Travel adventures - Slovakia - Morské oko
I'm spending one week with my family in Slovakia and I thought you might enjoy traveling and walking around here with me 😊
Today I will take you to the lake Morské oko (Marine eye) situated in the protected area of Vihorlatské vrchy (Vihorlat mountains).
It took us a little longer than one hour to get there by car yesterday. The roads were deserted. It was early in the morning, so I think that people were at home preparing Sunday lunch.
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After a short while we were approaching the mountains. The mountains in the back are already in Ukraine.
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As there was no traffic we stopped in the middle of the road to take some photos. The weather was not ideal, but we hoped it wouldn't start raining.
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ISO 100 1/200 sec. f/9 18 mm
ISO 100 1/200 sec. f/9 18 mm
It takes around 20 minutes to get to the lake from the parking place and 30 minutes to walk around the lake. Our walk starts here..
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Vihorlatské vrchy
It is a volcanic mountain range which stretches in the Eastern Slovakia, and partly in the Western Ukraine.
The forest is magical and it looks like from a fairy tale. It is dominated by ash, maple, elm, and lime trees. There are wolves, lynxes, otters, wildcats and brown bears living in the area. The bears have migrated here just a few years ago. People are still getting used to the fact that they could come across a bear in the forest. It hasn't luckily happened to us yet!
We also came across various wild herbs and flowers.
They say that it is easy to grow mint. Well, I was not able to keep it alive at home and here it grows just like this! I must have done something very bad to that poor plant 😊
The cornflower is my favorite wild flower! There were so many of them!
Here we are!
Morské oko
It is the largest lake in the Vihortat mountains and it is the third largest natural lake in Slovakia. It was created due to the volcanic activity in the area. There are no active volcanoes here anymore.
A massive landslide dammed up the valley stream of Okna, and a natural lake was formed behind the barrier.
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The maximum length of the Morské Oko lake is 750 meters and its width is 312 meters. The lake is 25.1 meters deep.
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In 1984 it was declared the State Natural Preserve and any kind of water activities including swimming and fishing are prohibited here.
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It was very cloudy but we still hoped we could walk around the lake before it starts to rain.
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Before we continued walking, we fed the fish. There were hundreds of them (mainly trouts)!
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The clouds were getting darker, but we were determined to follow our plan. Was it a good idea? Well..
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It's prohibited to take wood out of the forest so there are many broken trees and branches in the water and around the lake.
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You can see them on the other side of the lake as well.
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If you fancy staying here over night you can do so and book this mansion. It was built in 1924 on motion of Countess Gladys Vanderbilt Szechenyi whose daughter was treated here during her sickness.
She also contributed to the enlargement of the lake from 7 ha to 13.8 ha by building a dam.
There are many celebrations held in the mansion during summer months.
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Behind the mansion there is a relaxing area with a few benches and beautiful views.
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But there are people (like my husband) who prefer to sit on cold stones instead.
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We were thinking to celebrate my birthday next year here.
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As much as we enjoyed it there we had to move on and continue walking. When we reached the opposite side of the lake it started to rain. There is a small bistro nearby. We thought we would run there and wait until it stops as there is a terrace with roof even though the bistro is never open.
We were surprised to find out that they were open! It was our lucky day! It was cold and windy, so we ordered some tea and snacks. We waited for the rain to stop but it seemed to be getting stronger instead!
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We had our umbrellas, but we were not very well dressed for such weather. It was sunny when we left home and the forecast wasn't showing rain either. We waited for more than half an hour before we decided to leave but in the end we got soaking wet anyway. There was no lightning and we didn't hear any thunder, so we figured we could walk in the forest with our umbrellas without getting grilled by the lightning.
We had to walk the same way back instead of going around the lake as it was much shorter. It didn't take us too long to get back to the other side.
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I like it even more when it's raining.
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We stopped one more time on the way back to the car..
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As the roads were deserted on the way back home too we could stop in the middle of 'nowhere' and take a few more photos from the car. I didn't even get off the car because of the rain.
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My messy hair is the proof that it was windy 😊 I was glad to have my second assistant (my brother) with me to hold my umbrella while my first assistant (hubby) takes a photo of me taking photos 😊
This is the first time when I saw my husband multitasking (holding the umbrella and taking photos 😊)
It was a lovely day even though the weather was not ideal. We came home, changed our clothes, had a cup of tea and went to visit my grandmother, spend some time with her and showed her photos from our adventures.
The last time she was there was about 20 years ago, so she was happy to see that it hasn't changed much. She was worried we would get sick but luckily, we are all fine.
I hope you enjoyed our walk today as much as we did.
All pictures are taken by my Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II/
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina
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Hello @delishtreats! At last I am catching up with your travels in Slovakia. It is so intriguing to see photos of a country you have never been to before. I have absolutely fallen in love with this place! The forests are breathtaking. It is great to hear they are protected from removing wood from. From your photos it apprears that the eco system is truly flourishing. Those little pale blue flowers are so beautiful. The whole scene is really fairytale like as you say. The lake too is just amazing and all those trout, wow! Is there fish farming going on there? Those trout seem to be used to being fed maybe. That mansion is beautiful - the combination of stone amongst wood like that is very apprealing. It would be a great place to have a birthday celebration for sure. That way we can come back and have a look inside the mansion too. Haha It would have been magical to take a little rowing boat out on the water in my imagination anyway. Like as not it wouldn’t be allowed but a lovely thought nonetheless😉🍀🌈💛🦋🌴
Thank you so much for a wonderful walk. Every part of it was just so enjoyable. Slovakia is stunningly beautiful and now it seems fitting that a beautiful flower such as yourself should come from such a fairytale land. Have a happy smile filled weekend.
Hello my dear Sallybeth! Thank you SO much for your comment and for the time that you took to write it!
I'm happy that you like the place! I haven't appreciated it enough before I left. It was so boring, lol. Now I love coming back!
No, no, there is no fish farming there. They are used to being fed because everyone who comes there throw them some bread :) it's been always like this. Or at least as far as I can remember.
They renovated the mansion just recently and I always wanted to go inside. It will be a treat to celebrate the birthday there! I will bring you inside with me of course! :)
Imagination has no limits. You can even go swimming there (in your imagination of course :) )
You are SO sweet! I can't even express how much I treasure our friendship! Thank you for being YOU!
Wow so many trout by nature’s hand! I love that 😍 sometimes we have to leave behind what we had to appreciate it the most but better late than never is all that matters 🤗🦋🌴❤️🌈🍀
Exactly! And I might move back one day ;)
That place is sooooo greeen! It's beautiful. I like the rain pictures the best though. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
I recently hiked down a mountainside in the rain...but didn't get pictures because I didn't want to get my cell phone wet.
Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you liked it! The rain photos are my favorite ones too :) I have never taken photos while raining before.
I was lucky to have an umbrella otherwise I wouldn't do it as my camera would get wet too :)
You also had the extra luck of having someone there to hold the umbrella. Poor guy, I'm sure he got quite wet making sure you and your camera were dry. Unless he too had an umbrella and was holding one in each hand...? I'm picturing a whole umbrella chain stretching back to dry land. Ha!
Oh, you are right! I was lucky with both of them :) They both had their own umbrellas so it was not that bad :) It was very funny, LOL. It makes me laugh when I think about that!
well well well..look at the high-powered photographer..takes a crew of three people to snap a few photos. I suppose next year it will take an entourage of 5 people to do the queens bidding! lol.
hey no one goes to the lakes in Slovakia? and no one drives? was everyone in church except you? where was everyone? did they see you coming and scatter or something??
LOL! I know how to engage people!
Well, Sunday here is a day when you want to enjoy a nice lunch (soup, main and dessert) so they spend mornings at home cooking or just being with their families. They go to visit their relatives in the afternoon or they just go for a walk. Sunday is a family time.
As we went there in the morning, there were no people driving at that time but surprisingly there were quite a few people already walking around. But as the weather was getting worse they started to leave. Most of them came with children so didn't want to get soaked.
Oh, we have here 4 masses on Sunday in each of 2 catholic churches. All of them are full! Every week. During Easter or Christmas some people don't even squeeze in the church so they have to stand outside. There are speakers installed so that these people can follow the mass too, lol.
howdy this fine Tuesday my friend Martina! hey you know something interesting? when I asked you about church on Sunday I do that to gauge where people are at spiritually, it's a sneaky way to do it but I can only do it on Sunday.
Anyway out of all the people I ask, you are the ONLY one who has ever said they went to church! lol. Now, that isn't so bad as it sounds because most people that I talk to are Christians but in this country at least, the fastest growing group of Christians are ones that don't go to an organized church.
You haven't asked me about church so I assume you are afraid to and that's fine, you should be! lol. lets just say I'm on fire.
But back to the Catholic churches there, that is a very encouraging situation being so full, but is it only because of the foreigners?
I keep hearing that Switzerland is going down hill socially and economically because of the tremendous strain that the huge influx of foreigners is causing. so you are one of those foreigners! lol. but you guys aren't putting a strain on resources, well maybe the vegetables, but Switzerland needs more immigrants like you who actually contribute to society and not put burdens on it. I'm sure the taxes may be high there.
Hello, hello, my friend!
I enjoy going to church. It gives me energy and I feel better after the mass. There are not that many foreigners in my hometown, lol. It's a tradition. Every Sunday you go with your family to church. Parents teach children the importance of their belief and then they continue going to church even when they are older.
Afraid? LOL! I thought you would tell me without asking!
Well, that is for longer discussion. But, Switzerland does need qualified professionals for their economy. The taxes are high and they are used for services that neither myself nor my husband use, lol (school, retired people, police, city hall workers, etc) BUT they also use it for the fireworks on 1st of August (Swiss birthday) so we always say 'bye bye' to our taxes on that day, lol.
howdy again this fine Tuesday my friend Martina! when you are talking about your hometown you are referring to the one in Switzerland?
Do you know what the percentage of your income goes to taxes there?
And how does that compare to Slovakia?
There are two posts which I don't think you've seen, I guarantee that you have never seen or known anything like the topics in these posts! Don't worry about leaving a comment or vote but I was curious to know what you thought. just sometime when you have time.
https://steemit.com/sports/@janton/the-best-kept-sports-secret-in-america
https://steemit.com/animals/@janton/firehawks-the-crazy-fire-starters-of-australia
No, no, my hometown is in Slovakia. I mean my nationality is Slovak so I consider my hometown the town where I was born.
The income tax in Switzerland depends on your income. I'm not sure what is the maximum but I will check it out. I have never worked in Slovakia so I have no idea what is the income tax here. I am a little bit ignorant in this field :)
I have time now as everyone went to bed already so I'm going to check them out!
howdy back again Martina! well It's probably the middle of the night there, I got behind, took me over two hours just to do a little post about crows! lol.
ok well I get confused sometimes as to whether you are talking about Slovakia or Switzerland. you have never worked in Slovakia? all that banking work was in Germany?
You know, you're not the only one. I heard many times that people don't know which country I'm talking about. I use the word 'home' for 3 countries - Slovakia, the Netherlands and Switzerland. But my hometown is in Slovakia. Does that make sense?
No, no, I've never worked here. I left Slovakia when I was 18 years old.
Banking work? You think I worked for a bank? I've never worked in Germany, lol. Jonboy, Jonboy, you're getting confused ;)
That forest does look enchanted, so lush and gorgeous. I bet it smelled even better, fresh. And that sure is a lot of trout. So nobody fishes there? Incredible!
Grandmas sure do have a way of making us feel right at home, cozy and warm in wet clothes or not.… thank you for keeping us posted on your latest travels @delishtreats, your life sure does look fun.
Yes, it's very fresh and breathing there is so easy. You feel great there.
No, no, because the fines are too high for people to risk it :)
Thank you for stopping by my dear! I do try to make the best out of the time I have :)
Very cool. Looking forward to more adventures.
Great photos of your visit to the lake. Very special you were able to share with your grandma. I like the pictures of the rain and low clouds in the forest :) The rock mansion is also very picturesque.
Thank you for stopping by. Yes! We actually went there so that she can see the photos :) She is more less tied up to bed so we try to make her feel better when we're here.
I like these ones too! This was the first time when I took photos of rain and I am very happy with the result. I'm just learning how to take photos so I'm proud of me! :)
Exactly! A perfect place to stay there and have fun time :)
What wonderful and quite place! I would love to go out and fish 🎣 there with a little boat :-)
And also you bring us some great pictures with a good quality . 👍
No, no, fishing is prohibited :) This is why there are still so many fish. You can't even get a special permit and the fines are very high so you wouldn't like to try :)
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words!
You seem to have a much better Sunday than me! The walk looked so lovely and serene around the lake, especially the last few photos just before you got back into the car
It was lovely! It was much colder than we expected but we still enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by! I'm always happy to be back home for a few days :) Seeing my family gives me a lot of energy.
how much green you have in Slovakia, it's nice to watch) in general, nature calms me down)
wild mint, wow) I love mint, but I have not heard about the wild one yet)
Sea eye in Slovak language is a beautiful name, consonant with Ukrainian words)
me as a vegan about the prohibition of fishing is nice to hear;)
Thank you for a fascinating journey with you to your homeland, Slovakia 😊
Thank you for stopping by Inna. Yes, it is a green country. We have many hills and meadows.
I also didn't know that it could grow in forest! Every day is a school day! :)
Oh yes, Slovak is very similar to Ukrainian. And I can easily speak with people living close to the borders as the Ukrainian there is different than let's say in Kiev.
Yes, I'm also glad that you can't fish there. This is also the reason why there are so many fish in the lake.
Oh, thank you for the compliment my dear!
you are right, dear, the main thing is not to stop learning and be open to the new)
Another wonderful post. So fun to see this small portion of Slovakia and a place that means so much to you and your family.
Thank you Sara! I spent there so much time when I was a child and I'm happy that my husband loves to see these places :)
Once again this is beautiful! I love the rain in the photos too! Very good scenery with the clear water and also love the benches!
Thank you Dave! It's good to be back home and enjoy the nature here. It is very different than in Switzerland.
It's the first time I took photos when it was raining and I was quite pleased with the result.
It's a pity I could't walk around the lake to show you the other side too but I hope to get a chance soon again!