Dedinky Kosice

Tak to bol teda zjazd. Po zltej ... mne pistali gumy ako na starych ocelovych bicykloch a Valerovi smrdeli kotucove :) A prestavali brzdit :)

Odtialto pokracujeme v podstate rovinkou, Hnileckou cyklomagistralov do Nalepkova. Na telefone nam vyborne pomaha Ripo s vyhladavanim ubytovannia. Este raz, DAKUJEME!

13:15 Mala zastavka v tejto dedine, kde zistujeme, ze sa tu nachadza novy cykloobchod. Dobre vediet ... A capujeme si aj novu vodu z miestneho pramena, ktory je nedaleko starej banskej klopacky, inak krasne zrekonstruovanej. Volam oat s Ripom, ktory je opat v Mexiku :) Stretavame sa tu ...

Although Kosice has only about 250,000 people it is the Slovak Republic's second largest city (behind Bratislava).  It is not usually on many traveling itineraries, but we kind of like it that way.  It has a beautiful old town yet doesn't have that let's-cater-solely-to-the-hordes-of-tou rists-that-visit-here-so-they-will-spen d-all-of-their-money façade put on that we saw in many of the places we have visited.  It felt very real.  One of the first things we noticed was the ...

... We got there on a Thursday late and by Saturday morning the place was deserted...OK it was 33 c in the shade but where has everyone gone...no seaside resort or mountain retreats near here...A local wedding was the only noise we heard for a couple of days...even the Eastern European trams were silent...pretty eerie if you ask me....We did of course find a restaurant and a cocktail bar to while away the hours...EEFN

... bolo aj v Presove. S tym rozdielom, ze sme vpalili rovno na pesiu zonu asi 20 metrov od policajtov, ktori nastastie pozerali opacnym smerom. Tak sme to rychlo otocili a pobrali sa kade lahsie. Zaparkovali sme obdalec a vrhli sa do viru centra Presova.

... a vsetkým, čo k tomu patrí ČISTEJSÍMI ako v Rakúsku či Nemecku. Muskáty v oknách, pozametaná ulica, vsetko chorobne čisté. Asi som sa nejako niekde preniesol. A pracovali ! 11:58, 33.76km, Edelény Vidím, ze moja ...

... in their class.In this area, the pics tended to be black and white with gals all dolled up and usually hair to one side with profile or side and upwards gaze. guys of course much more relaxed. As we discovered, the boards are displayed in local show windows and there is apparently a competition to see which class has the best board. They were also asking for "donations" for their graduation party ...

... all that, I had a blast Saturday night. After a rather heavy and questionable meal of Slovak-style pork with dumplings (which are more like sliced bread than what I call dumplings, and I was teased by the waitress when she found me tearing them with my hands rather than cutting them with a knife), I wandered around a couple bars trying what I took to calling "the Veetchas." That is an attempt to phonetically spell the suffix of all the various liquors distilled ...

... there weren't enough seats for us and our baggage. Have I already mentioned my belief that Eastern European children don't go to school? I think they just wander around in supervised groups all day. Everywhere we go in Poland and Slovakia, there are these massive groups of pushy school kids. Or maybe June is just field trip month. I suppose that is a more likely scenario. We eventually made it to Poprad and hopped on a bus to Levoca. Upon arrival in Levoca ...

... live in the flats, they're like rabbit warrens, so small," he complained. He agreed with me that Levoca was beautiful, but he wanted to get out. "There is nothing here for young people, no work, nothing to do. And it is expensive. I want to work in Vienna or Berlin, everyone does." Elaborate Baroque altar pieces and ribbed ceilings do not help young Slovaks in their struggling economy. He asked me if I thought Slovakia was expensive and I had to tell him the cost ...