Another Day, Another Country (Slovakia)

Trip Start Aug 25, 2006
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Trip End Sep 10, 2006


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Where I stayed
Hotel Barbakan
(Levoca hotels)

Flag of Slovakia  , Presov,
Tuesday, September 5, 2006

The drive to Levoca went much more smoothly. The border crossing was a little challenging as we had no common language, but I guess we look harmless. The border guard did manage to mock John's passport photo--it's good to know some things can cross any language barrier. We even managed to successfully purchase our motorway permit--which turned out to be a good thing since a few miles later we found the highay blocked by a man with a machine gun. He saw the sticker and waved us through, but it did make for a tense moment.

Levoca is a small city with a still extant city wall. Our hotel was clean and we had a room on the top floor with slanted ceilings, painted a sunny yellow and full of character. It was also absurdly cheap--and included daily breakfast and a dinner allowance.

The city has several churches, including one with an eleaborately carved gothic wood altar. One church had an iron cage where wayward women used to be disciplined.

There were very few english-speaking tourists, but several tour buses full of German tourists arrived while we were there. Most of the hotel and restaurant staff spoke German, so we were able to communicate with them that way. The tv seemed to pick up several German stations as well. The little tv we did watch was mostly tennis--the US Open was on.
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