M-whY

I didn't know it until people around me started lighting up, but I had gotten into a smoking carriage. The phrase "What're you smoking?!" has new meaning here - the cigarettes they were puffing gave off the foulest second hand smoke I've ever inhaled. Most of them were only traveling a couple stops, meaning every hour I was sitting with someone different. I noticed one guy kept stealing glances at me; I guess he's never seen asians before? I didn't pay him any attention though, minding my own business and watching Slovakian countryside scroll by.

The country boasts some of the finest landscapes in Europe, and the farther east one goes, the better it gets. Icing made the leafless tree branches appear vaporous. Atmospheric changes shrouded villages in a glowing aura. Sometimes the lakes reflected gray, and sometimes they were blue. Every family seemed to have a garden in their backyard. Past the town of Zilina, foothills of the High Tatras began to appear. Ruins of a castle perched high on a rock caught me off guard. I fumbled for my camera, but by the time I was ready to shoot, it was long gone.

I didn't mean to miss my stop. I've learned an important lesson when riding local trains: Always sit in carriages in the middle or towards the front, so I can catch a glimpse of the station name as we roll by the main hall. When I realized we were already at Spisska Nova Ves, the train had started moving again and it was too late to get off. More amused than anything else, I tried figuring out where I was going.

Again, my angle prevented me from seeing the name of the next station. "Levoca?" I asked a guy, naming a town I knew to be out here somewhere. He looked at me for a moment, then comprehending what I was after, identified this and the following stops for me.

"Something, something, Kosice."

Kosice I could find on a map - it's the second largest city in Slovakia after Bratislava. From there, I could get connections to anywhere I wanted to go. My first impressions of the place weren't very flattering. A drunk staggered around in the main hall, the city looked industrious and dull. The next train to Budapest didn't leave for a few more hours though, so rather than sit on my pack and wait, I went out for a more in depth inspection. And when I found the town square, I was humming a totally different tune.

A high Gothic cathedral dominated the heart of Kosice. Nearby, children were singing Christmas carols... in english! I made a small donation, then headed up the pedestrian avenue crammed with historic monuments. I try to make a point to visit a some place outside the capital city in each country I go to; Kosice warranted more than a three hour layover and I was positive it would be even prettier during the day. The information center hooked me up with accomodation - you know you're not on the backpacker trail when no hostels are to be found - and pointed me in the direction of a sports complex that also offered cheap sleep (375 Slovak crowns (US$1 = 30 Sk)). No, I never intended on coming here, but hey, sometimes you just go wherever the train takes you.

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