Michael arrived after a busy day of preparing for Slovak Castle Hopping, on Monday evening at 22:06. I had two students that afternoon. I packed, took down the wash, went to the store twice, chilled the beer, changed money…and in the end, I was rushing to get to the Bahnhof (train station) 15 minutes early.

He was surprised at Košice. It was a beautiful, clear night, warm, and full moon. The streets were pretty and clean. He was just in a Hungarian town, which wasn’t so nice. He knew not what to expect!

We did eine kleine Stadt Reise (a little town tour) and got home by 23:00. He brought so viele versshiedenen Kase aus (so many varieties of cheeses from) Portugal. (He just came back from Portugal and Madera Samstag Abend – Saturday evening!) Also of course, he brought me sweet chocolates in a nice flowered heart-shape box, and Rocher Kugeln, a nice red Italian wine, Volkorn Brot (German whole wheat 🌾 bread).

We talked, tried the cheeses, bread, Slovak beer (or Czech!) Budvar and Stiegel. I already had Pilsner Urquell. They cost about .50 cents or less per bottle. (If beer cost more, the Slovak people would revolt. I’d passed workers with beer kept cold in the snow, while they work.)

So on Tuesday, after a leisurely morning breakfast, and a rush tour through town and the market — looking at and buying eggs (painted) and a Slovak Easter whipping stick — we set off mit dem Bus nach “Spišský Hrad” (by bus towards Spišský Hrad. This was the start of our Slovak Castle Hopping week during Easter 1999. We were to experience bus and train transportation, a lot of walking and asking directions.

This is an excerpt from my Košice Journal, documenting my exodus from a (relatively happy) bustling life in beautiful San Diego, to (voluntarily) take a post teaching English in the newly independent eastern capital of Slovakia during a very cold winter 1999.