11 Oct 2006
Driving from Sabinov to Martin

Inside the courtyard of Stara L'Ubovnia Hrad. Stara L'Ubovna Hrad We decided to drive to Martin by a scenic route, stopping at the hrad at Stara L'ubovna and then driving through the foothills of the High Tatras. We had seen the castle earlier when we visited the village of Vysne Ruzbachy, and decided it would be worth a stop. Built between 1301-1308, the castle Formal portrait of royalty in full dress at the 1929 wedding of Princess Isabella. A royal wedding for the Zamoyskis has belonged to Polish nobles, most recently the Zamoyski family; it is now a national historic site for Slovakia.

A good part of the castle has been restored, and it is a popular venue for mediaeval reenactments. The 360-degree view from the high tower A Building in the Skanzen outdoor museum with the Stara L'Ubovnia castle in the background. The Skanzen beneath the Hrad is spectacular, and there are excellent storyboards throughout. The Zamoyski family's last great event occurred in Madrid, 9 March 1929, when Count Jan Zamoyski was married to Princess Isabella of Spain.

A Skanzen, or outdoor museum, occupies part of the castle grounds. The buildings depict peasant life in northeastern Slovakia during the last half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century, and are typical of A built-in woodstove covered with stucco for cooking and baking. Like great-grandma's stove? the living conditions our Slovak (and Polish) grandparents would have experienced.

We had luncheon at the Restaurant Isabella, also located on the castle grounds, and then proceeded westward towards the High Tatras. October is between seasons, too late for summer tourists and too early for skiing, so the aerial tramway was running a limited schedule, and View of chalet with High Tatras in the background. The High Tatras we arrived too late for the last car of the day. We enjoyed seeing the many new and remodeled resort hotels in this popular ski area, and imagined that the steep slopes would prove quite challenging for the best skiers.

The chief virtues of the Hotel Luna, where we spent two nights, are its low price and helpful staff. It's an old communist-era building located in the northern suburb of Priekopa, rather distant from the center of town, and quite difficult to find while driving. We settled in, tired from a long day on the road, and looked forward to some more genealogical research the next day.