We start our second stage from the Šturec saddle to Kremnické Bane. It’s cold, the thermometer in the car shows -6 degrees Celsius. We step out of the car and find out that not only is it cold, but there’s also a pretty strong cold wind blowing… The nearest opportunity to do the stage is in two weeks, so I clench my teeth (I don’t really like the cold weather, my fingers and hands freeze painfully quickly) and we start..
We spent some time looking for the start of the red trail, but then we were accompanied by a beautifully marked hiking trail the whole time. We climb over Priečný vrch covered in frozen snow, and then to the Flochová saddle. I think there is half a meter of snow up there. A beautiful winter fairy tale.
From Flochová it’s a wavy ridge to Skalka and it’s so cold that the water in my hydration pack freezes. At Skalka we take a short break for coffee and a protein bar and continue to Kremnické Bane.
Every break has an unwanted effect on me, my body quickly cools down and my fingers freeze again and again – the painful tingling lasts an unpleasant 10-15 minutes until my body warms up again.
We run down a beautiful tree-lined path and after 3 kilometers we run out of the forest into sun-drenched meadows and suddenly it is warm, a different world, without snow and with sun-warmed meadows.
On the way, we turn towards the Center of Europe, next to the ancient Church of St. Ján Krstiteľ there is an erected stone. It announces that this is the geographical center of Europe.
This important geographical point is marked by a small monument near the defensive wall of the church. On the occasion of the founding of the Slovak Republic, the foundation stone of Slovak statehood was also laid here.
