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Published: October 9th 2013
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Welcome to Slovenia! I was told immediately as I entered this beautiful country that it is the only country with the word “love” in its’ name. I will have to take their word for it. No matter if it is true or not…I LOVE THIS COUNTRY! It is beautiful, quaint and charming.
I am now on my way to my next stop in Zagreb Croatia. I’m traveling on the train as we speak. But before I get to the next stop on my journey, I will recap my time in Slovenia. As I said, it is a beautiful country and the people all seem to be ambassadors of tourism. They are all anxious to tell us about their homeland and are most helpful if you need some assistance. It started with my cab driver to the hotel clerk and on to just random people that I met in restaurants.
After the 19 hour journey to get here, I was exhausted but I read that it isn’t good to go right to sleep, but instead you are supposed to keep
going to avoid jet lag. Although doubtful, it worked. I took a cab into the center of Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. The old city straddles a beautiful river and there are several bridges that cross over it. They all have their special appeal. One is the Cobbler’s bridge and people hang their shoes above it on wires, so you find them dangling above your head as you cross the bridge. Another is the Dragon Bridge which is the symbol of the city of Ljubljana. Old town is very quaint with cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways. In the States, we wouldn’t dream of walking down an alley, but here, it’s somehow different. You can find hidden stores, restaurants and gorgeous carved doorways to people’s homes.
I also enjoyed my first meal in Slovenia at a restaurant called Marley and Me. I had roast beef on rocket. I learned that rocket is what we call Arugula. It was delicious. Most meals over here consist of meat and potatoes or pasta, so a salad was a welcome sight. There is a large Italian influence since we were only about 45 miles from Italy, so pizza and pasta is everywhere.
My first full day was spent on a tour with a couple from Vancouver, a man from the UK and 2 others from Argentina. We went first to the city of Bled and to Bled Castle. As I said on my Facebook post, my prince must have been out for the day. We then drove down to the lake and took a Pletna over to the island. It is similar to a gondola, only it has a tent like roof over it and it’s a little wider. On the island is a beautiful little church. Legend has it that if you reach the church after climbing the many stairs and ring the bell…then your wish will come true. I will have to keep you posted on that.
After leaving Bled, we went to Vintgar Gorge which is a national park. The water was so blue and crystal clear. You could see fish everywhere! After 9 years in Phoenix, it was just nice to see water in a river. My friends in PHX might understand that, but as an Ohio native, that took some getting used to.
Our guide then took us to lunch where we enjoyed a shot of blueberry schnapps which is the local specialty. Then I had the ham and sauerkraut which also had a mashed potato and bean combination. Sounds weird, but it was pretty good.
Yesterday, I took another trip to the Adriatic Sea and the Slovenian coast. On the way we went to the largest cave system in the country. It was enormous. We walked 3 kilometers through the cave and across a bridge inside with a river running hundreds of feet below us. Not for the faint of heart or if you
are claustrophobic. It was beautiful, but I was glad to get back to the outside, where I met a family from my hometown outside of Akron Ohio. It truly is a small world.
From there we went to the Lippanzaner stud farm. We were only able to see the mares and colts. They keep the stallions locked safely away. After a short stay there, we traveled on to the coast and the city of Piran. It’s very Venetian looking as it isn’t far from Venice.
The highlight of the day for me was the visit to Predjama Castle. It is built into the side of a cliff. There are caves behind it which was their escape route from enemies. Quite clever. They were finally conquered after being betrayed by one of their own. The structure into the mountain is amazing, but you wouldn’t want to lean too far out your window!
I will leave you with a funny story, or not so funny for me. The room keys here are cards similar to those we have in the States, except that they also control the temperature and all the electricity in the room. When you enter the room, you have to place the card in a slot by the door. The lights stay on for a bit then automatically turn off to save electricity, unless the card is in the slot. I forgot this and threw my key card on the bed and proceeded to get ready for bed. After a few minutes, the lights went out and it was pitch black in the room. You should have seen me fumbling around like a blind person, looking for the key. I couldn’t find it, so the only way to get light into the room was to open the door and wave my arm or leg into the hallway. You see…even the hallways go dark until someone walks out into the hall. It’s on a sensor. So here I am half dressed…waving my arm in the hallway until the light went on. Then I rushed to find my key at last. Fortunately, nobody was there or they would still be talking about the crazy half naked American in the hallway!
Ciao for now. I will try to write another blog each day. On to Croatia!
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Laura Heim McGing
non-member comment
Wonderful
Lanie, this is wonderful! I am looking for more 'installments'!