18 October 2008

Fall Foliage

It was not exactly leaf-peeping for the sake of leaf-peeping, but the smell of the leaves, the sun, the brisk weather and good company made for a perfect autumn day.

Looking SE from Šariš castle, with Prešov to the upper right

At first I thought we were at Kapušany because I forgot there were other castles closeby -- but in fact, we were at Šarišský hrad in Veľký Šariš. The walk was so pleasant, and the ruins of the castle were actually quite extensive. There is a group carrying out preservation and trying to keep the local tradition of shingle making alive there -- plus some goats! Seeing them and recently reading this article in the NYT, my dream of someday owning goats is in a period of rising fervor.

We went to the very top of the keep(?), which is where they filmed those scenes in Iné Svety, and it turned out that one of the people I was there with is the grandson of the folklorist guy in the film. He's 88, still writing and publishing books, and dancing.

From the top, you can see all of Prešov, all the way to Kapušany castle, all of Sabinov to the west, and 360° of beautiful mountains.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I used to want to have a goat until my family was chased by a couple of billies who alternated between butting at us and trying to mount each other. Could be where the phrase "horny" comes from. After that incident, I could go to Mallorca on Carson and devour the "bebby goat" without compunction. They do substitute well for lawn mowers, though.

Foliage is fantastic in PA now, too.