Blogs from Ljubljana, Upper Carniola, Slovenia, Europe - page 5

Bid farewell to Zagreb and off to Slovenia. Only a short time to the border. Get to passport control and we have to get off the bus, walk in the office, get our passports stamped then out the next door (on the Slovenian side) and back on the bus. Hmmm..... Anyway, all done quite quickly in comparison to one of the Bosnian borders. A few minutes later we stop at a roadside diner. No Burger King this time. We are given half an hour. Way too much time again, and you had to pay €0.50 to have a wee. Finally into the centre of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Meet our guide who likes to crack jokes and ask us lots of questions - thought he was meant to be the expert. Bloody hot so everyone ... read more

Whew! It was hot in Ljubjana when I got here on Friday and stayed that way until a cooling Sunday evening rain. Naturally, my room isn't air conditioned and the one feeble window manages to open only in the direction that does not allow a breeze to enter. But, not to be done in, I ventured out Saturday for a short trek around town and through Tivoli Park. Sunday, I took myself along the river walk - both sides. Every eatery and bar was manned by excited British soccer fans. Just as you can usually spot an American in Europe, you can't miss a Brit revving up for his favorite team. That evening I finally met with my fellow travelers in Best of the Adriatic in 14 Days. All Americans save one Aussie and all seasoned ... read more

Friday 15 May: If you were growing up in Auckland in the 70s and 80s you might have travelled to school on one of those old ARA buses with the wooden seats. If you ever wondered what happened to those buses I can inform you they are happily transporting the citizens of Ljubljana, Slovenia! It has been a bit of an unusual day. Zachary woke up at 5. Mr Rado from the Bled hostel gave us a lift in his Saab to Ljubljana. He had gone to the trouble of getting a proper car seat for Zachary which Zachary was quite chuffed about and we zoomed down the highway (the speed limit is 130 here). As it was raining he insisted on taking us right to our new accommodation. What an extremely nice man he is ... read more

I can't believe it's already been 4 weeks since I left America! They've flown by so fast, and now there's only 7 more weeks to go. I've now made it behind the Iron Curtain, and I'll be staying here for most of the remainder of my trip - until May 12th. This is all a new part of Europe for me to explore (my day trips to Bratislava and Poland don't really count much in the grand scheme of things), and I can say that I was taken over by a little rush of excitement when we crossed into Slovenia yesterday morning and I started seeing signs in a language I hadn't ever encountered. The train to Ljubljana wasn't exactly how I had planned - it was more of a bus. Apparently they've been doing some ... read more

Our train passes westward through southern Croatia. A country that hangs like a gibbet over Bosnia/ Herzegovina which lays just a few klicks to the south. In the Croatian village of Slovanski Brod we see some upper-story windows haloed with deep pockmarks punched out by the automatic weapons fire that Serbs had trained on defensive snipers who were positioned in the attics of homes on the southern edge of town. On July 15th of 1992 Bosnian refugees who had taken shelter in Slovanski Brod's soccer stadium were subjected to artillery barrages by Serbian forces in Bosnia. Dozens of civilians were killed and maimed. Business as usual. Serbia has a bad vibe to it. Men dressed in faded-Adidas track suits and cheap leather jackets wander aimlessly through the train to Belgrade. Many take long pulls from cans ... read more