The long way round Europe - Ljubliana to Vienna via Maribor

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Day 5 - Ljubljana to Vienna via Maribor

We set off at a reasonable time this morning as checkout is at 10am. Ive got one of my first good nights sleep since we left ibiza so i'm feeling refreshed and ready to go. Thankfully charlie doesn't reek too much of stale milk, but we give him a wee spray of febreze anyway. We arrive in Maribor early lunchtime and its a lovely little town in the north of slovenia. In the centre of town there's a pretty square with a museum on one side and a church with a tall tower you can climb up on the other side. We opt to go up the tower but first check how much it costs as we are on a budget after all. Gregs is delighted when the receptionist tells us (in perfect English) that it is only 1 euro each, so much so he doesn't even seem to notice the 100 foot drop at the side of the stairs as we climb up.The top of the tower offers some lovely panoramic views over the town but Greg's vertigo is beginning to kick in and he looks like a blind man in a comedy movie as he has his sunglasses on and is feeling along the side of the wall whilst taking big clown steps. As we get back down to flat land again, we head down to the river where there seems to be some sort of fayre going on. All we notice is lots of food and drink being banded about which is our kind of fayre. There's a few stalls selling some home cooked food in large steel drums which looks and smells delicious so we join the queue as we realise how hungry we are. As we get to the front of the queue we notice there isn't actually anywhere to pay, and looking around we clock quite a few jakes dressed in full Adidas trackies hanging about. Have a feeling we've perhaps sneaked into the local soup kitchen queue and try not to speak as the chef ladles a portion of tasty looking potatoes into our bowl. Well, technically we are poor, i mean all we've had to eat today is some free cereal and a slice of toast from the free breakfast at the hostel. However, we always have money for a coffee, so stop off at a little cafe in the central square. The cafe is bustling but the poor waiter is up against it as he is the only one working. We patiently wait at the counter, sympathising with his plight, and are quite taken aback when he barks at us "what are you standing there for? Go and sit down!" We would probably have said something back if it hadn't have been for the fact he looks like a neo-nazi football hooligan. He apologises when he brings us our coffee and we certainly don't argue. We arrive in Vienna about 7.30pm and Originally we had planned to stay in and cook tonight since we're staying in a self-contained studio apartment, but none of the supermarkets are open as its a Sunday, plus Greg refuses to pay the 3.50 they are asking to hire cutlery and utensils. Instead we head out to find a cheap and cheerful restaurant, but end up getting completely lost. Its partly my fault as I keep saying 'just keep going straight on' until eventually I have to admit I have no idea where we are. We stop at a petrol station in what looks like the dodgiest part of Vienna to ask for directions but the woman doesnt speak any English at all. I make some "where are we?" sign language gestures (basically stand with my arms open looking confused then point to the map) but she just looks at me like "stupid dumb British tourist" and shakes her head. I attempt to ask her where we are on the map, but she just crosses her arms and stares at me. Greg suggests we hjust ead back onto the motorway and retrace our steps from there, and an hour after we set off we are back on the right road again. I can tell Greg is seething (he hasn't uttered a word since the petrol station). There's a Mcdonalds just up from our hotel so we decide to settle for that. Its not exactly sampling the local cuisine but it's convenient and cheap (damn you McDonald's) so we make do for the evening.

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