10 hour hike
The day before I had met Teo from Italy at the Goodbye Lenin Hostel and we decided to go hiking together the next day.
We woke up at 5.30am, took the first bus to the last stop called Polana Palenica. From there it is a 2-hour hike up to Lake Morskie Oko. Nothing prepares you for the beauty of this lake. It is the biggest lake in the High Tatras mountains and lies at about 1400 meter above sea level. The water is very clear and has a beautiful emerald green colour. Fortunately the wind was totally calm when Teo and me got to the lake so that the reflections in the lake were perfect.
After munching a self-made sandwich we started circling the lake. This takes about one hour. On the other side of the lake there is a steep half an hour hike up to another lake from where you have a spectacular view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. After this we hiked back down and finished circling Morskie Oko and then took another turn to start the climb up to the Czarny Staw pass at 2172 m above sea level. It takes between two and three hours to reach the top, depending on your shape. It took me three and a half hours, hahaha, just kidding :-) From the top you have a view of five different Polish lakes as well as two lakes on the Slovakian side. Teo and me had lunch on the top and relaxed for a while enjoying the amazing view despite the so-so weather. Then we started the descent on the other side. There it is at times quite steep but there are chains on the rock which help you to climb down. The descent took us another hour and a half. We walked around another lake and then made our way back past the lakes and waterfalls and through the forrest which took us another three hours to get back to the bus station.
All in all it was an exhausting 10 hour hike but definitely worth it. The lake Morskie Oko is one of the most beautiful I´ve ever seen and the views from the top of the mountain pass were really nice. And the best thing about hiking is always the part when you get back to your hostel, when you drop down on the couch and feel absolutely content with what you just achieved and happy with yourself and the world in general.
