[May2016 ] Vlkolinec, the Unesco World Heritage village in Slovakia, has about 45 colourful log houses and it is very pretty. It was listed in the World Heritage because of ‘the well preserved rural medieval settlement’. According to the leaflet we bought in a small museum, the earliest time this village was recorded is 1461. At the end of the 16th century, there were only 5 houses, but at the end of the 19th century there were 47 houses with 345 people living here. Currently only 35 people or so live here, but they really live there. Because of the World Heritage status, many people must visit here, but for the 35 people it is the place to live. I saw a sign saying ‘do not enter, private property’, which showed a kind of irritation of the dwellers. When we arrived there, a group of high school students just got there, too and the village was lively, but after the group went, it became very quiet. A villager came out and started washing at the well. We went to the only pub in the village and had a glass of beer. It was lager, but not too fizzy and very good.
When we thought that we were the only visitors in the village, here came a group of about 10 Chinese people with a local guide. It looked a private tour. The guide was explaining things well, but the her customers did not show any interest, and the guide looked like she was having difficulty.