Kosice

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I got to Kosice by train which is the best and possibly only option to get there directly. It was about 1 euro extra for the fast IC train but it cut about and hour or more off the journey time. It's kind of annoying that all these countries take ISIC but only if you are a student in that country. So far, ISIC has not worked for me in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. I keep trying to use it and sometimes they take pity on me and give me an under 26 rate instead but it really is quite useless in Central and Eastern Europe despite the fact that ISIC is supposed to be accepted!

Anyway, Kosice is a nice town with a very small old town center. The church is pretty cool and I went up the Northern tower with my host for some amazing views of the city. I mainly spent my time hanging out in the teahouse my host works in. It's probably the first place I've seen in a long time where there is no smoking at all. It's called Amana (on Alzbetina 55) and I definitely recommend it for a cup of tea 😊

I have to admit that I had big plans for Slovakia but I was quite disappointed as many things weren't open or were restricted to groups of at least 4 people. It is understandable since the Tourism isn't as developed as in Vienna, Prague or Budapest but it did mean a lot of extra time on my hands and a lot of rearranging my plans. I really did want to see the caves...

However, from late spring onwards, everything opens and there are loads of festivals.....at least that what the brochures from the tourist info said. Maybe next time 😊

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