opened into a relatively tidy room, of half a dozen stacked beds, upstairs was just spider webs and a solitary bed.

The door had been screwed shut, but someone had been here before me to resolve that, though there was no sign it had been used recently. It was perfect! Upstairs in the light through the broken shutter I ate my dinner of local Bryndza cheese and pleasantly chilled rosé. Excellent day in Slovakia.

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morning. It was a chilly night last night, but how nice to wake up and have a fire this morning. Um, I’m on to my second coffee. As you can see, the sun is not quite here yet. Um yeah, I guess forests are going to keep me warmer than uh than beside a lake, but um it was very nice to be beside the fire. No regrets. Uh today, another 50 km or so hopefully. Um I don’t ultimately know where I’m going. I don’t have any host lined up for the next few days or at all in fact. So, uh I’ll just ride as far as I can ride. Uh it’s getting pretty mountainous. Um hopefully I’ll find a warmer camp tonight. No wonder I was cold. It’s a frosty night. Two Yeah, that checks out. I’ve got my hands in gloves. It’s blooming chilly. The scenery is already less colorful. It’s getting browner. Maybe it’s just cuz I’m going up. I checked the forecast and I am on for another subzero night tonight. In fact, it’s not supposed to get above 9° today. So, it does feel quite nice in the sun right now. So, I do need to camp as low as possible. Um, and hopefully find some sort of shelter, be it some forest or something a little bit more sturdy. Oh, wait. I wasn’t expecting it to be open. That’s a nice way of doing things. You can peek in this far for free, but to go in properly, you need a guide. Happy that I get to see this much. This is one of the most pleasantly located tourist information centers you’re ever likely to find. And a very nice spot for lunch today. Considerably warmer than yesterday. It’s closed, but you can still see some of the fresco here. Another absolutely gorgeous Slovakian town square. Beautiful. This is a huge piece of luck. I’m going to be inside and much warmer on a sub-zero night. The wine is nicely chilled. I can have my dinner while it’s still tolerably light. And I’ve got some Slovakian cheese. I can’t say it, but apparently it’s super Slovakian Brunster. Let’s give it a go. Mhm. Strongish, sharp, creamy cheese. What a fantastic day in Slovakia.