Spring Break (Part 3) in Levice, Slovakia

We headed to the train station Wednesday morning for our 9:30 train to Levice, in southwest Slovakia.  After four straight days of walking all over Prague, climbing hills, and going up steep staircases into towers, it was nice to sit on the train for 6 hours and relax, watching the scenery go by!   Our friend and teaching colleague from school, Zuzka, was spending the week of spring break with family in her hometown of Levice, so she invited us for a visit to a part of Slovakia we hadn't experienced yet.  

With Zuzka and her mother after a delicious home-cooked meal including duck, lokše, cabbage, and chicken.  And homemade marlenka for dessert!!   

Zuzka's son, Timko, and her sister, Iveta, making a delicious dessert.

Zuzka took us to her family home in a nearby village.  The family no longer lives in the house, but they use it for when they go and work in the garden there throughout the year.  This is the barn where they used to keep livestock.  

Outbuildings on the family property in the village.

I liked this "O" in the fence of the house!   :-)

Next Zuzka took us to a castle which was more of a hunting lodge rather than a defensive fortress.  It was in a beautiful setting up in the mountains.  This is the carriage house / horse stables on the property.

And this is the castle.  It housed a really neat museum, and the views from up on the hill were beautiful.  

Next, we took a drive on narrow, winding roads up into the mountains to an old, historic mining town called Bansks Štiavnica.  It was a beautiful sunny day!!

This is an enormous Bethlehem scene made of wood, which places the manger scene right in the middle of Banska Štiavnica scenes.  It also had animated figures moving all over the place.  It was amazing!!  (Notice the small carved wooden manger scenes on the floor in front.  We got one of these typical crafts at a Christmas market in December!)  

On the way up the hill to the New Castle.  

The New Castle, high on a hill.  This was built as a defensive look-out tower in the 15th century when the Turks were invading, then later it was used by the volunteer fire department to watch for smoke and set off the alarm if necessary.  

The views from the top of the tower were spectacular!  There were also really interesting museum displays in the castle.  

The village was incredibly picturesque and colorful in the bright sunshine!!  The structure at the top of the next hill is a "Calvary", with the stations of the cross on the path up the hill to the top where the crucifixion scene is.  We only saw that area from afar.   

This is the Old Castle, built back in the middle ages.  It also housed a museum - fascinating!  

These painted panels are the original stations of the cross on the way up to the Calvary hill.  To prevent deterioration and vandalism, the panels have now been moved inside the Old Castle for preservation.  They are really impressive!

Hunting has been a huge sport through the ages in this area, and during the 16th century, they used beautifully painted wooden panels for target practice.  There was one whole gallery full of the painted targets!

Statues in the basement chambers of the Old Castle. 

I had some fun 'framing' this shot!    :-)

Zuzka and Tim in downtown Banska Štiavnica. 

The streets of the town were very steep, and full of old, colorful buildings. 

On Friday, Zuzka took us walking around the town where her extended family now lives, Levice.  Then we walked to the castle ruins near downtown.  

The castle ruins were just begging to be explored, but when we started climbing up, the staff said it was too dangerous, and it wasn't allowed!!  Boooo!!!  Zuzka said they used to let people climb up there - maybe they thought it might be icy in winter.  Oh well.  

Inside the castle walls, there were other buildings, not quite as old, but housing many museum displays of the history of the area, early civilizations, battles, weaponry, etc.  

Friday afternoon, we packed up Zuzka's car, and Tim offered to drive back to Liptovsky Mikuláš.  So Zuzka was the navigator, and Timko and I rode in the back seat for the scenic drive back through the mountains.  It was a wonderful week of spring break!! 

Saturday and Sunday were days of rest and recovery, as well as catching up on laundry, emails, and skyping with family!  It's always nice to head back to school after break not being exhausted from traveling!  :-)