From Hungary to Slovakia

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

It was a short jaunt from Eger in northern Hungary into Slovakia this morning.  Our first stop was, of course, along the highway to purchase a vignette to satisfy the tolls on Slovakian roads.

Soon after, we arrived in Kosice to spend a little time exploring the area around its central square.  The square is actually a large and beautifully landscaped oval.  The dominant feature is the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, Europe’s easternmost Gothic cathedral, which is sited within the oval.  While the exterior is dark and somewhat sober looking, vibrant stained glass windows make the soaring interior a luminous space.

Also within the confines of the large “square” are the smaller St. Michael Chapel, underground archeological excavations, the State Theater, several large fountains, and the Plague Column, erected  in gratitude to the Blessed Mother in 1723 for survival after wars and the plague.  Bordering this central space are other churches, shops, galleries, and restaurants – all housed in historic buildings.

Our next stop was in Bardejov, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The wall of this medieval city still stand and its central square is large, bordered with individually decorated pastel buildings, originally homes of the merchant class.  The center of the square is a huge cobble-stoned space, largely empty, except for the Basilica of St. Egidius and the Old City Hall.

Bardejov is surrounded by a number of historic wooden churches, set in tiny hamlets among rolling hills in beautiful green countryside.  Nine of the churches, built between the 16^th and 18^th centuries, have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list.  They were built without nails and represent a mix of Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant religious traditions.  Following quiet roads through a series of small villages we made our way to two of the churches, at Fricka and Krive, to have a look around.  (They’re closed most of the time, so we were not able to see either interior.)

Our home for three nights is in a modern apartment in Poprad, a city at the foot of the High Tatras Mountains.  From here, we expect to explore a bit of the mountains, a national park a castle and an historic town or two.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings!