Poprad to Košice

In the morning I came down to a hearty breakfast served in the dining room. I spied a commons room that could be used for larger gatherings. It had this lovely old fireplace.

My train wasn't until midday so I packed and left my baggage with the pension to spend a couple of hours closer to the train station. There were a couple of supermarkets there, a Kaufland and a Billa.

I tried to get another telephoto shots of the mountains I couldn't get closer to and this was the best I could manage before the clouds obscured the peaks. I had noticed that there was a separate line running perpendicular to the main train line that went to the mountain resort. Perhaps I should have planned to take that.

On one of the platforms is this memorial to the first deportations of Slovak Jews to the death camps. The war is not forgotten in Europe but this sad history is easier to walk past in Western Europe where modernity distances history more than in Central Europe where many of the buildings were there in that era.

Just over an hour later I was in Košice, the main centre of Eastern Slovakia. The train station facade is modern.

I had heard of  Košice before. A company I worked at years ago had a contract with a team of software engineers there, certainly because of the high standard of work and lower wages. They collaborated with the local engineers by video conferencing. So I was intrigued enough to visit it.

I just found it interesting that Michelle Yeoh, a Malaysian born actress who came to prominence in HK films, then later had a Hollywood career, was lending her name to a road safety (for babies it seems) campaign in Slovakia.

I caught a city bus to the hotel I had booked, which was slightly out of the old city. I could have walked but I was keen to have an afternoon nap. It was a modern hotel obviously aimed at the business traveler market, so a little uniform and soulless but you couldn't fault the neatness and comfort.

Later that afternoon, I took a walk to the city centre. There are these tram tracks running down the middle of the street.

Staropramen beer is actually of Czech origin, and the brewery is near where I stayed in Prague, but since Czechia and Slovakia were once joined, they have a market here.

I don't think the yellow building is special, I just liked the outdoor tables for people to enjoy food and drinks.

The tram tracks are actually double with a gutter in between.

This is the Kostol svätého Antona Paduánskeho, a Catholic church.

This appears to be the Central Pub and Restaurant. I didn't patronise this but the online pictures of old fashioned relaxing decor are appealing. It gives you an idea of the nighttime socialising possibilities. Pity about the winters in this part of Europe.

Next to it is Andrášiho palác, which you will not be surprised to know, was a palace. Descriptions call it Baroque Revival architecture.

Now we come to where the tram lines part around an island. This is a memorial thanking Mary for ending a plague.

On the other side of the street is the Csáky - Dezőfiho palác which is labelled as a classicism architecture. I suppose the columns are part of that.

There's a park in the traffic island containing this Fountain of (zodiac) signs.

An attractive planter.

The Premonštrátsky kostol Najsvätejšej Trojice Catholic church.

The northern facade of the State Theatre.

The main entrance of the theatre. Othello is one of the works being interpreted. The theme of jealousy is universal.

The Beer House is classified as a brew pub, which I guess accounts for the beer brands. Kozel is apparently the best selling Czech beer worldwide.

The SInging Fountain with classical music to accompany the water display, and St. Elizabeth's Cathedral in the background.

The Old Town Hall.

Another view of the Singing Fountain, looking back.

Finally, the cathedral, the largest in Slovakia.

Next to it is the Urban Tower (Urban the saint, not that it's in a city).

And the Urban Bell.

Intricate carvings of the cathedral.

Detail of the cathedral tower.

A side street, the Alžbetina, containing mostly businesses but also apartments if one wishes to stay very close to the centre. Notice how wide it is.

As you can see from the gloomy skies the day was drawing to a close. I seem to remember I had an Italian meal in one of the side streets in the old city and very good it was too, but I didn't take a picture in there. My last picture for the evening is this of the Slavia restaurant, taken walking back to my accommodation.

Crossing the border to Poprad, Slovakia

I wanted to avoid zigzagging around a country so for Slovakia, I decided that I would start in Košice in the east, and work my way back to the capital, Bratislava. As I heard so much about the Tatra Mountains between Czechia and Slovakia, I decided to break my journey in Poprad to get a glimpse.

This leg of the journey I had booked much earlier than the others, some of which I had booked only when in Europe. Regiojet is a major travel company and this train service was very comfortable. The in-seat menu options were good, as you can see from the photo, and very reasonably priced.

These were the mountains I was looking for.

On arrival I first checked into my pension. I had already noted that the train station was not too far from the pension but about 15 minutes walk from town. I got a very comfortable room over a restaurant. I decided that I would dine there instead of in town. I was also fortunate that I had the Slovakian currency, the €, with me as they wanted cash payment on check-in.

I wandered into town before it got too dark and found the local shopping centre. Only a small proportion of people know that Bata, or Baťa with the accent, started in Moravia, in what is now Czechia. It expanded across Europe and throughout the world, but after WWII it was based in Great Britain, which is why many people in ex-British colonies think Bata is British. It was a well-known shoe brand when I was growing up in Malaysia. The company history is a fascinating cross-section of European history.

The shopping mall was like malls anywhere, and the surrounding neighbourhood just normal suburbia. The population of Poprad is about 50,000 so it's like a suburb.

I found an outdoor balcony where I finished my snack and took this telephoto view of the Tatra Mountains. Then I walked back to the pension for dinner and to retire for the evening.