Levoca’s Renaissance City Hall and Gothic St. James’s Church dominate the city’s exquisite main square. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Even 20 years ago, when the Velvet Revolution first opened eastern Europe, Levoca was the most attractive historic town in Slovakia. The main square is dominated by fine Gothic and Renaissance architecture, much of it now expertly repainted and renovated, and the early sixteenth-century altars carved by Master Paul of Levoca are among the masterpieces of the central European Gothic.
In 2008, Levoca became the host of a new music event, the Indian Summer International Music Festival. And starting in 2009, this exquisite city became our base for a wonderful new Birds and Music tour.
The Festival’s exciting 2010 program takes special note of the bicentenaries of Schumann and Chopin. Cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber is joined by two remarkable young pianists, Jonathan Powell and the Czech Ivo Kahanák, the award-winning Slovak cellist Jozef Lupták, the Stamic Quartet, and the Slovak Sinfonietta. Other artists will include our old friends the Budapest Baryton Trio, the Vienna Piano Trio, and the Zemlinsky Quartet.
In addition to our five nights in Levoca, we’ll also spend two nights near the Ukranian border, where we’ll enjoy an evening of folk music in a wine cellar. The cultural side of our tour will also include visits to such UNESCO World Heritage Sites as Spissky Castle, Spisska Kapitula Abbey, and the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century frescoes of Zehra.
Our birding will take us from the wooded hills around our base of Levoca, with their Hazel Hens, woodpeckers, and owls, to the alpine habitats of the High Tatras. Beyond lies more open country, with plentiful birds of prey and migrant passerines, and we’ll end at the fabulous wetland of the Senné, which should be alive with all manner of waterbirds.
Day 1: The tour begins in London with the flight to Cracow, Poland; from there we’ll drive across the border and on to Michalovce. As the landscape opens up, we should see our first open-country migrants, such as Red-backed Shrike and Whinchat. We’ll concentrate particularly on the region’s large population of raptors, hoping especially for Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon. We’ll also be on the lookout for Black Stork. We expect to arrive at our hotel in the early evening, after stopping for dinner on the way. Night near Michalovce.
Day 2: Adjacent to our hotel are the Vihorlat Hills, a rolling landscape of broadleaf forest where we’ll search for woodland birds such as Middle Spotted and White-backed Woodpeckers and the magnificent Ural Owl. South of Michalovce, the landscape flattens into extensive cultivated plains. We’ll concentrate on the fish ponds and overgrown lakes at Senné, an outstanding wetland site. The variable water levels and extensive reedbeds at this site offer attractive habitats for a host of migrants and breeding birds, including Penduline Tit and Bearded Tit. The lakes provide a rest stop for Great White Egrets, Purple Herons, Spoonbills, occasional Pygmy Cormorants, and a variety of shorebirds pausing before they leave for the south. A wide variety of ducks are also found, together with several breeding shorebirds. The elusive Bittern is sometimes surprisingly easy to see at Senné, and small flocks of Cranes should cross the skies, as well as a White-tailed Eagle or Osprey. The first winter guests from the north could already be present, including Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, or Hen Harrier. We’ll hope to finish the day with a trip to a regular roosting spot for Eagle Owl. In the evening, we’ll enjoy a wine tasting to the accompaniment of folk music. Night near Michalovce.
Day 3: We’ll start with a walk around a large park in Michalovce. This lightly wooded area offers a last chance for such sought-after species as Syrian, Middle Spotted, and Gray-headed Woodpeckers. Later we’ll drive to Levoca, and after a restaurant lunch we’ll stroll around town and visit St. James’s church to view Master Paul’s altars. In the evening we’ll attend the opening concert in the historic theater, built in 1830, then have supper. Night in Levoca.
Days 4-5: Based in this attractive little town, our first two full days will be spent combining birding and concert-going with history and culture, visiting such UNESCO World Heritage Sites as Spisska Kapitula abbey, Spissky castle, and Zehra church with its 14th- and 15th-century frescoes. During the mornings we’ll also explore the Levocske hills, Prešov, and the surrounding countryside for a variety of birds. Early October is a good season for Hazel Hen, and the local forests are home to several dozen of them, at this time of year including young and vocal males. Nutcracker will be another target, and we’ll devote some time looking for Pygmy and Tengmalm’s Owls. Other species likely to be encountered are Golden Eagle, Crossbill, Northern Gray Shrike and, with luck, Three-toed and Black Woodpeckers and maybe a late Lesser Spotted Eagle. Among the more common species that abound in the forests around Levoca are Hawfinch, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Tree Sparrow, various tits, and such winter visitors as Brambling and Waxwing. Our afternoons and evenings will be spent at concerts in the old theater and the congress hall. Nights in Levoca.
Day 6: An early start, probably with a picnic breakfast, will allow us to spend a full day in the High Tatras, hopefully taking a cabin lift to 5,000 feet to search for Alpine Accentor and Water Pipit. After a restaurant lunch and more birding in the afternoon, we’ll enjoy another evening concert followed by supper at the hotel. Night in Levoca.
Day 7: Another full day’s birding, this time in the Slovak Paradise, will allow us to continue searching for any species that may have eluded us. This evening we’ll enjoy our final concert in the congress hall. Night in Levoca.
Day 8: We’ll leave Levoca for the drive back to Cracow airport. The tour ends on our arrival back in London.
For more information on programs and performers, visit the website of the Levoca Summer Music Festival.
Updated: 18 February 2010
Prices
- 2010 price about $2,990
- Single Occupancy Supplement $220
Notes
Maximum group size eight with one leader, 12 with two leaders.
The tour price includes good tickets for all musical performances.
The dates for this tour were adjusted in December 2009.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.