After a delicious breakfast and some deliberation with Harrie we left for the town of Košice, not far from Medzev. It was a bit difficult to find the centre of the town, the road signs as well as our map were not very clear on this point. After some driving around we arrived at a place we'd seen before and we decided to park the car and walk from there. It turned out we indeed were in the centre of town. The Hlavná is a completely restored street which has most of the tourist sights of the second largest town of Slovakia. First we entered the St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, a very beautiful gothic cathedral which is also being restored. It is very beautiful on the inside. After a short visit to the cathedral we continued our walk through the main street of Košice. Today is Sunday and it is very quiet in town. Not many people in the streets, the shops are closed, even the Tourist Info booth was closed. The façades of the buildings in the street, they are all very magnificent. At a bar we had something to drink, two coffees and some lemonade for Ciska and three pieces of cake. This all for a total of 100 SKK, which equals 2.50 euro. After that we did some more walking before we took a rest near the water organ, a large fountain in front of the theatre which spouts in the rhythm of music. For the local youth it is a challenge to walk into the fountain and to try to stay dry. Which of course is not possible and everybody enjoys it to them getting their clothes wet. In a booklet we borrowed from Harrie there was a Children's Railway mentioned (Čermel Valley Railway). That we tried to find, which was not easy as the Tourist Info was closed. Finally we succeeded to find the train just north-west of the town. We arrived at the small station at around a quarter to three and the train didn't leave as early as 16:05. So in the meantime we has something to drink at a nearby booth. Around a quarter to four we walked again to the station. The train now already was at the station and people were already boarding. At exactly 16:05 the small steam train left for the short 15 minutes ride. For this we had to pay 26 SKK (€ 0,65). At the terminus at Alpinka we got off the train. There you can find a large playground with a restaurant. We first had the plan to eat something at the restaurant and then return. But we decided to take the next train back and drive with our car to the restaurant so we had better planning of when to get back instead of being bound to the train schedule. So we went back with the train and back at the beginning we took our car for a very short drive to the restaurant. Ciska there enjoyed herself very much in the playground while we had something to drink in the shade. When the bar closed we walked to the nearby restaurant for dinner before we headed back to our apartment.

When you are in this area of Slovakia you have to visit the Slovak Paradise and the Dobšiná ice cave. The next day, the weather looked very promising for a nice walk in the Slovak Paradise. So we left early and around 10 o'clock we arrived at the parking place of the Dobšiná ice cave. The sky, by the way, looked much more threatening than when we left Vyšný Medzev this morning. From the parking place it is long walk to the entrance of the cave. You have to climb a steep hill. It turned out we have to climb a total of 160 metres to a height of 969 metres above sea level. When we were almost there, it started to rain and before we reached the entrance it really poured down. There were a lot of visitors and not everybody was able to find a dry place under the roof of the cave info centre. At eleven a group entered the cave, we had to wait for the next group. But fortunately some time later they allowed another large group to enter the cave, probably because of the rain. Normally only one small group per hour is allowed to enter the cave. Inside, the cave is a beauty. There are large ice fields and large columns of ice. Only the temperature inside the cave is rather cold, just below freezing-point. The only disadvantage was our guide, he only explained in Slovak. One of the advantages of the large was the fact that Arjan could use its camcorder. Normally you have to pay 300 SKK to be allowed to use one and that was a bit too expensive. But because of the large group the guide was not able to check it all. The tour takes about half an hour, luckily the raining had stopped when we leaved the cave and we stayed dry when walking down. Back down again we had something to eat and drink in a restaurant before we left. As the weather didn't invite us for a nice walk in the Slovak Paradise we had to think of something else to do. Near the restaurant was a large sign about the aragonite cave of Ochtiná. So again a good thing to visit on a rainy day. At 14:00 we arrived at the cave, not far from Dobšiná. There we had to wait for one hour for the next tour into the cave. While waiting we had something to drink in the hall of the information centre and we read some information about the cave. In the entire world there are only three known of these aragonite caved, so it really is a rarity. At 15:00 we entered the cave, also now guided by a guide who only explained in Slovak. It's clear that in Slovakia tourism is still not very internationally oriented. But who needs words when in a beautiful cave like this one, it is almost impossible to explain what an aragonite cave looks like. Everywhere on the ceiling, the walls and in holes there are a kind of white cobwebs and things that looks like a sea-anemone or coral. And sometimes it looks like mould. Another time they are whimsical prickles that hang from ceiling and look likes flowers, it is really beyond any description. This is something you have to see with your own eyes. Also in this cave the whole tour lasts for about half an hour and around four pm we left. As we had no plans for the rest of the day we just drove around. At one moment it was dry and sometimes later the rain poured down, sometimes even with some thunder. Around six we arrived in Rožňava where had an extensive dinner for the total amount of 716 SKK (18 euro).