Things to do in the Humene open air park

Slovakians often think of their country as the center of Europe. It’s a historical claim but most travelers miss Slovakia completely and, center of Europe or not, they’re missing out. There are so many things to do in Slovakia!

I was there for a week driving through the countryside with a local. Yuri was helping my family find long-lost relatives. DNA travel some call it, and it was a wonderful lens to see the country through. Being hosted by a native, who knew the countryside well, led to all kinds of unique experiences. Here’s some of the best:

Riding the bus into Kosice Slovakia

Bus travel is comfortable and efficient

There are (1) tourist buses (Euro Bus and Flix Bus, to name two) which make getting in and out of Slovakia easy. I traveled via Flixbus from Budapest to Kosice and out again to Zagreb, Croatia. Each was a fairly long ride but the seats were plush and had foot-rests. I had either a full row of seats to myself or the interesting company of international travelers. Each bus had a strong WiFi signal but no power plugs. Although the bus had no bathroom, there was a snack and bathroom break during the ride. Crossing the border into Croatia was a mere formality as well but delays are determined by politics. Ask your driver what to expect – you definitely will need a passport or inter-border card.

St. Elisabeths Cathedral in Kosice Slovakia

St. Elisabeth’s Cathedral in Kosice, Slovakia

KOSICE is full of things to do

This medieval city is a traveler’s delight. Whether you travel in high style (modern, historic or chain hotels and sleekly designed restaurants, well-curated museums and art galleries) or you’re backpacking, (hostels, inexpensive cafes, and bars) you’ll find lots of things to do. My next post will detail bars and restaurants in the area.

Farmer’s Market

We arrived by bus about 10 pm and took a pleasant ten-minute walk into the center of town. After passing the (2) Gothic Cathedral, we found our small hotel easily (Villa Regia.) The next morning outside the hotel entrance, long rows of tables were set up for a (3) farmer’s market and I do mean farmer’s. For several hundred years this marketplace has been feeding the city. On Sundays, we found it turns into an (3b) antique and artisan’s market.

Weekday market in Kosice is one of the things to do

Singing Fountain

There’s a central, (4) ‘singing’ fountain that’s lit beautifully in the evenings and music fills the air. Families and couples stroll the main street. (5) Cafes open on the lengthy pedestrian plaza. Many (6) museums are set along that avenue and easy to get to. (7) During the day, a tourist ‘train’ runs the length of the main street shuttling visitors from one end to the other.

The singing fountain in Kosice, Slovakia

Gothic Cathedral

The towering, Gothic cathedral, St. Elizabeth Minster, is the most eastern in Europe and for a few Euro you can climb the north tower to admire the view. Church bells ring out daily and on Sundays, services are packed with locals.

Plan on spending your evenings strolling the historical core. Pull up a seat at one of the sidewalk cafe/bars for great people watching and don’t miss the historical bars or the odd (8) coffee houses like the stylish, Smelly Cat, or Tabacka Kulturfabrik, which is a coffeeshop/hangout/performance space in an old industrial building.

The old bar, Hostinec in Kosice

Claiming to be from 1542, the bar Hostinec serves some mighty brews.

HUMENNE

One of the largest towns outside of Kosice, (9) Humenne, is set among rolling hills near the volcanic Vihorlat mountains. Two rivers, the Laborec and Cirocha, meet there which makes it a wonderful city for strolling and parks. There are several hotels in the city but we elected to make it a day trip.

The grinning monk at a roadside restaurant

The grinning monk at Dvor pod Vinicnou skalou, a roadside restaurant

One day on the road to Humenne, we stopped in Brekov at the (10) Roadhouse, Dvor pod Vinicnou skalou (which roughly translates to Justice Under Rock.) It’s a very interesting road stop and one of the only places where you can order cabbage rolls. The restaurant and grounds are dotted with unique, carved sculptures by the celebrated Polish artist, Marian Pazucha.

In Humenne proper, the central pedestrian plaza is very wide and dotted with sculptures from Communist days. Our lunch prepared us for an afternoon investigating the (11) open-air, architectural museum.

A moment inside a small wooden house inside the Humenne open air museum

If only I could show you the gleaming icons inside the wooden Greek Catholic church, but no pictures were allowed. You can get an idea of how stunning they are by visiting the manor house. If you get to Humenne, negotiate to have the park church opened to see for yourself. It was built in 1745 on the borders between Slovakia and Ukraine in the village of Nová Sedlica. During WWII the church was badly damaged. With a restoration, it was moved to the open air museum in 1977.

humenne manor house

Vihorlatske Museum

We caught glimpses of several ancient castles in the hills on the way to Humenne. Once these bastions of security kept the villagers safe from marauders, Goths and other invading hordes. After gunpowder was available, the great families moved into town and the remote castle culture came to a close.

Luckily the Humenne (12) manor house has survived and visitors are welcome to walk through the grounds and hallways. It’s full of antiques, collections, natural history exhibits and religious art.

A friendly, furry local in Kosice

Visiting with a friendly, furry local in Kosice

With so many things to do in the countryside, a visit to the capital of Bratislava will have to wait. I wish there had been time to see the capital city where Viennese and Hungarian culture mingle but it will have to be another time.

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