Leiden Boat Parade...

On the last Friday in June, Sally, John and Andrew as well as Patti and Steve joined us for the Leiden Boat Parade.

As always, it was fun to see the themes, decorations and costumes on the boats, such as Will You Marry Me?...

...Cubano...

...disco...

...and The Regulars, which included a painter...

...a DJ and an outhouse.

The Mint...

The Kremnica Mint is the oldest still-working mint in the world, originally dating back to 1328. 

We couldn’t enter the modern section of the mint, where Slovak euros as well as coins for other countries are manufactured, but could merely sneak a peek through the windows.

The most fascinating portion of the tour was when we headed up the steep staircase...

...to the coin striking plant, which was like traveling back in time.

The steam-driven machines still work as demonstrated by the tour guide who punched out a tourist coin for each of us.

It was too bad that Jimmy couldn’t have come along as he really loves to visit factories. The following day, there was a yoga class arranged for the wives, but I was the only one to show up. The instructor didn’t speak English, so another lady came along to translate and take the class with me. I felt bad for them that the other ladies had flaked, but it was fun and they didn’t seem to mind. The following day we drove back to Vienna and flew home.

Kremnica...

After checking into the conference hotel, I went on a tour arranged for spouses to the town of Kremnica. home to around 5,500 people.

There was a small group of just four of us plus the local tour guide.

The city center was picturesque...

...with a monumental Baroque plague column on the main square.

We took a short walk around and then stopped for a coffee while waiting for our appointed time to tour the mint.

The Grand Viglas...

We got up very early the next morning to make the drive to the Grand Viglas, the conference hotel, so Jimmy wouldn’t miss the bus to the military base where the day’s meetings were taking place.

I was shocked when I could finally check into our spacious room, with a four-poster bed...

...and nice views. 

Originally built in the 14th century, the castle was eventually destroyed during World War II. A family bought the ruins in 2007 and set about bringing it back to its former glory. Our room was in the front corner as seen from down the hill.

A wander up to the floor above us revealed lots of dead animals.

That evening we had a traditional buffet dinner followed by Slovakian dancers teaching us a traditional dance. 

Overall, there was lots of medieval decor inside, but outside someone clearly had a sense of humor when they chose these little gnomes to cheer up the rocky hill beside the parking lot.

I went on a few walks, but wasn’t very impressed with the nearby village which had two restaurants and this unwelcoming store.

Avoiding the Bears...

We were thrilled to discover that it was just a short walk to get out into some nature. Our first stop was an old train station...

...with a cool mural...

...and some funky old buildings.

We then discovered that there was a hiking route...

...with some nice views looking down on the city.

It seemed like a very bad omen to be at the furthest point of the loop when we saw a sign mentioning the local wildlife, which apparently included bears. Thankfully the bears left us alone or this blog could have had a very abrupt ending.

We were surprised when we came upon a ski jump as we were making our way back to the city.

While the upper section was quite derelict...

...the lower section was being used by kids taking a class.

We were happy when we made it safely back to the starting point of the short hike and then headed back to our hotel for a traditional dinner on their terrace.

Historic Banska Bystrica...

What today is Slovakia’s sixth largest city with around 78,000 occupants, was once Slovakia’s center of anti-Nazi opposition. The city was briefly occupied by the German forces before it was liberated by Soviet and Romanian troops in March 1945. 

I’ve been trying to remember to look up when exploring a new place and my efforts were rewarded with lots of cool things to see, such as lions...

 ...angry men...

 

...and this particularly strange human bird creature. 

Later I found a miniature version of The Scream attached to a random wall.

Banska Bystrica...

The hotel hosting the conference was full for the night, so instead of going to the opening dinner, we drove two hours to the town of Banska Bystrica for a wander around and to spend the night.

Hotel Kuria was charming, conveniently located and very affordable...

 ...although their choice of artwork was questionable.

The city center was also charming.