Crossing over the border to Slovakia from about Tarnow in Poland brings you to the small town of Bardejov, right by the foothills of the Beskydy Mountains. Its actually not a small town with its 30.000 inhabitants but the Old Town is and could be visited in an afternoon, or as I did – enjoyed for a couple of days. There is quite enough to see and do in Bardejov including Bardejoveske Kupele, a small spa town just 4 km north of the town to last you here for a few days. In the latter you can also drink the healthy, mud-smelling mineral water and become a new man or woman overnight.

The Old Town and the World Heritage Site of Bardejov consists mainly of a rectangular square, with small two and three-story merchant’s houses on the long sides. In the middle of the square stands the beautiful Town Hall, a relic from the 15th century when trade between Poland and Russia made Bardejov a rich town. The 84 old-town houses as well as the Basilica of St Edidius was repaired between 1970 and 1990, an undertaking that alone makes up for the World Heritage appointment in my opinion.

At the time of my visit to Bardejov (2006) things was still utterly cheap in Slovakia and in Bardejov in particular. You would be quite surprised if I told you in detail about costs for accommodation and food in Bardejov. For a Scandinavian used to high prices it’s was just to enjoy and for some reason it made me feel like I was one of the Swedes robbing Bardejov blind during the Thirty Years’ War.