“He liked to get off by himself, a mile or so from camp, and listen to the country, not the men.” Larry McMurtry A strange night’s sleep. Maybe I have forgotten how to sleep sober. Breakfast at Beňovský Bistro & Market and then for a much needed barber appointment. Not a bad trim but a…
Category: Slovakia
Auschwitz-Birkenau
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” Viktor E. Frankl Wednesday Today we leave Šumperk. Breakfast and I am a little tired. My skin is blotchy from drinking and a bad diet. My body has started…
Kraków – Poland
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.” Sylvia Plath I awake to the sound of birdsong and the fast running brook under our window. There are no sounds outside of nature. My only complaint is that the sun rises…
Zázrivá – Slovakia
“Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape. ” William S. Burroughs You need to be prepared to change your plans. Our initial plan was to explore Romania, but more heat is heading our way. With highs of 37…
Slovakia – The Tartra Mountains
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” John Muir A great night’s sleep. Up early for another…
Slovakia – Poprad the Sequel
“Dead voices, lost sounds, forgotten noises, vibrations lockstepping into the abyss and now too distant ever to be recaptured!…What sort of arrows would be able to transfix such birds?” Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam Despite the noise, I fell asleep and slept well. I am woken at 4.00 am by a man howling in pain. Long,…
Slovakia – Kosiče
At me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying, He is sleeping, he knows nothing.Let him sleep on.” Samuel Beckett Not the best night’s sleep. Music and general revelry. It is the price you pay in the heart of the city. We head out for an early morning walk. The markets are…
Bytča and More Castles
“Wherever there is cold there are people who work themselves to the bone and when they produce young they preach the gospel of work – which is nothing, at bottom, but the doctrine of inertia.” Henry Miller We wake to grey skies and cold weather. Breakfast is by the restaurant, which turns out to have…
Slovakia – Where The Castles Live
“The shattered wall,the broken towerhave a story to tell –from the touchstones of ruinsand ancient textswe make a pilgrimage.” Michael Alexander We wake up to blue skies and a crisp morning of 5C. Shell suggests a walk. There are sandstone caves and digs nearby. I realise this random, tiny little village in the middle of…