Autumn has most definitely arrived, and how beautiful it is! This morning we drove into Slovakia towards stunning mountain ranges and had a lovely long walk in the Upper Tatras at Tatranska Lomnicka.
As I was happily kicking my way through the leaves, I realised this is Ernests first Autumn. No wonder he is snuffling about in the leaves so much, he is likely wondering what they are all doing on the ground? Mark thinks I may be anthropomorphising him just a bit, plus his lack of brain cells makes it more likely he hasn’t noticed 😜
As part of my self bettering I’m listening to a classic business book on Audible – 7 habits of successful people and would highly recommend it. It makes so much sense to live by principles and your own values rather than the current culture that seems fueled by get rich schemes, selfish pursuits, shallowness, false expertise, and greed. It’s going to take a while but I’m working on my mission statement, so that I’m less work centred and align my life choices to what is really important to me.
Walk completed, I was back on google finding the best coffee shop and took Mark to Cafe Mozart, which I hadn’t realised was in a 4* hotel. I’m sure they really appreciated two slightly muddy, sweaty folk plonked in their fancy chanderlier adorned room of suede chairs and newspapers on sticks (think the purpose is either to stop you walking off with it or to limit ink on your fingers 🤔).
We then drove on to a little town called Kezmarok. After a brief stock up of groceries from lidl we pottered down the cobbled high street of colourful buildings and visited their castle and two churches. One is a bright imposing creation and right next to it a humble white church. Within those humble walls is the most breathtaking painted wooden articular church. It is UNESCO listed as a rare example of Slovakian baroque, built by the local lutharians inside an ancient pub (the royal commission chose the site to humiliate the protestant community). They were only allowed to use wood, so even the nails are made of wood. I managed to sneak a few discreet photos but it’s got to be seen to be truly appreciated.
Slovakia seems a treasure trove of history and just 40 minutes away are the hilltop ruins of Spiš Castle which dates back to the 12th century. To get the best view we visited Spišské Podhadrie which is the town below the castle. As a little step back in time we even saw the stereotypical horse and cart.
On the edge of the town is a beautifully set church and Siva Brada Geyser. We were lucky to arrive at dusk and the light was very atmospheric.
This evening we are parked in the UNESCO village of Levoča, which is a walled city. I’ve read it is very beautiful with painted houses of multiple colours as seems popular in Slovakia. It was already dark when we walked around the central square, but the classic architecture was made extra special by choral singing coming from an upstairs room. I’m looking forward to a proper look around in the morning.
SofaWolves 