Kocise, Slovakia - SNP 65th anniversary in a small town

Aug 29 - Kocise, Slovakia - SNP 65th anniversary in a small town

We wanted to go to Slovakia because my dad's family is from there, and reading through Lonely Planet nowhere else looked interesting (except Bratislava, but everyone that's been there thought it a waste of time). So to Kosice we went.

It's a great place - supremely walkable, with a lovely main street and the whole of the downtown being under 1x1 km in the lonely planet map - we initially missed a few spots because what seemed far on the map was 100m away. The main street is wide and seems to be pedestrian-only, and most of the attractions can be seen going up and down main street - very close together. The buildings are all old but well-maintained, there's a lot of character in the town. The town can be seen and everything done in a couple hours, and I would recommend it for anyone that will be in Eastern Europe.

We happenned to be there on the 65th anniversary of SNP day, when Slovakia revolted against Nazi rule, which had the advantage of hosting festivities but the drawback of almost everything being closed.

The festivity we saw involved a group of people singing Slovak songs

A Soviet monument to people that died in and around SNP day

The main cathedral

Also on the main street.
In the background, another church. In the midground, the musical fountain -- they play music, and the fountain height changes with the music. Kind of like the visualization thing in Media Player, only it actually moves with the music. In the foreground, is Sue.

Other side of the same church - there's a stream constantly going in the middle of the main street.

The underground city, a series of underground tunnels that are a few hundred years old and were used for a combination of military purposes and sewage. Doesn't quite compare with the underground city we saw in Turkey (this one was a long hallway, that one was 4 stories down and labyrinthine), but it was well worth the 50 euro cents admission.

A side street we took

Try as I might, I couldn't get this guy to see my point of view. Oh well. Maybe I can charm him instead.

This town has the best ice cream and cake store, Cukraren Aida - 70 euro cents for a big slice of cake, 30 for an ice cream cone. Needless to say we had several of each.