At 4:40 in the morning, Buddy and I got on a train going south. When the train reached Hnúšťa, the group got on, as well as our coworker, who told us that they wouldn’t be going and showed us who the group leader was. If Buddy weren't there, I would’ve got right off the train and gone home then. But he was, and he speaks much better Slovak than I do (and is, by his own reckoning, 80% muscle and 20% awesome), so we went on. We and the group disembarked at Hajnáčka, about two hours south of Tisovec.
Then we walked a lot. There's not much interesting to say about it; we walked for about five hours, over hill and dale, and saw some wild boar tracks and a pheasant and a hare. Some of it was tiring for me; but I am like a stout little bulldog, I will make funny noises and breathe hard, but will get there eventually. The trees were covered in new green leaves and were very beautiful. On the way we saw an old quarry where basalt was mined—there’s a lot of basalt in that area, apparently—and an area called Mačacia, with ruins of buildings used by miners and their families during the '20s and '30s.Eventually we got a glimpse of the castle we were heading for. From a distance it looked like the perfect storybook castle, with a round tower topped with a conical roof. Beyond it, on a further distant ridge, was the ruin of another castle, this one most likely in Hungary. I mean, look at that! It looks like a movie set! I live in this country!
After a bit more time we got to Šomoška Castle. I've taught many of my students that having the high ground is a tactical advantage in warfare, and most castles are indeed built on high ground. That's great for defense, especially against tourists. At the top there isn't much left in the castle; the most complete part is the tower, which looks as though portions have been replaced or repaired over the years. I defied Slovak wisdom by lying on the ground in the tower to take some pictures of the inside of the roof. (I seem to have a thing for roofs lately; before church on Sunday I found myself wondering about the construction of the sanctuary's roof. I really need an architecture book.) Slovaks don't like people to sit on the ground, much less lie on it, and last weekend we were told that you're only supposed to lie on the ground in months that don't have an R in their names. This makes no nevermind to me. Thus far, the ground hasn't killed me.
From the castle we took a different route out of the area than the one we'd taken in. On the way to the train station, we stopped twice for refreshment. The first time was at a picnic area near the parking lot for the castle. Since it was a nice day, there were a few groups there, grilling sausages and/or making gulaš. I used my stealth capabilities to record one group as they sang part of a folk song.I don't think Šomoška has knocked any of the Portuguese castles off my list of future residences, but I wouldn't know that unless I'd gone. It was definitely worth the hike to see it from that first ridge. That was the kind of view that makes my life brilliant.
However, before our next hike with Slovaks, Buddy and I have to go shopping so that we're properly prepared. Neither of us had hiking socks, a big knife, or a sausage. I'm not sure how we survived, having started off so ill-equipped.
Happy 100th post, everybody!
