The last day

Today has been spent travelling back from Slovakia, most of us have slept at some point and we have occupied ourselves by playing lots of cards throughout the journey! Although our plane was delayed by an hour the rest of our journey thankfully went very smoothly. 

This trip has been fantastic and we are all very sad to go our separate ways however we hope to remain in touch in the future and are looking forward to many more adventures soon!

Day 7

Last full day:

Today was our last full day in Slovakia. After getting up at 7:30 and having breakfast at 8, we set off at 9:00. We started off the day by getting on our minibus and going to the town Levoča. 

We did some souvenir shopping and got some ice cream. After that we got back on the minibus to Spis Castle. 

Once arriving at Spiss Castle, we found some shade and sat to eat for our lunch. We then had some free time to look around the castle, buy souvenirs and take photos. The views were very impressive. It was very hot so we didn't spend much time there. 

We then went back to Spisska Nova Ves and had some chocolate fondue. It chucked it down with rain for a few minutes so we had to use our bin bags again; they worked very well. It was then really hot again and we had to walk home from town. Luckily we knew the way and it didn't take as long as we thought. 

Lastly back at the house we packed up ready for tomorrow and cleaned. We are getting up at 5:30 in the morning so we made our lunch and a packed breakfast ready for the long journey ahead. At the last night party we gave each other awards and gave out badges about the trip. We then had food and listened to music.

Day 6

Our guide was here bright and early and we were soon off for a long hike after a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon. The hike was 12km which was very tiring, but the paths and views were beautiful. It took 2 and a half hours to reach the top where we were met with a breathtaking view, and a chance to finally eat some lunch! The walk back was easier and equally as picturesque. 

Along the way the guide pointed out fresh mint, certain herbs and berries in addition to facts about the national park Slovenski Raj. Sadly we didn't see much wildlife, however we just caught sight of a deer at the very end. 

We had some free time back at the house to catch up on our 'Slovakia Challenge' for the week and some of us napped. We had an early dinner then changed and left to meet the girl scouts again. After rounders, Bulldogs, under/over and lots of chatting, we had to make our way back as it was suddenly getting dark. We also got to sing Happy Birthday to one of the Slovakian Scouts! Back at the house we warmed up with a hot chocolate and plan on an early night as we are tired out from all of the activities we have enjoyed today. It was sad saying a final goodbye to the Scouts as it reminded us of how close we are to the end of our trip, but we still have another full day tomorrow that we are all looking forward to. 

Day 5

This morning we had yet another early start to get to the ice caves for 10:00. When we reached our destination we had a long walk up a big hill to get to Dobšinská L'adová Jaskyña (the ice caves). Although the ice caves were very cold we were distracted by their incredible beauty. Even though we couldn't understand the tour guide most of us bought guide books and so we were able to find out some very interesting facts about the ice caves. For example we found out that when the caves were first discovered the locals used to ice skate in the caves every year. 

After leaving the half an hour tour of the ice caves we warmed up in the sunshine whilst enjoying a hot chocolate before walking back down the hill and going to the souvenir shop. 

We the got back in the minibus to travel to the high ropes course. We ate our lunch on the bus before reaching the high ropes course. A lot of us found the high ropes course scary because of the height however most of us managed to complete it and had a lot of fun! We all enjoyed the zip wires the most and had such a laugh whilst we were there. 

On the way back from high ropes, most of us had some sleep but some of us were woken up by the lovely singing from the Acapella club. Our favourite songs were 'Love is an open door' and 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Day 4

Day 4

We got up at 7:30 this morning and had eggy bread and frankfurters for breakfast. We walked into the local town called Spišská Nová Ves, we went the wrong way at first and because of this it took and hour and ten minutes. It drizzled the whole way! In the morning we went bowling and two of the scouts that we met yesterday joined us. 

After the bowling, we walked further into the town to have lunch in a park, even though it was still raining. We were then given some free time to go shopping for souvenirs and postcards. It rained even harder at this point and some of our bags and coats weren't keeping the rain out so a group of us went to a pharmacy and bought some bin bags. We then made bin bag coats and bag covers. 

Once our bin bag coats were finished, we walked to the swimming pool. We had an hour in the pool, where we just splashed around with a beach ball and floating ball. We then walked the long walk home, where, this time, we didn't get lost. We finally arrived home again and we were all very tired and relaxed until dinner.

Day 3

After breakfast we set off early on the coach, to make our way to the Dunajec river for Traditional River Rafting. Here we floated down the river between the Polish and Slovakian boarder, for 2 hours (11km) along the longest canyon in Eastern Europe. 

Once we reached the end, we started walking up the forest lining the river, before getting on the coach to make our way to the monastery, in Červeny Klástor, where we spent the afternoon. The history was fascinating as was having an insight into the lives of the monks that lived there. In the courtyard there were a variety of birds ranging from a hawk to a golden eagle. Once we had finished looking round, we made our way back to the house as we had plans to meet some local scouts. On the way we stopped of at a Tesco; it was great to see a familiar shop! Even though we had had been out for a long day, once back we had a quick turn around and were soon walking to meet the Scouts. 

Although we were nervous about the language barrier, we had a lovely time with the Slovakian Girl Scouts and hope to keep in contact with them.

After playing some Slovakia games and teaching them one of ours, we had some traditional Slovak food which was delicious. 

Suddenly it started to pour down and thunder began to approach so after chatting some more (their English was incredible) we began our walk back to the house in the rain. 

Warming ourselves up with a hot chocolate, we enjoyed some games before heading up for an early night ready for a full day tomorrow! 

Day 1 and Day 2

Day 1:

On Saturday the 22nd of July we got up really early because we all needed to get to Cheltenham for 5:00am. We then had a 3 hour journey to Gatwick and most of us slept at some point in the journey! When we reached the airport we had to go through security and some of us were checked because the badges on our jumpers came up on the metal detector. When we were waiting in the airport, we found out that our plane was delayed by an hour. After going around the airport for a while, we finally got to board the plane, and settled down for a two and a half hour journey. 

We arrived safely and collected our bags from the carrousel. A mini bus came to pick us up to take us to our destination, Hostel Deco in Kraków, Poland. After dropping our stuff off at the Hostel, we had a wander around the city centre and in the old market square and saw a lot of horse and carriages. 

We then went to get ice cream which was delicious and only cost us 75p each as the currency is different. Once we got back to the hostel we had our tea which was authentic polish food and was delicious. After this we went up to our rooms and had an early night.

Day 2:

Today we got up at 7:00am to pack before breakfast at 8am. We then put our bags in lockers for later and went off for stroll up to the city again to visit the castle in more detail. 

We took about half an hour in the castle and then split up in groups to look in the shops. We went to the souvenir shops and got magnets and postcards. As another treat we got ice cream again. Before the castle we looked at the flea market and the Jewish quarter. 

For lunch we went and sat down in the park and had some hand nibbles. We sat down for about half an hour. After this we headed back to the Hostel and collected our bags, but we had to wait a while for the coach as it was late. Once it arrived we set off for a 3 hour journey to Slovakia. 

The view on the way there was gorgeous, as there were lots of mountains covered in fog and fir trees. Again most of us slept at some point on the journey. When we got there our rep showed us around. When she left we were able to go up to our rooms and sort out our bags before coming down and having tea. Tea was spag bol. We have been set a challenge for the week which some of us have already started, we have been put in patrols for duties and been through the plan for the week - we're looking forward to it!