Description: The trip from Zakopane in Poland to Levoca in Slovakia via the High Tatras and the intermediate town of Poprad lasted almost four hours and I didn’t put my feet on Levoca ground before noon. Levoca’s bus station is way out of the medieval quarter and lacks an information office. The only source of information in the area is a large-scale city map that pinpoints with faultless precision the attractions and the places of accommodation in the city. So, I had no other option but to walk uphill along Probstnerova Cesta for a good twenty minutes before I reached Levoca’s central square and the place where I could hunt around for a bed. I later learned that frequent local buses ply the route between the bus station and Namestie Kluberta, right outside the Kosice Gate from where access to the medieval quarter is footsteps away.

Once on Namestie Majstra Pavla (the city’s central square and its focus of attraction), I made my way around finding out in my course of action two side-by-side hotels that could not occupy a better location, their front windows looking out directly on the city’s elegant fifteenth-century Gothic Town Hall. Hotel Arkada occupied a recently restored old-world building that glimmered with a new coat of yellow paint but unluckily the only doubles available when I called in were at the back with no views at all and the only source of natural light was a window overlooking an internal courtyard. Hotel U Leva, more imposing and pretentious occupied a similar but larger building next to Hotel Arkada. The place was utterly bright, charming and welcoming. Fitted with all the modern amenities one expects from such a lovely place, the rooms were a real treat but highly-priced for my estimated expenditure.

So, I walked away with map in hand in an attempt to find a decent option within my budget. Having reached the northernmost edge of the square, I took a sharp turn right on Ul Kosicka, a noiseless quasi-isolated street where nobody was in sight and requesting information was out of the question. But on having looked carefully at the row of buildings that lined the sidewalk on one side of the street, I noticed two adjacent places of accommodation, their names displayed manifestly with pride on the façade so as to render them easily recognizable.

The pinkish brown façade conceals a modest guesthouse called Penzion Pri Kosickej Brane, an unpretentious place that is extremely cheap but offers nothing more than the bare essentials. The other façade coated with two eye-catching shades of green paint is the front elevation of a three-storey fourteenth-century burgher’s house that was meticulously restored and turned into a hideaway for romantics. Named Hotel Barbakan to manifest its close proximity to the city’s medieval walls, this is a place that oozes old-world charm, providing visitors with a romantic feel and a nostalgic appetite for the past.

After climbing up four steps to the reception area, I was given a warm welcome by the lady on duty. Her English-speaking competence was below elementary level but her enthusiasm to make herself understood was beyond belief and compensated for her lack of multilingualism.
"I am looking for a double for three nights. Do you have any vacancies?" I enquired anticipating a positive answer supplemented by a budget price.
"Yes, I have" and while she started fiddling with the keyboard of her computer, I took advantage of the situation to inspect my whereabouts. The hallway where the reception area was located was a room of considerable proportions reminiscent of a bygone age when arched openings and wooden beams supported the weight of rows of interlocking stone slabs that constituted the roof. Crammed with dark solid-wood period furniture and classic-style couches, it was a showcase of collector’s items and artistic antiques. Dotting the walls of the hallway were sepia prints that displayed with precision what the city looked like centuries ago.
"Oh, this room seems to be taken lock, stock and barrel out of a museum; it’s a real charm!" I testified while the receptionist seemed to be ready with her computer search.

But these words were utterly beyond the receptionist’s comprehension because what she said did not in any way follow logically from my statement.
"I have a lovely double on the first floor. It’s a big room with a view of Marianska Hora."
As she uttered these words, she made a gesture to indicate her intention to show me to the room. Together we climbed up a charming wooden balustraded staircase to the landing on the first floor where the collection of period furniture and wall-hanging pictures complemented the display downstairs. An elevator is needless to say an ultra-convenient addition, particularly for travellers who carry bulky luggage but in Hotel Barbakan, this would definitely be out of place since any present-day contrivance stands a chance of ruining the characteristic atmosphere.

The room I was shown in broke the record for being the largest I’ve ever occupied in a hotel. Although filled to capacity with traditional chunky furniture (the wardrobe alone could easily take double the clothes my wife and I have at home), it still appeared profusely large beyond limits, definitely more suitable for a family rather than a couple. Styled not unlike grandma’s bedroom in an attempt to evoke a feeling of romanticism, it was completed with creaking hardwood floor, throw rugs and thick chintzy curtains that dangled from matching old-style pelmets. The small television (with only one English station but with an endless number of Slovak, Polish and Czech channels) and the additional radio seemed to be out of place in this old-world ambience but having been considered as vital requirements, they were thrown in as superfluous add-ons. Likewise, the drinks-and-confections-filled minibar, convenient today was definitely not on grandma’s list of relished items years ago.

The bathroom was roomy enough for a full-size bathtub, an extra-large wash-hand basin and a full-length mirror. In an attempt to emulate the ambience of the bedroom, all accoutrements were in line with a classical style, bulky and intricately designed by present-day standards but exactly in place in an old-world setting. Hand soap, shampoo and shower gel were thrown in daily and in abundance. The allotted number of daily clean towels was sufficient for a family rather than a couple.

As the receptionist drew the curtains to allow sunlight through, I stood in awe looking at the wonderful view in the distance. The panorama revealed a dense forested hillside grove crowned with a majestic shrine and a number of towering spires. Having become aware of my desire to seek further information about the view ahead, the receptionist was quick to break the silence.
"Marianska Hora. The church on the top is lovely and the Madonna is miraculous. The walk from here to the church lasts less than ninety minutes but it’s really hard to reach the top."
By this time, I was wondering more about the room rate rather than the view. But in an attempt to stick to the subject, I picked up where she left off.
"Climbing up a mountain on foot is definitely a feat of utter exertion. Excuse me but … what is the room rate per night?"
"Only 50 Euro. Breakfast is an additional 5 Euro per person. High season is approaching its end now and so as a compliment, you can have breakfast for free."
Nobody in his senses could decline such a favourable offer. A huge romantic double room with view complete with all amenities and a breakfast for two included is definitely a steal at 50 Euro.

The breakfast room on the ground floor occupied a lovely conservatory made up of a glass-covered wooden framework that tallied perfectly with the rustic ambience of the hotel’s garden setting. Filled with orderly rows of red-covered tables and matching chairs, the place was an absolute treat. The food was an even better treat than the ambience, a real daily manifestation of plenty. A selection of crunchy cereals and fresh baguettes, fresh fruit and fruit juices, a vast variety of cheeses and meat slices were all on hand and in abundance. The selection of flavoured herbal concoctions was countless but the coffee was restricted to one brand only. Named ‘Escudio’, it is Slovakia’s most popular coffee label, an irresistibly tempting blend with a pleasant aroma and an equally pleasant taste.
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