09.17 We’ve slept well here in Košice. The city has a population of around 235 000 inhabitants and is Slovakia’s seconds largest city. It was called Cassovia in Latin and while it was under Hungarian rule Kassa. The hungarian times all ended with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. This city awaits us outside of the doors and windows. It just have to wait for us to finish breakfast and get dressed.

We´re staying here!

You can buy hot wine in these huts during the evenings.

11.17 We’ve slowly strolled through Košice. We are on our way to the Dargov Mall at Hlavná 2. We’ve heard that it is possible to buy tickets there for this day’s main event.

12.29 We’ve bought tickets for 180 koruna (around US$7.50) for tonight’s ice hockey game. I managed, as I was about to pay for a souvenir, to hand over a Polish 50 zloty bill. The young lady behind the counter didn’t want it although it is worth much more than 50 koruna. We are about to have some coffee now at the café Nech sa Páci.

Christer is hoping that some coffee will give him energy.

St Elizabeth Cathedral seen from Alžbetina Street.

Christer in front of the St Elizabeth Cathedral (Dóm sv. Alžbety) in Košice.

13.23 We had time to check the internet at an internet café a couple of doors down from the café. We are on our way out in the city again.

14.15 We’ve been looking for places to have a beer. Now we will have lunch at Reštaurácia Pod Baštou on Hrnèiarska 2. We chose to drink half a litre of the beer Zlaty Bažant. We did so because it is great and also because it costs just as much as 0.2 litres of Coca Cola/Fanta.

16.14 We are back in the room after we’ve done some shopping at Tesco. Now we are ready to head for the icehockey game.

Peter on his way out from our lunch restaurant Pod Baštou.

Our tickets

16.56 We are inside the U.S Steel Aréna. It is face-off within 20 minutes in the game between HC Košice and HKM Zvolen. The two iceresurfacers and a Slovakia-made KIA (a car) are circling around the rink as Pink is coming out of the loudspeakers (her music that is).

17.22 It is a perfect start for Košice. 2.23 into the game number 28 scored, Marcel Šimurda 1-0. It isn't sold out but a great feeling among the spectators. The arena is modern and will be used in the 2011 icehockey world championships which will be held here in Slovakia. It is sponsored by U.S Steel a company which runs a steel plant just south of Košice.

17.32 Zvolen has scored an equaliser through number 9, Marek Dubec and also had number 12 sent out for a 2 minutes penalty.

17.53 We are waiting for the second period and the ice have been invaded by some youngsters who are fighting for the puck.

A game of icehockey between HC Košice and HKM Zvolen.

18.23 Number 97. Stanislav Gron has given Košice a 2-1 lead. Almost everyone of the 7818 spectators cheered. It was a power play goal.

18.29 It is now 2-2 through number 17, Peter Barinka once again in power play.

18.35 Number 27, Jan Kopecký skated into the opponents zone, passed a defender and lifted the puck past the goalkeeper and into the net, 3-2 to Košice.

18.55 It is a new intermission and more show. Languorous music is played while a lonely girl is figure skating.

19.01 After the figure skating a penalty shooting between three of the spectators followed. They shot five pucks each from the middle of the rink towards a goal. A gentleman won after some extra shots. I don’t know what he won.

19.18 Zvolen has scored for the third time in the game, this time through number 10, Michal Chovan. There are 12 minutes left of the game.

U.S Steel Arena.

19.27 Number 8 in Zvolen, Juraj Cebák silenced the arena for a while. It is now 3-4. Zvolen is in the lead with 7.15 to go. Zvolen has just played with one extra player and will therefore play with one player less for two minutes as a penalty. The JumboTron is blinking and the loudspeakers are crying out the cheer ”Košice Dotoho!”

20.55 Zvolen won the game. We’ve left the arena and walked around in Košice. On our walk we´ve found the restaurant Kohut where we had dinner on previous visits. Not much action there this time of the year, just a humble pub. We are about to have dinner at Med Malina by the square.

22.12 We walked home in the night. We met a snowplough during our walk. I also managed to slip but remained on my feet.

23.59 We are 24 hours away from a new year. We are currently trying the beverage Kofola. We’ve tried it in earlier years and found out that it was something familiar about it but we weren’t able to find out what it was. Now we seem to taste a hint of soft ginger bread. It might also have a touch of Kinnie which we had on Malta in the beginning of this year.

Jakabov palác looking eerie in the fog.

Wednesday 31st of December

10.00 Music from now and then is coming out of the radio here in the room. It is a gray day this, the final day of the year.

11.42 The music continues. We’ve just listened to ”Listen to your heart” with Roxette. Now we have to get things done. We are 12 hours from the New Year celebrations.

12.51 We are walking around in a winterish Košice. We are freezing although it is just a couple of degrees below zero. I guess it is all the moist in the air that makes it so cold.

We walked along the quiet street Zvonárska. To the right you can see an old synagogue.

The orthodox synagogue in Košice.

13.46 It is time to get something warm in us. We are back at the café Nech sa Páči, We will also try their pastries. We’ve ordered Sacher cake and Strudla.

14.50 The coffee and pastries were delicious and just what we needed. We’ve kept on walking around the square. We just made a stop by the cathedral and the plaque that commemorates the visit of the Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf in the city in 2002. We are now looking around in Tesco. There are great prices on the shirts but not much space in the packing for such deals.

Košice´s coat of arms in front of the cathedral.

We had to remove some snow to find the evidence. The Swedish king has been here!

15.35 The place we had planned to eat at was closed. We have therefore returned to Reštaurácia Pod Baštou. It is once again time to try what the Slovak cuisine has to offer. We’ve tried some before but that was years ago.

16.25 The food was once again wonderful and the beer as cheap as always, around US$1,30 for almost a pint. Why aren’t there places like this in Sweden? No luxury, nothing extravaganza, just proper food, good service and a great place overall.

Peter has a christmas tree in his nose.

Christer´s lunch. This dish is from the Gemer region in southern Slovakia.

17.48 Not much is taking place today. The latest news is that we’ve returned to our room. We will remain here for a couple of hours before we head out for dinner and celebration of the New Year. They’ve built a large scene on the square for tonight’s events. They are preparing to say goodbye to the old year and the currency koruna.

21.13 The hours have just flown away. We’ve watched a slovak comedy. It was about how two couples celebrated the New Year. We’ve also listened to our radio. Songs by ABBA has been played both on radio and TV. We are right now listening to ”I have a dream” with the very same group. Within an hour we will be walking towards the centre.

Snow falling over the greek-catholic cathedral in Košice.

22.21 We are strolling around the square. It is kind of chilly. It has begun to snow heavily. On the way here we watched some policemen who took their dogs for a walk. The dogs had muzzles. People have already started to shoot off rockets and firecrackers. It crackles and sparkles.

23.29 Music from the scene and firecrackers from the square is heard and lightning up the New Year´s night. We’ve gone inside for a while. We are in the area outside “our” café Nech sa Paci. Here we will relax and get some warmth before we head out again. A live band is playing and people are dancing inside the café. The square is being patrolled by several policemen. It is 30 minutes left of this travel year. A new one will follow it.

A very cold Peter is welcoming the new year.

You can buy "medovina" here.

Thursday 1st of January

00.00 A stastlivy Novy Rok! A happy New Year! This is live from the main square in Košice. We’ve toasted the New Year in varené vino, warm wine and medovina, something warm that is similar to Glühwein. A new travel year is here and I think it is time to begin to head home for some sleep.

10.29 We are dangerously close to become decadent. We are way too lazy. We had plans to take a trip to Hungary today. These plans are set aside and postponed. We’ve realised that many places might be closed on this first day of the year. The new question is what will we be doing on our last day in Košice? Is anything open? In case that they are open, what do they have to offer?

12.25 We are still in severe danger of getting decadent. But I guess that one need such days from time to time. We are heading out though. We need to buy tickets for tomorrow´s train trip.

A new year, a new currency!

13.07 We’ve made withdrawals at an ATM by the technical university. The country has changed to a new currency so we´d better do the same. The koruna, the currency that was introduced sixteen years ago is no more. From now on it is euro that will be used to pay with. The ATM gave us the very same kind of money.

13.56 We are at one of the few open places in the city, the railway station. Here we bought tickets for tomorrow´s train trip. The lady at the counter had some problems with the new currency, euro.

The real winter has arrived to Košice. The snow is here.

Ala Adin helped us escape our hunger this New Year´s Day.

14.48 We’ve sat down in a cellar vault. It is time for pizza at Ala Adin. It is once again a return for us (23/7 2004). We sat on the square then and now we are in their cellar. The main reason isn't that we want to be nostalgic. This is one of few open places in the city on this New Year´s day. Even the grocery stores are closed.

16.35 We’ve found another open place. But we had to unlock it to get inside. We are back home again in our room. We are watching some skiing on Eurosport. It is the sprint from Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic.

18.14 We are indeed lazy today. I wonder why. We haven’t walked any great distances. Is it the pizzas that need to be digested? We are watching the rerun from the ski jumping in Garmisch Partenkirchen on TV.

Peter is having a conversation.

Dinner at Keltská Krčma.

20.34 We are at the restaurant Keltská Krčma at Hlavná 80. Here we will be having dinner. The name of the place can be translated to the Celtic Tavern. Here there are large stone vaults, furniture in dark wood, probably oak. The light is damp and music, among others Enya, can be heard from the loudspeakers.

22.24 We’ve paid for the food. Just imagine yesterday we paid with koruna and now we pay with euro. How much money must be printed and coined as a country with a population of 5,5 million changes its currency? The food was excellent and the place is recommended. We’ve returned home and have started to pack our bags. We want to have most things packed when we wake up tomorrow.

Friday 2nd of January

07.13 Radio Express is playing music, Christer is having a shower and I just finished my breakfast. In two hours time we will be on the train heading west towards Zvolen.

08.40 We are back at the station. I bought something to eat on the trip and a new journal at the supermarket Bala on the way here. My shopping took some time and we had to rush to the station. Now Christer is making a quick stop at Lidl here at the station to buy something to eat as well.

10.20 We’ve passed a yellow and blue building owned by the Swedish papermill company SCA. We’ve also passed the town Gemer which has given name to a beer and other things.

Somewhere but also nowhere in southern Slovakia.

What was that? A cup of coffee flying outside of the train window?

10.59 Our train is leaving Jesenské. I can see hills outside. There is a young couple in our compartment. She seems to be studying/reading. He is reading a short version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

12.00 We are getting closer to Kriváň. In the hills and mountains by the tracks there are trees covered in frost. It looks like they are covered in sugar. Sweet!

Christer on the platform in Zvolen.

12.27 We are at the railway station in Zvolen. Here we will be waiting for a while before we travel on to our final destination Banská Bystrica. We saw some deer on a field just before we got here.

13.33 We’ve chosen to go with a later, slower train from Zvolen. We were offered to buy a digital camera on the station. The passing salesman seemed a little peculiar. Now our train is rolling towards Banska Bystricá. On our last stop there we almost had to jump off a running train. It just made short stop. 21 kilometres journey cost us 24,10 koruna, 80 cent or US$1.10. Cheap!

Christer is thinking back to 2002, the year we travelled here before.

We have a nice view from our Stavoprojekt room.

14.44 We’ve checked in at a new place. This time it is Ubytovňa Stavoprojekt. We are in room 12 at the 6th floor. Well new and new. We’ve actually stayed here before. We were here on the 1st and 2nd of August 2002. We got now as then a great place for a great price.

15.36 I am sitting looking at the Rialto Bridge. It is painted on the wall at Pizzeria Evijo. We are about to have a late lunch. We’ve seen some of the city on our walk towards the city centre. The houses on the main square seem to have been freshened up. We’ve also seen a climbing Santa Claus. We saw some before in Spain and Andorra 2006 and on Malta last year.

Námestie SNP, the main square in Banská Bystrica.

The tourist information in Banská Bystrica.

17.56 We finished the food and paid for it. After that a hunt for the supermarket Billa started. All we found was an empty building. We started to walk home and shopped at the smaller store Bala just next to our home. Now we’ve bought breakfast, evening beverage and a little to bring home to the liquor cabinet. We bought two liquers Czech Becherovka and Slovak Demänovka.

19.34 Nothing has been done and yet we are so lazy. We know that we must find a place to surf the internet for information and to find another place to have dinner.

20.37 We are checking up things on the net; mail, news and smooth trains to Wrocław, this trip´s final sleeping place.

The restaurant Zlaty Bažant can be found in this beautiful green house.

21.17 We’ve left the internet a little wiser. We are now seated at the restaurant Zlaty Bažant awaiting our dinner. In the window a Santa Claus is climbing up and down a ladder. No, he isn't alive. It is a tricky device that brings people to the restaurant and spices up the Christmas spirit.

22.30 We are home again and have begun to think about how we should get to Wrocław. We are wondering which train and track we shall choose. Well, that isn't until Sunday!

A winter night in Banská Bystrica.