On Saturday (24.06.) we got up later than expected - obviously our bodies needed some more rest after yesterday. We packed our things, which were mostly dry again, and said goodbye to Gabriela. And not even 300 meters later we were already back in Slovakia! But here we immediately realized why there is a border between Slovakia and Hungary right here - Hungary: flat, Slovakia: hills.

So in the back they are still hills, but in the background the real mountains were undoubtedly already visible. As it is sometimes at borders: a few kilometers later we were back in Hungary and Tilman tried again at the post office to get the European stamp - unfortunately without success...
We took a relaxed road up a small hill and at a picnic area Tilman took the opportunity to try his drone.

A second opportunity came when we drove through a village in Slovakia that had not one, nor two, but four churches in one street!

In the early afternoon we arrived at our Warmshowerer Andres and his family. They just live in a house in the countryside and had a really nice garden! Andres offered us to drive with us to Lidl, because he also needed something. Afterwards, with an ice cream in hand, we took a look at the small town of Trebisov and were really taken with it. There is a beautiful park, a large sports area, a swimming pool and even a small movie theater!
The two kids, Sonia and Olivia, are growing up trilingual (Slovak, Spanish and English) and were totally cute! We spent most of our time talking to them in Spanish and English. Andres is originally from Colombia and lived in London for a long time. We instantly connected with him and it was really cool to see his little family!

On Sunday (25.06.) was first chill day. After all, we wanted to recharge our batteries for the coming days, which we would spend crossing the Tatras.
As it is so usual on Chill Sundays, Andres conjured up for breakfast for all Colombian Arepas - muy ricas! Something like mini pancakes made of corn dough with cheese. Strengthened by the breakfast, I finally sent out my application request for a cool PhD position to Lund and got a very cool and promising answer just a few hours later! It already feels exciting to think about what is waiting for us after the tour!
After this happy news I was finally allowed to shorten Tilman's beard again :)
Otherwise we chilled a lot, washed our stuff again, did little things on the bike and enjoyed a day full of peace and sunshine!

Our original plan for Monday (26.06.) was to go to the planetarium in Kosice, but they did not answer or said they were completely closed on a Monday. So we said goodbye to Andres and his family and went straight to Presov instead of Kosice. We started in pleasant sunshine and covered the first kilometers relatively quickly, despite the many ups and downs. Next to us the landscape alternated again between forests and fields and only when we had to pass through some city limits, we felt a little queasy because of the general atmosphere there.

As we rode into Presov, the city made a very good impression due to the really well-designed bike paths. After we treated ourselves to an ice cream at Lidl, we drove to a bike store, because on the one hand my rear wheel was making strange noises and on the other hand Tilman's brakes could do with new brake pads. The first problem was quickly solved, for the brake pads we were recommended to another bike store in the city center. The people at "Big Bike" were incresibly nice! They looked at the brakes in peace, even reduced the price for the new pads did not want to see an additional euro for the installation. We took advantage of the service, since none of us had changed the pads with hydraulic brakes - now we are smarter and continue to be very convinced of these hydraulic brakes :)
After that, Tilman of course went back to the post office and came back with some cool stamps.

Out of Presov we rode along the Eurovelo 11 along a river "Torysa" and made unexpectedly many kilometers! It just rolled so beautifully! Maybe the break at Andres did good too! But not only we enjoyed this beautiful bike path. There were really many people on the road and surprisingly few with E-bikes.
In a bend came to us even another recumbent!

As the sun was approaching the horizon we asked at a piece of land if we could camp in their field in front of it. Very relaxed place and in the end we got despite our "no" again a few pieces of Polish grilled meat. The little boy still let his plastic airplane glide over the grass and the grandpa played a few pieces on his harmonica. A really idyllic evening!

Tuesday 27.06.

The gentle trickle of rain on our tent roof woke me up around 5:00 am. Well what to do? Right! Sleep on! Sometime around 6:00 we both woke up and decided to wait for the rain until 7:00 and then we started. And so it happened. Right on time at 7:00 it stopped raining and we comfortably packed up our stuff - even the sun showed up! We said goodbye to the man from last night and rode the relaxed bike path to Lipany. Then we followed a small road up the mountain and looked with the drone, how the world looks from above. Downhill we were allowed to roll again and were rewarded with an awesome view of the castle Spissky Hrad!

Unfortunately, it soon started to rain and we looked for and found a shelter. When the rain let up a bit, we visited an old monastery.

The kilometers after that dragged like chewing gum and I felt that the next mountain (after all 300 hm) would be a bit too much for my knees. Especially since the surface was indicated as "Gravel", which in principle could mean anything... As we drove, after we had looked at Levoca, exceptionally times to the next campsite. There we were first somewhat rudely confronted with considerably(!) higher prices than we had found on the website. We negotiated a bit and paid 15€ for both of us together. Unfortunately, we regretted spending that money afterwards. It turned out to be the most mangy campground ever. We would have found a straighter area when wild camping, the showers were disgustingly dirty (the spider webs suggest when the last time was cleaned), if they worked at all, the water was lukewarm at best and the toilets could not be used and the door closed at the same time ... In addition, the large German shepherd (with bite wounds on the head) ran around freely and was not afraid to jump on people...
So we fell asleep a bit dejected in our tent.

When we confronted the owner of the campsite on Wednesday morning (28.06.) he was of course pretending to "not understand". , "you are the first to say something like that", etc.. When we then looked at the reviews on the Internet, we also knew that we were guaranteed not the only ones and so we wrote to the company of the one certificate, with which he advertises, that they should perhaps look again, whether this is really their standard.

Then we tackled the mountain. Fortunately, the gravel turned out to be not so bad, but it was rather broken road with stones. We actually enjoyed the nature around us and on the descent we caught a first glimpse of the high Tatras.

Behind Kezmarok we started right away. The mountains always on our left, we first rode along a really good bike path.

Every 3km there were then even shelters, which we also used immediately during a rain shower. The altitude meters were also super pleasant - not too steep and really well doable! Throughout the days we had always alternating rain and sun, but fortunately also always a good covered bus stop ready :)
However, the mountains were already pulling on our (at least my) strength and when we crossed the border to Poland, the landscape also changed from wild nature to obvious forestry - not very nice! When we rolled down to Zakopane we were also immediately hit with an extreme tourist atmosphere. The houses were very nice, but the streets were full of tourists and the stores full of odds and ends were just piling up. So quickly out of the city again!

We followed the recommendation of our bewelcome host Jurek from Krakow and drove/rolled through a really nice area with many old traditional wooden houses. The nice thing was that obviously also the newer houses were built in this style. We ended this exhausting day behind a cemetery with a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Over 2000 meters in altitude and 100 kilometers you feel it in his legs!

Pure silence and peace. That's how we woke up on Thursday (29.06.). Whether that is because of the nearby cemetery? Or because of the fog that covered the landscape?

The first 10 minutes of taking down the tent were in any case not so peaceful - at least not for the 100 snails that had made themselves comfortable on our tent.
Down in Chocholow, Tilman visited the church and took some cool pictures of the traditional wooden houses.

Although it was supposed to go downhill today, we had one or the other hill in our way, which we had to climb. Our first real day in Poland we felt very relaxed - especially because the drivers are amazingly good at overtaking bicycles! In Mylenice we had a break around noon and watched the fountain on the market place. Shortly before Krakow we met the Eurovelo 4 and rode towards the city with a really cool view! The last 10 km Tilman took some of my luggage, because the last days really tugged at my energy. Where did he get all that energy from? To Jurek's house on the outskirts of town it went then again properly uphill.

We were warmly welcomed by Jurek and his family. Jurek's story is super exciting, because he spent several months on different occasions at the Polish station on Antarctica. What he had to tell was really breathtaking and adventurous!

Friday (30.06.) was touristic day.
In the late morning, however, I first had a zoom conversation with the people from Lund and that encouraged me to apply officially for a job at the end of the year in any case.
Then we went down to the city center - with our usual tourist setup: "Tilmans Cargobike Taxi"

Over the river we came to the city and had a really nice view of the city.

We also liked the city center very much: many old houses that were still well maintained. However, we asked ourselves: why do all the horse-drawn carriages have to be?
On the main square we chilled out and watched the hustle and bustle from our shady spot. Next to us, a group of young girls practiced cool dance choreographies. The highlight of the whole place! After that, we leisurely drove the green strip around the city center and then went to Jurek's insider tip. A small "restaurant" where they serve the best (and affordable!) pierogi in town. Tucked away in a small backyard is a formerly private kitchen and you just sit where there's room - often next to complete strangers. Paying is also on a trust basis. On the way out, meim just says what you had and then pays. We found that very cool! And the dishes that Jurek recommended to us were absolutely delicious!

With a full stomach we still explored the city and watched some tournaments of the Eurogames, which are currently being held in Poland. Among others, a new sport "Teqball". It's a mixture of table tennis and soccer - pretty cool!
All in all, we really liked the city and definitely want to come back for a few more days and with more budget!

Back at Jurek's and his family's place we chatted all evening about all sorts of things and then fell into bed totally exhausted.

Finally, a "best-of" of the absurdities of the German Wikipedia article about Krakow.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakau

During this period there was a conflict between the secular and the ecclesiastical power in Poland, which resulted in the death of Archbishop Stanislaus in St. Michael's Church in 1079. Stanislaus became one of the first patron saints of Poland. Boleslaus II had to flee Poland and was later poisoned in Hungary."

2. "Of the numerous children of the couple - his wife Elizabeth of Habsburg was called Mother of the Jagiellonians - four alone became kings; seven others held important church offices or married into mostly German noble families. As a result, almost all present European monarchs are related to Casimir IV and Elizabeth."

3. "After putting down the uprising, Ladislaus banished most of the Germans from the city and had some of them executed. The nationality of citizens was checked by a shibboleth: Anyone who could not pronounce soczewica, koło, miele, młyn without mistakes was considered a German."