Terchova, Slovakia

Yesterday morning, Michal, our couchsurfing host in Zilina made some phone calls for us to try and find us somewhere to stay  in Terchova. Because Terchova is a popular outdoor destination area, there are a lot of pensions (guest houses) and private accommodation available.

But because it's a weekend coming up, some of them were fully booked!

Eventually came across one that looked nice at http://www.chalupanauboc.sk/ It's all in Slovak though, so it's a good thing for google translate! They said they could accommodate us for 4 nights, through until Monday, for 10 euros per person per night. Works out to about $25 per night total.

Said goodbye to Ivona and son Daniel, and then Michal drove us to the bus station. We had such a good time with this young family, and once again our experiences with couchsurfing are extremely positive. We might see them again this weekend if they decide to come to this area for a hike! Thanks for everything Michal and Ivona!

Our bus left right on time at 11:15am and we were in Terchova right at 12 noon. Walked the five minutes over to our pension and the owner's son Mark was out cutting the grass. We were told Mark could speak some English, and it turns out he is quite good!

Here is our room.

There are two private rooms on the main floor and we share kitchen facilities and bathroom with the other room, which is currently vacant. Upstairs is a larger flat that has it's own kitchen and bathroom, but it's vacant too, although apparently Mark and some friends will be using it this weekend. Hopefully we will get some sleep! 

Our kitchen.

So, for approximately $25 a night, we are totally happy.

We got ourselves settled and walked just down the street to get some groceries. Came back and made some lunch, and then went for a walk around town.

There is a pretty little stream running through town.

And a large statue of Slovakian folk hero Juraj Janosik. He was the Slovakian version of Robin Hood, and was apparently born in Terchova.

He has a nice view of the town!

Kevin, with Juraj!

Terchova is a nice little town.

After our walk, we just came back and sat out in the garden with a cold drink and relaxed! Slept like a rock last night, it was totally quiet, but then we are the only ones here right now. Hopefully we will sleep okay through the weekend.

We had bought some milk yesterday afternoon. Opened it this morning to put in our tea and coffee and it was totally sour. Yuck. A litre of milk here is only about $0.80, but I still had the receipt so I walked over to the store which is only two minutes away. It's a fair size Lidl grocery store, but it has no customer service desk. The cashier was pretty busy, so I went up to the big security type guy and asked if he spoke English. Nope. "German?" he asks me. I say nope, and we both laugh. I point at the milk and put a sour look on my face. He laughs again. I point at the milk counter and he nods his head. I guess that means I can go get another one! So I do, and I go wait in the cashier line. The security guy comes over to the cashier and says something and she waves me through.

Who says you need to speak the language? Too funny.

Get back to the flat, and of course this milk is sour too!

So, back to the grocery store, where both the security guy and the cashier laugh with me. Oh well, no point in crying over sour milk. Or is that spilled milk? Whatever. This time, I pick up a different brand at a different price, and they just wave me through anyhow.

A bit overcast looking this morning, but we're going for a hike anyhow. This one is a little more level than the one the other day, and goes through some of the tiny villages, but it's around 13.5 kms (8.5 miles) long so we'll be out for a while.