Reminds me of the regional airports in Burma. That had a system. At checkin you got a coloured sticker to attach to yourself. There was no other way of stopping you boarding the wrong plane as it was just 'door' 'tarmac' 'plane' for all flights, no gates as such, everyone was in the same chaotic holding pen.

And back in the land of the living After a lovely cold shower I collapsed onto the bed for one of my nearly traditional unplanned snoozes . I was eventually up and about again by 6 pm and I’ve just spent the last hour and a half wandering around the old town again it really is stunning and with the sun now down behind the buildings it is bearable. The temperature supposed still 30°, but actually it doesn’t feel like it.

I’ve ended up sitting streetside at the Marai bistro. It’s not the kind of place I would normally choose, but I couldn’t resist it with the two guys playing music in the doorway.









I ordered a beer and a chicken paprikash to start proceedings



The chicken came on the bone and was absolutely delicious and as was the sauce, the only negative point for me, they managed to hide little bits of cauliflower in the noodles

The musicians for the evening are taking a break but that doesn’t stop the music from playing because immediately beside the restaurant is the singing fountain so now that the musicians are finished for the moment we can hear the music powering the fountain and hear the splashing of the water. This is a really lovely place to sit.

round two has arrived:





this should keep me going for a few old-fashioned. I have absolutely no intention of leaving this table for the foreseeable future.

I agree, i’ve definitely lucked into a gem. I think of all the places I’ve visited in the last couple of years this has to be close to the top of the list of my favourites. It’s not massively overwhelming in size, at least the historic centre is not, obviously the whole city is sizeable. I’d have to say, I think this is the first place ever that I would come back just to come back, not because I didn’t get to see everything.

I offered a drink to the two musicians that have been working so hard this evening and they just popped over to say they’re doing a special song for me and started playing yesterday….. I’m not entirely sure whether they’re being ironic.

Sounds good, but also sounds a bit like 'you're my best mate ever' so let's see how it feels once you have returned
I try not to revisit old ground as there is so much out there. Japan I go back to but don't do the same things, the Caribbean I go back to but different islands. I suspect Malta might be the first place I want to go back to and do the same things although I haven't yet.

I’ve never yet managed to go back to place I said I’d revisit so I think this is probably more aspirational than realistic. . That said ,if another bargain basement fare turned up I’d definitely be considering it strongly.

I remember those stickers.



And a hand-written arrival board. No departure board because departures depended on the (delayed) arrival of aircraft.

Thats brilliant!

It’s now a little after 9 o’clock, the sun is down, and the streets is really significantly cooler and it’s time to close off this evening.

The Marai pancakes which are deep fried and stuffed with a mix of nut and chocolate, a heart attack on a plate, and accompanied by a small glass of sweet white wine!




then there’s a large buffalo trace and macchiato coffee lurking in the background just to finish me off for the evening.

An excellent meal across the board and I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant if you ever happened to visit.

I have managed to hang around to closing time



This was by no means cheap eats, but that’s more a function of the amount of drinks that I had rather than the cost of the food. The food has been absolutely delicious and the service has been exceptional.



A good tip went on top of that for the two absolutely lovely servers who were never lacking a smile.

And as I finish this update the singing fountain has just switched off at 10pm. Those pretty night shots will have to wait for tomorrow!

I have never used one, but the Osmo Action 4 camera has a 5 degree C or so higher nominal max operating temperature than your Insta 360. It is small but nonetheless a bit bigger, as is almost every small 4K camera.

Glad you like it so far, wondering what you'll think of your experience on the small railway.

Seeing as you've done the fancy Hungarian history side meal, I'd recommend for contrast Pivovar Hostinec (brewery inn in one of the oldest continually running hospitality locations in the world) or if you are feeling more fancy, Café Slavia, more of a brasserie vibe but excellent food.

Or for something totally different, Ohnisko

Great minds think alike! I did initially intend to eat at Pivovar Hostinec but it had all the ambience of a morgue and the staff looked totally miserable so I left.





I then looked up Ohnisko on the map and decided it was too far away

I didn’t consider Slavia, maybe that’ll be this evening

Good morning from Kosice where it is currently approaching 07:30.

So what’s the plan for today? This:

https://www.kosiceregion.com/en/even...rokov-radosti/

Given that is a /en/ link you might expect it to be in English, nope, they’re only teasing

The Kosice Children’s railway 70th anniversary steam nostalgia weekend. I had no idea this was on when I booked, it popped up as part of my research. No idea what it will be like but I’ve all day set aside although I doubt I’ll be there that long, who knows, it’s all an adventure.

There is a vintage bus ride to the station that leaves at 08:45 from 20 minutes walk away so I’ve a bit of time to get ready.

And as I write this there has just been a massive clap of thunder! I better dig out the umbrella. Weather-wise it is supposed to be at least 10 degrees cooler today, happily, but I could do without rain… I know, so fussy