We sLOVEnia

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Once we were finally free of the immigration queue at the border, we headed for the hotel Mum had booked for her and Phoebe. Talk about luxury!! This was a boutique hotel of the first order and I was highly jealous. Once they were settled in Nick and I looked for a spot to free camp, which we found next to a river. When we woke up early that next morning we went for a long walk by the river, over to the university where students were already huddling together amidst a sea of text books and exam papers. I thought to myself that it was good to see university is the same everywhere. Walking further along we realised we must have chosen a good spot to park as every second grand house belonged to the ambassador of such-and-such country. Pretty cushy job really, being a foreign ambassador in Slovenia. Slovenia, we were starting to realise, was the kind of country that just wanted to get along. Slovenia had also declared independence from Yugoslavia the same time Croatia did, but did so in a much less noticeable fashion, and whole thing was over an done with in a matter of 11 days.

Next we walked over to a cafe and ordered croissants and coffee. Croatia did offer some nice food, but croissants was one thing it did not do too well. What they called croissants looked like croissants but were actually heavy, bready dough which was nothing like the fluffy, buttery pastries that we had found in France and also Italy. Thankfully Slovenia came to the fore and we once again enjoyed some quality non-heart foundation approved pastries. We then strolled over to the cute hotel where the two livers of luxury were staying and found them munching away on a buffet breakfast. That day we wondered around Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital city and found that it was every bit as impressive as any other first rate European city. I wondered why I'd never even heard of it before, as everything from the architecture, the streets, the shops, the restaurants were simply just amazing. I would even go so far as to say it was the best city we'd been to so far and is most definitely the most underrated.

The next morning we were to part with Mum as she was heading west to Italy to see some famed frescoes and we were heading north. I waved goodbye as she hopped on a bus and Nick, Phoebe and I headed off to Lake Bled. When we arrived it was positively freezing!! Actually, nothing I could see was actually frozen but the chill was so intense I felt we would freeze sooner or later. The lake was very picturesque and in the middle was a small island with a very beautiful church. On top of a large cliff just next to the lake was an old castle. The lake was only a 2 hour walk around, so we set off for an afternoon walk to take in the views. Apparently the lake is one of the biggest visitor destinations, and it's not hard to see why. What is probably so charming about it though is that it is hardly a contrived destination made up to attract tourists. It's been there a long time and once Slovenia was considered safe to visit, the government patted themselves on the back for having harboured such a brilliant little spot.

That night was probably the coldest we have ever spent in Lentil, so we all huddled together and stayed warm under all our blankets. The following morning Nick and I woke feeling like the cold had gotten the better of us, and had the feeling we might be coming down with something. Phoebe however was as right as rain and looking forward to heading off into Austria that day for our long-awaited reunion with Birgit and Lukas.

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Photos

Even Graffiti Artists are Happy in Ljubljana!
Graffiti it seems is moderately tolerated and even embraced. I saw this on a wall next to an antiques shop

Trendy Bar in Town!
They're just so cool in downtown Ljubljana

Island Church
at the stunningly cold Lake Bled