Our journey towards the High Tatras took us via two UNESCO World Heritage listed sites. The first was the ruins of the 12th century Spiš Castle. The Mongols plundered the area in the 13th century and the then Hungarian King began fortications of many towns and castles. Over time, with the passing of threats, owners of castles prefered to live in more "convenient" locations and thus many were left in ruin including Spiš Castle. The last owners left in the 18th century. The ruins were closed in winter it is usually covered in snow and slippery! Our guide informed us that last year they had to walk in half a metre of snow to get to the top of the hill where we took our photos! No snow for us...the children sought pleasure in traipsing up and down the muddy hill instead.
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| Spiš Castle |
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| The sun is out, you can see the beautiful background but there is no snow! |
Next stop was the fortified medieval city of Levoca. With a well preserved old town, it was like stepping back in time. Incredibly 1.9km of the original 2.5km defensive walls have survived, as has the two original city gates. The town hall from the 15th century is now a museum and houses various artifacts from the town's medieval history. One of the best-known medieval woodcarvers, Master Pavol, also settled in Levoca. His former home is now a museum, and highlights his life and works. Unfortunately there was confession on at the 14th century gothic St James hence no photos were allowed inside. It was famous for having the highest wooden altar in the world, carved by none other than Master Pavol of Levoca himself. Lunch was at a renaissance building where we discovered pirohy! They are are essentially dumplings filled with Slovak sheep cheese and topped with fried bacon and sour cream. Yum!
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| Beautiful facades |
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| The Town Hall |
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| Coat of arms of levoca |
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| The room and table where decisions were made |
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| A dog skin book over 700 years old |
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| How ballots were cast |
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| Original timber beams with chandelier a gift from Maria Theresa |
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| An old registry of birth |
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| Old calendar system |
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| Original door handles |
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| House of Master Pavol |
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| These are replicas but depict his amazing artistry accurately |
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| His males always have an open mouth |
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| Details of facial expression carved in wood is incredible. |
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| The Last Supper - original is in St James, the cathedral next door. Can you spot Master Pavol? He has carved his own face as one of the disciples |
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| Love how understated the Christmas decorations are here. Simple but charming |
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| Bryndzove pirohy! Slovak sheep cheese filled dumplings topped with bacon and sour cream. Probably not the healthiest 😂 |
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| Our lunch venue. The hotel Uleva has foundations dating back to the 14th century |
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| St James Cathedral. |
Back aboard the bus we looked outward to the peaks which were snowcapped but not exactly snow covered. Darkish clouds were gathering over the horizon and the forecast had changed from 7 degrees to slightly subzero, but we all felt a bit nervous about the next few days as we arrived at Stary Smokovec. The town was pretty with a nice balance of rustic and modern. It was big enough to boast enough cafes, restaurants and bars but not too big to be rowdy. Disappointingly, the ground was clear and there wasn't a trace of white on the rooftops. Golf anyone? The forcast is for snow...Fingers crossed for the next few days.
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| Our home for the next 4 nights. No snow :( |
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| A piano! |
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| Our very pink apartment! |
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| Dinner was a quick and cheap affair at a cafeteria type place |
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