The guidebooks downplay Spissky Hrad, but the guidebooks are wrong. Levoca is in the midst of the Spiss region of Slovakia, and Hrad is Slovakian for castle, so in case the pictures didn't give it away, Spissky Hrad is a giant, ruined castle on a bluff. You can see it for miles, and see for miles from it. The land around the country is mostly farms, with a few small villages. We had beautiful, sunny weather and spent several happy hours climbing around the ruins.
After leaving the castle we drove to Zehra (a village at the foot of the bluff) and saw a small church that was in the process of having its fescos restored. We could only stick our heads in, but it looks like it will be beautiful when it's complete. Driving out of town we drove through progressively more dilapidated housing, proving that the line in our guidebook about some of the Roma in Slovakia living in medieval squalor was not an exxageration. It put a bit of a damper on what was otherwise a very good day. I'm not really sure how some of the strucures managed to stay upright.
We stopped in a few other villages near the castle, and then went up to Marianska Hora--the church we could see from our hotel room window. There's a pilgrimage here every summer and a huge outdoor mass. The church itself is fairly austere, with a huge outdoor altar used during the pilgrimages. You don't need much decoration when you're surrounded by those views. That night we "splurged" on dinner at The 3 Apostles. If you ever find yourself in Levoca, eat dinner there and get the grilled trout. We each had soup, entree, drinks, and dessert and the total (with tip) was $20. More thumbnails ...
Where I stayed:
Hotel Barbakan
| 
