NOT EVEN THE COLD RAIN DETERRED CONNIE. It’s May, the village of Vlkolinec beckons and, by god, she is going to wear shorts and Tevas. This once, at least, bull-headedness trumps common sense.
It's May, after all!
Vikolinec is just a few kilometers from — and 2000 feet above — Ruzomberok, where we spent the night. It grew from four peasant buildings in the mid-15th Century to forty-five in 1885, many of which still stand today. They are wooden homes, as befit peasants who worked the land. But no bare logs, these. Many of the houses have been plastered and all are painted in paint-box pastels that brightened the dreary day.
Pastels A peek inside
The wooden church at Kezmarok wasn’t at all what we expected. I think we even drove past it without noticing, semi-engrossed in the well preserved town. Our eyes were peeled for wood, not white stucco. The wooden roof is the only indication that this church was, indeed, our quarry.
It's really wooden, honest
While Slovakia has a lot of beautiful countryside, there isn’t really any great draw for western tourists. Once here, however, you can find enough to keep you busy, especially if you seek out the World Heritage sites. Wooden churches, walled cities, hilltop castles and carved altar pieces abound if you make the effort to find them.
Ladomirova Wooden Church Bodruzal Wooden Church
Spissky Hrad — better from a distance
The Rick Steve’s guidebook recommends visiting the medieval town of Levoca and the famous carved altarpiece in St. Jacob’s church. Unfortunately the altarpiece is out for restoration and, frankly, there isn’t much else to see in town. But Levoca made a good base for exploring the wooden churches all the way to the east towards the Polish and Ukrainian borders. And for our money, the medieval city of Bardejov was much more interesting than Levoca.
Bardejov
