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, mournful cries.

I am torn between concern and annoyance.

It lasts about fifteen minutes.

We are up early in search of breakfast.

Before food, we must navigate the car through the tightest driveway imaginable. At one point I am wedged in diagonally and the walls are so tight the car won’t let me choose reverse.

Drive it is. Close your eyes, hit the gas and it feels like a rebirth.

Thankfully the marks rub out. High tension, particularly for Shell.

“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
Charles Bukowski

As we stroll, I am still impressed by the spring flowers. there are tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and jonquils of every colour imaginable.

I found a well-rated place named BENZE and it turned out to be pretty average.

After we eat, Shell finds another coffee place, Frištic, and I will leave the breakfast selection to her from now on.

“His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose the poverty of his general ideas; he never permits the conversation to move toward philosophical principles.”
Thornton Wilder

After breakfast, we walk to Botanická záhrada UPJŠ.

We stroll the gardens and Shell makes comparisons to ELTE Füvészkert in Budapest.

Not all botanical gardens are created equal.

It is unfair to compare a garden in the capital of Hungary to a garden in a large regional city in Slovakia.

Shell will not be convinced.

“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. ”
Michael Pollan

We are returning to Doma u nás in Poprad for our last two nights.

A highlight of the trip and a place we regretted leaving.

For two nights, a Michelin restaurant, and one of the most well-priced luxury rooms we have ever been in.

A detour on the way. Another castle.

Šaris castle, just outside of Veľký Šariš.

When we arrive, there is a steep 2 km walk to the castle. We have already walked 10 km and the day is warm.

“Fuck that”.
Rachelle Griffin

We arrive at Doma u nás and settle in.

I start talking to a man in the restaurant while getting some glasses for the Domaine de la Métairie d’Alon. He happens to be the owner.

He shows me to the cigar room and suggests after dinner we come here to relax.

I agree.

We finish our wine while we wait for dinner.

2020 Domaine de la Métairie d’Alon LE PALAJO Chardonnay (Limoux, France)

I will take the verification notes from the website. A lot is going on.

The entire bunches of grapes were pressed immediately in the small pneumatic press according to the Champagne technique (discarding the first and final pressings, keeping only the best juice obtained under low pressure-pressing for the Le Palajo cuvée). The juice was cold settled for 24 hours before being transferred to barrels without the addition of sulphur (one to three-year-old barrels of which one third were 500-L barrels known as demi-muids, which results in better integrated wood). The wine was fermented in barrels then aged on the lees for 8 months. The wines in the barrels were tasted regularly one by one with a great deal of attention and for each one it was decided if malolactic fermentation should be done or not (this was the case for 20% of the cuvée) and if one or two stirrings was needed.
https://www.abbottsetdelaunay.com/en/wines/38/limoux-le-palajo

That is a lot to take in.

This is an exceptional wine. It is elegant, and the oak dominates the nose, without overpowering the fruit. Cream and butter are supported by orange peel and apricots. there is great acid on the palate to hold all that fruit and cream in check. Delicious.