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HEXplore: Slovakia

October 07, 2016

One of our friends, Scott Reyes, who happens to go by @losanageles on Instagram, recently had a chance to go out and HEXplore around Slovakia. Here are his thoughts and images. One of the best things about traveling is connecting with people and seeing what they’re all about. One thing I’ve learned is that, for the most part, everyone is pretty similar. We all want the same things in life – to find happiness. Despite the language barrier I found myself meeting people who were interested in getting to know me as much as I wanted to get to know them. I found ways to communicate and connect with great people who led me to some of the most awe-inspiring locations in Slovakia. From small villages, to dilapidated castles, and snow covered mountains, Slovakia is a country full of history, great food, and miles of jaw dropping nature.

Banska Bystrica-1 High in the hills overlooking the town of Banská Bystrica. Banska Bystrica-2 We later hiked over these hills for about 2 hours and reached a brewery for a well-deserved beer and Pirohy. Porac Park-3 Porac Park-5 Slovakia has history written on every corner with people settling there as far back as the 6^th Century AD. I had to the opportunity to tour through several big cities that showcased more contemporary architecture, but I really wanted to see an older, medeival side to the country. Yes, mansions and castles! My friend Julia, a local from Spišská nová Ves, took me to see the Markušovce Manor House. The last people to live here were in 2006 and still live in Europe! Markusovce Manor House Markušovce Manor was built by the Mariassy family, later captured and occupied by the Nazis and also used by the state during the Communist era. It is now open to the public as a museum and concert hall. Markusovce Manor House-2 Julia had told me that the concert hall was built to impress a visiting guest who then later cancelled on the Mariassy family. That’s going far and beyond for a friend. Markusovce Castle The ruins of a castle in Košice. Most of our trip consisted of riding the train to other cities and towns. Here we slept, met other people traveling, and chased after our trains. Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset My favorite part of the trip was on my very last day. We woke up at 6am to catch the sunrise from a snowy mountain. On our way we saw a few deer and wolf tracks. It had snowed the night before and everything was still untouched. Our feet would be the first ones to lay tracks that day. Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset Tommy's View-7 Tommy's View-2 Tommy's View-9 Follow Scott on Instagram here.