When planning this trip, we tried to vary the places that we go to. Some places we visit we know will be full of other tourists and will have plenty to see, such as Paris and Budapest while others are a bit quieter, like Graz and Dombuhl. We thought that Tatranska Lomnica would be on the less busy side, but in fact the whole place relies on nearby tourists to survive.

At the feet of the High Tatras mountains, we have had four lovely days of beholding and exploring these beautiful peaks. The weekend has been quite busy with lots of other people having the same idea and taking advantage of the many hotels and apartments around. This led to a few occasions where you had to overtake someone on a forest walk, only to later find that while you were checking the map or having lunch that they overtook you again. There was one morning where we passed and were surpassed by another couple at least eight times, each encounter becoming slightly more awkward.

We did manage to find a few paths that were less well trodden and saw a decent share of wildlife (a fox, a stag, a stoat, lots of birds, a small snake, butterflies in abundance and we even heard some deer rutting). The views were wonderful, as the landscape is flat except for the Low Tatras mountains far off in the distance. It's very easy to understand why so many people come here, particularly since cable cars and funiculars make it easy for lots of people to access these views. It's so simple that we saw two couples in their wedding attire close to the cable car's finish point, presumably taking some panoramas before the reception.

We were at first frustrated with the crowds and how targeted all the shops are, in particular for skiing. However, we came to terms with the fact that everyone else just wanted to enjoy this gorgeous scenery like us. We after all are long term tourists too, keen to see what sights the world has to offer and then moving on.

One thing that continues to impress me is how so many people are skilled in multiple languages. I went to get a coffee and I was greeted in Slovak, before she changed to English, swiftly followed by speaking German for the next person in line.