Shortly after spending a few days in the neighboring state, I visited Strečno (Slovakia SK), the gateway to the Little Fatra mountain range. Although mountain hiking wasn't on my agenda this time due to other interests, I'll still share some glimpses of the surrounding area.
Strečno is primarily known for its imposing castle, which has guarded the Strečno Pass since the 14th century - a valley between the cities of Žilina and Vrútky, through which the Váh River flows.
As the photos reveal, autumn had already arrived in Slovakia, making the landscape more vibrant. (I won't deny that I may have enhanced the colors for artistic purposes, which is fair game in photography.) The weather wasn't particularly cooperative; instead of a sunny Indian summer, it was damp and misty. However, the fog rising from the forests actually heightened the photographic effect. In fact, one could argue that the weather was ideal - at least from a photographer's perspective.
It just occurred to me that I haven't joined the #aroundtheworld challenge in quite a while. So I picked out this photo to participate in the next round.
After I'd had my fill of natural beauty, I crossed the narrow footbridge to the other side of the Váh River, leaving behind the forests and fields and entering the village of Strečno.
I'll use this article for another challenge: #samebutdifferent - where we showcase "ordinary" things that might look extraordinary to people from the other side of the world. The theme for this round was public lighting.
@hive-174812/same-but-different-round-4-public-lighting
I don't mean any offense, but the electrical installations in this Slovak village reminded me somewhat of a Balkan style. When I remembered the #samebutdifferent (or #sbd) challenge, I decided to snap a few photos of this scene. In my view, this style of public lighting isn't particularly typical, but it caught my eye and I thought it would fit perfectly with the current challenge.
And that's all for now, friends. This article is a bit of a mixed bag. I've shown you some of Slovakia's natural beauty (and not just natural, but perhaps "technical" beauty as well), and I'm submitting it for both the #aroundtheworld competition and the #samebutdifferent #sbd challenge. I hope it's not too presumptuous to say I'm pretty satisfied with the result.
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