I have mentioned it a lot before that traveling is not just about far away and exotic places, nor just about expensive and popular spots. Those who have been following my journeys could observe that I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see some common destinations like Italy, Spain or Greece, but I was not frightened either, when I had to explore some Slavic countries in the neighborhood of Hungary, such as the Czech Republic, Slovenia or Poland.

After we left Zvolen which I told you about last time, we continued our journey to the final destination, Banská Bystrica (in Hungarian: Besztercebánya), which is also called as ‘The Gate of Tatra Mountains’, and many booklovers in Hungary know it also, because the famous novel of Hungarian writer Kálmán Mikszáth, St. Peter’s Umbrella is set in the town of Besztercebánya.

The city lies along brook Bystrica (Beszterce in Hungarian, this is the origin of the name) and river Hron (Garam), that runs at the edge of the old town with its giant foams. Both the Slovak word banská and Hungarian expression bánya refers to ‘mine’ due to the fact that Besztercebánya was a center of copper mining for centuries. 

The first what I ever saw in Banská Bystrica was surprisingly a vintage war airplane, and it quickly turned out that it is the part of the open air exhibition of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising (SNP).

Taking into account that it was not the first time I heard about the uprising, I read about this story and learned that this was a people's military movement mainly against the far right, German-allied government of Jozef Tiso, who led the first independent Slovakia during the World War II - thus, there were many partisans in the territory of Banská Bystrica and its surroundings. Alhtough they were defeated by the German soldiers of the Wehrmacht, their memory remained a stong identity in the national collective remembrance. 

Apart from the plane there were plenty of tanks, train wagons and other war vehicles all around that one could see for free, while there was also an enermous monument dedicated to the uprising between thetwo wings of the modern-styled museum buildings.

Not so far away there was an old bastion which works as a restaurant nowadays, but unfortunately we could not visit it - neither could we the Šusterská bašta (Cobbler’s Bastion), which you can observe only from the outside and can be found inside a locked yard. 

Fortunately, there were a lot of other sights that compensated us for not being able to see everything: for instance, the entrance and some walls of the former castle which protects the marvelous Church of Our Lady (Panny Márie), while there is another interesting sight next to the building: the statue of Béla IV, king of Hungary who really put a great effort in rebuilding the country after the terrible destruction of the Mongolian Invasion (Tatárjárás).

Thus, he received the honorable title of ‘second founder of the state’ (since the first was prince Árpád) and his project of constructing strong stone fortresses is partly the reason why Slovakia is full of beautiful castles even today.

The main square of Banská Bystrica that bears the name of the national uprising here, just as in Zvolen, is even called as 'Béla IV square' (IV. Béla király tér) in its Hungarian version. Walking through the long square was indeed a welcoming atmosphere and I really felt the vibes of a town that wanted to host us with its colorful buildings and joyful terraces. 

The square was full of attractions starting with the clock tower (Hodinová veža), then comes the column of Holy Mary in front of the Church of St. Francis Xavier. You can also see a mesmerizing stone fountain and a huge wooden chair where you can sit to feel like a giant, and, finally, a remained communist monument dedicated for Soviet soldiers with the obligatory red star on the top.

By having a loose walk in the small streets, we also explored the towns hall, the cozy and chill city park, the Evangelical church and graveyard, the Stredoslovenská galéria (building of the Middle Slovak Art Gallery) and the Amfiteáter (amphitheater), which was a vintage open-air stage for concerts, cinematic and cultural events and probably small festivals outside of the city center.

By crossing over river Hron, one can also climb up on a forest trail which is guarded by the statue of a hero - this is the slope of the local Calvary, which was just as a spiritual and magical experience as the Calvary of Nitra: first of all, you can get a fascinating evening view on the city, and behind the chapel there was also a wonderful field covered with grass and flowers and, in addition, hosting a few lonely trees.

One could feel like being on the real-life painting of a landscape, and I realized that I had always imagined Slovakia and the feet of the Carpathians exactly like that. If we had continued the same path, we could have got to Urpín woods, which is, by the way, also the namesake of a local beer, Urpiner.

Although we could see dozens of wonderful hills and mountains around the city, we did not manage in the end to go for a hiking and visit any of them. The reason was not only the lack of time, but our careful research and actually something very simple and obvious for those who know the Carpathian Mounts a little bit.

Namely, when you go to the nature in Slovakia, especially if you are closer to the mountains, you should always consider an extremely dangerous beast in the forest: the bear. Normally it tries to avoid people, but one should not be foreseeing enough, and once if you meet a bear, it is almost impossible to escape from it. 

I ‘interviewed’ a local woman at a food truck, and, to my biggest surprise it turned out that it was not a good idea to enter the woods with no experience, because maybe some indigenous Slovaks already know how to manage the situation, but foreigners might find themselves in a great trouble when they bump into a bear. Which was very likely with no doubt. 

This discussion also taught me a lot about the Slovak spirit and mentality, and it was confirmed to me that Slovaks are way more open, cheerful and friendlier than I thought: it might depend on the area you visit, but the people living in the regions I know so far are mostly kind and have no problems with the fact that someone is from Hungary: what is more, the woman I met was very proud of having Hungarian roots and meals in her family.

When the staff of a museum or a shop assistant heard Hungarian, they immediately tried to speak in our language or gave us the information we needed in Hungarian, and after long decades of unpleasant international relations, it was a relief for us to see that the two nations can live together again - just as they had always done it before the tragedies of the 20th century.

So finally, following the advice, we just went to one safe view spot which was reachable through the suburbs: the Malachov Rocks (Malachovské skalky) between the village of Malachov (Malakóperesény) and Radvaň (Radvány) which was our district of stay.

The panorama from the rocks was an excellent spot to take impressive pictures of Banská Bystrica and its area, while you can also see the first peaks of the Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) covered with never-melting white snow. 

The city in general was even beyond my expectations, because it was not only a very historical place with hundreds of buildings worthy to see, but also a very developed and modern city, just as Nitra (even almost with the same population) where one could really spend a couple of days and always discovered something new. A humble and gorgeous town and a city in motion at the same time.

Another interesting fun fact is related specifically to me: the university of Banská Bystrica is named after 18th century polymath Matej Bel (Mátyás Bél), who was born in Očová (in Hungarian: Nagyócsa, or formerly Ocsova). A nearby village which is important to me even without knowing it, since my pen name (my grandma’s maiden name) comes from there.

Traveling by railways or buses can sometimes be tricky in Slovakia, but if you are lucky enough (or you can afford) to explore by car, a lot of towns and wonderful places are available in the neighborhood of Banská Bystrica.

Our choice was another city of mining, Selmecbánya (in Slovak: Banská Štiavnica), which was considered as one of the richest cities in the old Kingdom of Hungary (in Slovak: Uhorsko) and had an outstanding role in the economy and monetary policy of the state. 

Having the gift of silver ore due to the mountains’ volcanic origin, Banská Štiavnica used to be a significant center of mintages and silversmiths - it maintained this reputation and tradition even during the war of independence of prince Rákóczi, who issued his own copper coins called libertás.

The town is also known for hosting an academy and many students of various fields of study: we can mention many famous Hungarian and foreign astronomers like Christian Doppler or Maximilian Hell, engineers and other scientists from Italy, Austria and Hungary, but also ethnographers like Arnold Ipolyi, writers like Mikszáth and legendary poet Sándor Petőfi had some chapters of their studying years in the place.

The town is also the birthplace of the popular Slovak actress, Magda Vášáryová who starred in Cutting it Short (Postřižiny), the movie adaptation of a famous novel with the same title by Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal.

Being surrounded by magnificent slopes and hills, the town also had a perfect location for establishing castles. The most remarkable one which also resembled my Slovenian memories was the Old Castle (Starý zámok) standing on the top of the hill; just as in the case of Zvolen, it could never really be captured by the Ottoman army. 

Exactly at the other edge of the town you can also find the New Castle (Nový Zámok), called sometimes Leányvár (Maiden's Castle) in Hungarian, which is basically an elegant watchtower.

However, as it was mentioned in many tour guides and also visible in person, even if the castle was a great view spot to control the area, it was also an easy target for cannonballs due to its partly unfortunate location and it did not have such an important role as it was supposed to have at the beginning.

If you go around the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, you will also find Piargska brána (Piagarska Gate), one of the medieval town gates renovated later in a Baroque style.

One of the most important squares is the Trinity square (Námestie svätej Trojice) which got its name due to the wonderful Trinity column in the middle (or, as it is usually called in European towns: Plague column - Morový stíp).

When we visited the city, there were some constructions though, because unfortunately, two months before our visit the city had been on fire and two townhouses were still black, in ruins and covered by soot. This moment made me realize how vulnerable the human world and centuries old heritages can be, and how easily everything can be destroyed just within a minute. 

Talking about fire, the animal traditionally associated with fire, the salamander is also present in the city: there are some amazing wooden reliefs opposite the town's hall, telling the foundation story of Selmec from the right to the left and mentioning some remarkable people related to the town.

The last piece of work represents two huge salamanders called Zlatá salamandra (Golden Salamander), but one can also recognize Queen Maria Theresa or engineer Sámuel Mikoviny,   chief engineer of Pozsony county and professor at the Academy of Selmec.

As it turned out from the monument, Banská Štiavnica is considered to be the oldest mountain town in Slovakia. Since there were also miners in my family, I would like to mention one particular building that played a crucial role in the town's life: it is Klopačka (Klopacska or Lármafa in Hungarian), a tower where a guard living there was responsible for calling the miners to work and it also made its iconic sound during the funeral services for miners.

The name comes from the fact that the sound was made by knocking (Slovak klopat', also in Hungarian: kopog) on the first floor of the building that was hearable everywhere in town.

The square neighbors some further outstanding monuments of architecture, such as the round shaped Evangelical Church built during the reign of King Francis, the Catholic Church of St. Catherine or the Žemberovský dom (in Hungarian: Zsembéry-ház). The town's hall (Radnica) also has a charming clock tower just next to these two magnificent churches.

In general, walking along the main road and the very center is a pleasure on its own: you can feel like being in a lovely street full of amazing flowers, facades and shop windows that could even be somewhere in a German, Austrian, Slovenian, French or Italian town.

Just take a chill hang-out on the streets and taste some delicious ice cream (zmrzlina - trust me, one of the most difficult Czech and Slovak words) or local wine in a vinotéka or vináreň (wine shop). 

My personal recommendation is muškát moravský (Moravian muscat), a white wine having some sweet and semi-sweet vibes. I remember that once I tried it in Brno in an etnofestival before, because unlike Bohemia, Moravia is rather famous for its wine. Just like the South of Slovakia, where there is rather a tradition of wine production due to the Hungarian past and the Hungarian minority which is still significant in the Southern territories.

As a kind of obligatory element for European cities, Banská Štiavnica would not be the same without a Calvary hill either - unfortunately, we did not have the time to have a closer look at it, but the two red, massive Baroque towers with their onion-like 'hats' gave us a very strong and spiritual view even from the distance.

For the same reason, so due to the lack of time another important city of mining in Slovakia was missing: hopefully Körmöcbánya (in Slovak: Kremnica) might be the part of another road movie in the future. However, in return, there were other underestimated and hidden treasures we could experience.

Namely, after having traveled in abandoned, small forest roads by car, we arrived in Slovenská Ľupča (in Hungarian: Zólyomlipcse), where there was an amazing castle and palace on the top of the hill, embraced by the bushes and leaves of some flourishing trees. 

The building was indeed very monumental and huge. Apparently it is possible to visit it only by a guided tour, but fortunately, the view of the surrounding green mountains and the valley of the village were all ours with all of its pure and intact magic.

It was also interesting to see some nearby towns on the wooden board and to read how long it would take to go there on foot, horseback, boat, chariot, etc. which really created the vibes of a classic medieval pilgrimage.

Regarding journeys, maybe this is the end of my Slovak adventures for now, but hopefully discovering new secrets of this incredible country will be a personal pilgrimage to me through a lifetime.