The day of wooden churches...

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Started the morning by heading out to Pustý Hrad ("deserted castle") just outside Zvolen this a.m. Ruins of a castle that's been around since Roman times. The catch? An uphill climb. A change in elevation of more than 200 m (yeah, I know that's not that huge, but it's well bigger than anything we've got in Edmonton). It was a hike. And I mean a real hike. If we'd managed to stick to the path it probably wouldn't have been such a hike, but at some point we ended up losing it and more or less scrambling up the hill until we found it again. It was pretty fun, actually. If I ever come back here, I may have to try some more hiking and general outdoorsy-ness. Totally worth the climb (which took about 35 minutes - and apparently takes the average hiker about 45... Thanks again, Running Room!), as the ruins are pretty nifty and the views are awesome. The ruins are also just outside the town where Marian grew up, so he was able to point out all sorts of features and the like. The weather was glorious - mid-20s and sunny, with a beautiful breeze.

Today was the day of wooden churches, and we made our first stop at Hronsek, which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. The church was built in the 1700s by Protestants under strict (near-impossible) conditions imposed by the Catholic powers of the time. No metal nails allowed, had to be a certain distance outside the village limits, no belfry allowed, and had to be completed within one year of starting. But they did it, and the church still stands.

The weather began to turn as we hit Vlkolínec, another UNESCO site, this time because of the entire village being made of traditional wooden houses. They reminded me of... nothing I've ever seen before. They are essentially log cabins, so I guess to that extent the reminded me of Fort Ed, but the buildings were quite long and relatively narrow, more like the ones from the bog village in Ireland, or maybe the blackhouses on the Isle of Lewis. But of course even the roofs were made of wood, so even there it wasn't quite the same.

Moved on from there to wooden church #2, Svety Kriš. Another Protestant church, but not a UNESCO site, as when they repaired the roof a while back, they deviated from the traditional system of wooden nails and used steel instead. As a result, no longer good enough to be UNESCO. That, and it's not in its original location - it was moved in the 70s when a dam was built that threatened to destroy it.

Lunch was at a restaurant on the way to another potential castle visitation. I had pirohy. My god. They were the best I've ever had. They were topped with the sheep cheese and with 'bacon' (essentially fried fat chunks) and it was... I think it was the way pirohy were meant to be. Heck, I _know_ it's the way pirohy were meant to be.

Our castle visitation was not meant to be - we arrived shortly after 5, only to discover that they closed at 5, but such is life. We also made an attempt at a third wooden church, but the keyholder was in no mood to let us in. This is one of the things about small historical sites in Slovakia. There's no real set opening hours, and you're often subject to the whims of the keyholders, and if they can't be bothered, they can't be bothered, and there's not much you can do about it.

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