Blogs from Levoca, Presov Region, Slovakia, Europe

We made an early start to Slovakia as Eileen had set the alarm to get through the shower early. We decided to breakfast along the way. We stopped at a small town remembering our pleasant experience in Slovenia. The local bar was open so we wandered in to find the local men having their breakfast - beer. The bar did not serve food. We noted that beer was a popular breakfast choice throughout the country – also to be enjoyed at morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and with dinner. We tried another town for breakfast and ended up buying some forgettable food at a minimarket. A little further on, we bought some delicious peaches at a road side stall. Another thing that struck us on our first encounter with Slovakia is that the roads are flanked ... read more

Today we had even more trouble finding someone to pay, and ended up being quite late to leave because of this. We stopped along the way at a small town called Levoca. It has a fully intact town wall, and inside there are a number of beautiful Renaissance houses and other buildings, with a central square. There was the Cage of Shame - near the town hall where women who had done something wrong were held to be publicly disgraced. We went into the cathedral there, and a school bus tour came in, kids about 15 and 16. They all went and sat down and prayed for about 10 minutes, some were kneeling, and there was no noise—we were astounded!! We have noted that the kids in Slovakia seem very happy—the little kids are always with ... read more

There's not much to do in the old walled town of Levoca, but it's a great launching point for nearby Spissky Hrad (Spis Castle) and Slovensky Raj (Slovak Paradise) National Park. When you first see Spissky Hrad, it shocks you - it just dominates the landscape. I hope the pics do it justice, but I doubt they do. A movie called Last Legion is being filmed there, posing the castle as part of Hadrian's wall. The two Kiwi girls I met on the bus (both named Sarah) and I ran into some of the actors, English and Welsh guys, at one of the three bars in town. Nobody too famous, but good bunch of guys. Visiting the castle the next day, the set was amazing - it looked like we were in a Roman village, you ... read more