As some of you probably noticed on our Instagram, Lenka and I went on holiday last week. However, we did not go together – each of us chose a different location 🙂 My husband, Helenka and I went to the Tatras, more specifically near Štrbské pleso, while Lenka went to the Jeseníky Mountains with her family. Now, you may be wondering about the story’s title – why on earth did she write ˈIn the Tatras with Lenkaˈ? The story goes like this …
When we planned our route to the Tatras, it caught my eye that the way goes through the town of Žilina (Slovakia). I told myself: “Well, Žilina, that is the seat of Lenka, the manufacturer of baby carriers and wraps, isn’t it? We could surely stop by.” And since I am an industrious girl, I immediately made an appointment.
Now, do you think Lenka Cenigová Gajarská would go on holiday with me? Highly improbable, isn’t it?
Currently, Be Lenka Ltd. unfortunately does not have a showroom or a shop either, therefore we met in their offices, which we really did not mind at all, of course. I had the opportunity to see the wraps, the carriers and also some hot new products Lenka is preparing – hopefully, we will present them to you very soon – I think, you are going to like it very much! It is still a big secret for now, so my lips are sealed 🙂
Like a proper barefoot family, we also examined (and I even tried on) Lenka’s sneakers, which look exactly the same as in promo photos and videos – incredibly light, soft, pliant, my feet felt like in a babouches. I normally wear the size of 40 and it was the case of Lenka’s shoes as well, therefore I would say the sizes correspond. Currently, pre-orders for leather ankle shoes are being accepted – in case you are interested, join the Facebook group of FB Lenka Nositko SR/CZ.
When we talked about our plans in Slovakia with Lenka, we got plenty of tips for trips, and a testing carrier was offered as well – when we went to the Tatras, right? J I was incredibly glad to hear that because I took with me only some wraps and a borrowed Madame GooGoo carrier I was dead scared to damage by mistake. Of course, I was worried about Lenka carrier as well, but not that much to be honest J Because of the fact that we already tested the adjustable Lenka 4Ever (even twice), I was offered the medium size or the toddler size.
In the past, I already had the possibility to test Lenka carriers and I was very satisfied with them, therefore I was excited to try this one really thoroughly – namely on a proper hike 🙂
The toddler-size version was still pretty big for Helenka and thus Lenka and I agreed to take the medium-size version instead, which was exactly right. Currently, Helenka is 18 months old, weighing 11 kg, being 82 cm tall.
We are very grateful for the opportunity to be let in the ˈcontrol centreˈ, to see the hot new products and to talk with a very nice person. Our thanks go to Juraj as well, who is the person we mainly communicate with and who arranged the meeting.
On the second day of our holiday, we set out for a hike. Neither my husband nor I are some very able-bodied hikers, until recently it was quite a problem to reach the top of the Lysá Hora Mountain. However, my physical fitness improved a lot since Helenka was born and my husband dared not to whine :). Therefore he planned a trip from Štrbské pleso to the waterfall called Skok.
In case you want to follow our steps, you should know that it is best to park your car on the ˈCenrální parkoviskoˈ (i.e. the central parking lot), where you pay 5,50 € for the whole day. In case you wanted to leave your car closer to the Ski resort (roughly 10 minutes of walk closer to your target destination), you would pay 10 €.
Almost the whole path to the waterfall is stony, altered by gravel or a packed forest path with tree roots. I took three pairs of Vibram Fivefingers with me – sandals (VI-S), flats (Alitza) and ˈsolidˈ lace boots (V-Alpha). If you are as silly as I was, you will choose to wear sandals for the hike (those are, by the way, designed for city walks, not for hiking).
I was surprised (and I think you will be as well :)) that my choice was not as bad after all – I enjoyed the walk in my minimalistic shoes, which held very well on my feet and I have to admit that the hike got a totally different dimension. My foot not once slipped on the stones, I did not trip at all, and oddly enough, the undersides of my feet were not on fire at the end of our hike (unlike my husband’s, who chose to wear V-Alpha without socks and is not so used to walk in FFs). If I remember well the last time I went hiking in Salomon shoes, I think my feet slipped several times. Well, people around us looked at me like I was crazy – wearing a child and fivefingers on top of that; however, we are already used to that, aren’t we? 🙂
The next surprising thing was that we met only two framed child carriers and one Manduca carrier, which was already small to that wearie about a year ago. Down by the Štrbské pleso and in the neighbourhood of our hotel, the situation was way better – Tula carriers and other of that sort prevailed.
On your journey up, you really need to focus on where you step and therefore you can forget to notice the beauty all around you. Stop and look! It is stunning … the path is lined with blueberries (only few of them were left, unfortunately) and with cranberries! For the first time in my life, I saw wild cranberries (those were a little unripe still).
As soon as you hear the murmur of water, you are sure to be close to the waterfall and my recommendation is: “Go to cool off in the river” 🙂
In case you see a suspicious amount of paper tissues on your way, watch your steps because you are just passing a public toilet :).
Below the waterfall called Skok itself, there is a small lake, or tarn if you wish, where we managed to take a few pictures and where many tourists walked in water barefoot. Because it seemed like a wonderful idea to me, I went into it as well. Martin almost got a heart attack when I decided, but my desire for experience was stronger :). Luckily, I neither got frostbite nor fell down with Helenka on my back :).
On our way back, we stopped for a while to see the Štrbské pleso itself, however, it did not impress us much honestly and moreover, we were quite tired as well, therefore we headed back to our car. Just next to the parking lot, there is a sign saying “Jezírka lásky” (i.e. Love Lagoons) – the place is literally a few steps away and I really recommend to visit it – an ideal place for relax and meditation :).
We spent the next few days of our holiday relaxing in the hotel, enjoying wellness and short walks, unless I count visiting chalet Krajinka, where we bought some goodies and Helenka met some farm animals, of which her favourite are BAA (sheep) – we could not have chosen a better location. Also she ate a lot of ˈhaluškyˈ (i.e. typical Slovak dish – little dumplings made of potatoes, flour and water) – a stranger could suspect us of starving her at least for a week, that big her appetite was 🙂 (for a non-eater of Helenka’s kind, it was a great rarity).
