Between Here and There - An Unplanned Trip to Slovenia and Austria

A BLOG BY BRETTO

So after a very long and drunken expedition of Croatia and Bosnia we set sail for Slovinia on the whim of a drunken memory of a recommendation from a guy in Dubrovnik (and Kirra, Lauren and Amy)! Through the border we go with the girls perving on the 'hot' customs guy and choruses of "hey jude", changed to "hey norm" being screeched throughout the lush Slovenian countryside.

What more could a man ask for i hear you say? Well once you get to Bled you will understand! you get PEACE!!!! QUIET!!!! MAGNIFICENT SCENERY!!! AND did i mention "PEACE"!!!!

The change from Croatia was dramatic - from 23 degrees one day to 14 the next, and straight from arid limestone mountains to lush green rolling hills and quaint colourful cottages.

Because it was pouring down with rain we made ourselves at home in a log cabin just outside of Bled in "camp sobec". For the awesomly cheap rate of 60 euro per night for the 5 of us we had real beds, a real bathroom, a real dining table AND A TV!!! Who says MTV reality TV is crap?

After a long night of some much needed recouperation we set out to Bled and embarked on a tour of the magnificant castle, which had one of the best put together museums that we had yet come accross. Soon after some lunch we all took a sweet ride on the local luge followed by a relaxing stroll around Lake Bled. Jacq and Kirra took in the Dali exhibition but Lozza (aka Gumby) and i decided enough was enough and organised dinner instead.

Kirra and Gumby left the next day and so it was just Jacq and i again, driving up towards the Austrian border to the tiny village Kvanjska Gora where we free camped in amongst some of the most beautiful alpine mountains i have ever seen. It truely was a treat.

Up in the morning with Jacqueline's regulatory breakfast and espresso in bed, we made tracks for Austria and the picturesque lakeside village of Klagenfurt. Soon after our arrival and during a cup of green tea;) i stood watching over the lake as a convoy of the "sickest" harleys i've seen rolled though town. Apparently the European Bike Week was on and this was the town where it was going down! After parking Norm we ventured into town for a bit more of an investigation! Turns out most of the bikers were over 50 but the bikes spoke for themselves as you can see in the picture's... Cant wait till i turn 40!!!!!

From Klagenfurt we tracked to Graz, the hometown of Arnie the Governator. The views from top of the hill were so-so, the most interesting element being the contemperary arts centre which looked more like a....... i cant even tell you what. It was just fuckin wierd (see below)!

After a shitty sausage sanga for tea, we set up camp for the night next to a power station out of town, where later in the night we were interrogated by the local police as to what we thought we were doing there? But a quick peck on the cheek for the lovely female officer, a regulatory passport check and a slap on the ass and they were on their way. Ahh, the joys of freeeee camping!

So to finish with my two bob: I would have to say that for dramatic scenery and some of the most incredible farming country side that i've seen, Slovinia and Austria has more than its fair share. Can't wait to get to Germany to enjoy more of the same!!!!!!!


JACQ'S 2 CENTS

Slovenia was gorgeous - I had no idea what to expect so was really surprised at the lushness of it all. For some reason, we all thought we were going to see a different castle on the lake than the one we actually ended up seeing at Bled!! Nobody could work out where the castle we thought we were seeing was but Bled was still pretty so it didn't really matter in the end!

Staying in the log cabin was awesome - we were all so excited to have TV that we sat around and watched it ALL night! There were only 2 channels in English though - some crappy current affairs channel and MTV. So we watched 5 hours of crappy reality TV but we thought it was the best thing on the planet - Rock of Love 3 was so good we were all still talking about it over breakfast!

Loved Austria even though we didn't see much, just did a lot of driving. This was probably the best way to see it though as the countryside and the size of the highway bridges and tunnels that's most amazing.

We are probably doing a bit much driving though and not enough walking because when we walked up the 180 steps to the viewing area in Graz, we both nearly had mini heart attacks! Must exercise more (I keep telling myself i'll get onto it as soon as i'm home, so when you see me, make sure you remind me!). Next stop Budapest to meet up with the girls one more time before they end their trip.

xxx

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