Hotel Alessandria 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!

... nim a patrice nam pokrsti vylet - pluvancami na bicykle :) Este nam poradi vybornu skratku, ako aspon trosku usetrit z Kojsovskeho kopca.

14:00 Zaciname stupanie na Eriku - treba prist pod stanicu sedacky, dalej zelenou dole az na meisto, kde tato zelena znacka krizuje asflatku.

... of its inhabitants.  Not racially, but more in the way of visible 'lifestyle' differences.  We immediately saw people of all walks of life.  From the overloaded shoppers filling the trunks of their Bentleys to the visibly intoxicated nappers on the park benches.  It was fascinating to see the whole spectrum represented somewhat evenly within a few blocks.   We were lucky enough to stay in the centre of the old town so we quickly dumped our things and headed out to ...

... on the way here (similar peak and 1/2 Skirrid point) and the folklore of the country seems to wrap up humans with their surroundings a little more - lots of emotion towards nature and an understanding of its limits - I especially like their use of music to embellish emotions linked to the elements - water seems happier here for instance. OK enough already as you can see I'm clearly affected!!

... for example. It brings the communist era and the resistance movement to life with it's vivid exhibits and videos. Each day we catch up a little more and drink coffee and eat dumplings and cabbage and sausages and other Czech specialties. We plan our trip to Slovakia...apparently Presov is about 10 hours by rail so we decide to do a sleeper train. I'm a little nervous...I've never actually used a sleeper car and I can't imagine feeling safe ...

... vedie cez kras, nevadí, aspoň budú pekné kopce. Tie su v krase nie moc ťazké, aj keď s popiskovaním sa ísť nedá ;) 12:29, 43.76km, Szendrolád Opúsťam Szendrolád, prvé krásne kopce sú za mnou, paráda. Na ...

... Museums were free entry that day so we went to the Regional Museum and the Technology Museum (which we had trouble finding even tho it was on the main drag). Thereafter sat in a cafe, purportedly the best in town, and enjoyed superb Slovak baking. So tired that night as we didn't sleep too well on the train so just had pizza in the room watching the men's singles at the Hamburg Open on TV!!!!

... are universal in all countries. Finally, they like rock, punk and heavy metal in eastern Europe. I can't understand the words of the local tunes, but at least the soundtrack in bars, pubs and clubs is tolerable, instead of the incessant monotony of techno. Put another way, if I am going to chat-up for hours and make-out with a girl, but get nothing in the end, better it be to "the Slovak Rolling Stones" and Rob Zombie a Dutch synthesizer. I may have to check ...

... was pouring rain and there were no taxis to be found. So we trudged to the hotel and checked in and dried off. Levoca was a pretty boring town. In fact it seemed like a ghost town, there was nobody around, not even in the main square. I suppose the bad weather kept people inside. We stayed there for two nights. It was incredibly cheap, but also pretty dull. The main attraction, the inside of the cathedral, was closed for repairs. The second biggest ...

... the three course meal at Arkada would hardly buy a McDonald's burger in London. Shapron suggested I take a walk out of the town to the Church of Marianska hora, on a hill overlooking the town. It is the site of a popular Slovakian pilgrimage. A winding path lead up to the church, which had the most amazing acoustics. Shutting the door sent a clap of thunder echoing off the roof and stone floor. Even here mass attracts the locals so I left out of respect, enjoying ...