Although I was originally planning to return to London via Budapest Airport, I discovered that it would be quicker and less complex to fly from Košice, a city I had not previously heard of in the Republic of Slovakia. No wanting to arrive at this unknown city in the dark, I woke early and was on my way at 6 am. This had the added advantage of seeing dawn as a red streak beneath grey clouds across the plain to the east of me.
The route today broadly follows the road to Sátoraljaújhely but avoids the tarmac by taking long deviations from it. The first took me north of the road through a park in the village of Pácin which contained Mágoscy Castle. A stately home surrounded by walls with squat towers. From there it was through the well lept cemetery and out to the border with Slovakia, which was marked by a drainage ditch. To return to the road I had to battle with an overgrown track, trying to avoid being tripped by branches and stung by nettles. I was not however the only one to come this way, in places I spotted fresh footprints.
That deviation returned me to the road at the village of Karcsa, where I spotted a shop open and so indulged in a second breakfast.
My next excursion from the road took me to the south of it. Seeing me turn onto it a man, having establish I was walking the Kektura, tried to tell me something in Hungarian pointing to me feet. Maybe it was that the track I was about to walk upon was muddy, and in parts overgrown, as both were true. The mud stuck to my boots giving me "platform" shoes.
The mud and undergrowth was slowing me down, and were generally unrewarding so after the village of Karos I ignored the next two deviations and stuck to the road. Being Sunday it was fairly quiet with no big lorries, there was also a verge big enough for me to hop onto in the face of oncoming traffic. The only downside was that it was a bit tedious. Having worked out that the white plastic posts at the side of the road were 50 metres appart I started counting them. I reckoned there were about 220 of them before I reached Sátoraljaújhely. I gave up after counting to 40 when I reached a green 9 kilometre marker.
The hills behind Sátoraljaújhely were ever so slowly getting bigger, although there was a hill to my right in Slovakia which caused me a little confusion. After a final section on the Kektura on an embankment beside a drainage channel I diverted to the Slovak border.
The border consisted of a plethora of blue signs, the railway line was immediately after. I walked up to the station. There was a waiting room but no staff. I was just in time to catch the 13:45 train but was unsure on which of the five lines the train would arrive on. Walking over the tracks examining the lines, two were shinier than the others, so I positioned myself so I could catch the train whichever of the two lines it arrived on. However I was relieved when a few minutes before the train was due a few others arrived, so I stood beside them. The train was on time but I now faced another problem. After a few stops a lady issuing tickets reached my carraige. I proffered some money but she kept asking me something in Slovak. As a result of her showing me the screen of her ticket issuing device it transpired that she wanted to know which station I had boarded at. Ticket bought I looked at the scenery of hills as we stopped at several stations. These looked run down and even lacked platforms. However Košice was clearly a more important station with a modern layout with an underpass complete with shops to avoid having to walk over rails.
Leaving the station I crossed over a park and walked towards the centre of the city. Seeing a place advertising coffee and cake I immediately went in to check the local produce. Afterwards I realised there were several such establishments, a reason to return one day! In the centre there were many attractive buildings. In the main cathedral a service was in progress. Outside there was a giant, inflatable cat's face. An array of fountains performed to music. Windows within the paved area gave a view of presumably ancient ruined walls beneath. One such view showed an ancient corridor drapped with ties (ie the type of tie men wear with a shirt) for reasons I could not fathom.
To reach my hotel, which I picked as it was close to the airport, I had to catch a tram. My Internet research indicated I could pay by card on the tram, however I could find no card reading device or alternate way to pay. Consequently I travelled to my destination illegally without paying for a ticket. While I feel guilty I also feel it is made very difficult for visitors to understand how to pay on different transport systems.
For diner at the hotel I had potato dumplings filled with pulled pork. Was not sure if it was a Slovak dish or inspired by chinese bao buns.
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