Blogs from Slovenia, Europe - page 58

There comes a time in every person's life when you have to look back upon what you have achieved and evaluate what you have done. Wake up in the morning and ask yourself if you enjoyed the previous day, week or even the last month. Did you really or are you just going through the motions? People are different. Some like security, some are tied down by family and some are just plain adventurous. Since I'll be spending the next two years traversing South America and Asia, you could place me in the latter category. But why quit your job and head off for two years, can't you just take vacations like everyone else? Well, no, that's just not me. Clem Snide got it right when they wrote: they asked him, "hey, where's this bus going?" ... read more

Day 1 We were up at 4:30 in the morning to catch our 6:11 train to Ljubljana (pronounced lyublyana) in Slovenia where we are going to meet up with Metaja (again the j is a y sound), a good friend of Paiges who was actually born in Kranj, 25kms from Ljubljana, and lived there until she was 8. We were both really looking forward to this part of the trip and so far it hasn't let us down. The train trip was around 12 hours but it couldn't have been more different from the flight over. The seating is in cabins of six chairs each but, facing each other, but as there wasn't too many people we could stretch our legs out and get quite comfortable. The only real hiccup was that because they were repairing ... read more

10 Aug - as we'd been warned pre-departure, due to changes to train times we don't arrive in Ljubljana until mid evening and, as we leave early next morning, we only manage to see what seems to be a beautiful, picturesque Central European city by night. A quick orientation tour of grand buildings, church and triple bridge then a yummy group meal al fresco. Venison (!), cranberry sauce and a local cheese speciality thing washed down with an extremely quaffable, local red wine. Peter the Leader escorts Ali, Di and I back to the hotel after our second carafe, otherwise we probably would have ordered another one ;) Ljubljana seems like the next Krakow or Bratislava - just hope the budget airlines stay away and it keeps its charm. ... read more

(Taken from Our Summer in Slovenia) In addition to golf which I shall describe separatly, Slovenia's mild, abundant sunshine, and clear unpolluted summer days provide a havan for those who appreciate the outdoors. Besides climbing the mountains of the north, rafting the many clear streams and rivers, cycling through a generally sparse countryside replete with roadside resturants and rest stops, these is fly fishing, swimmming, competitive rowing, camping, and all the other natural out-of-doors activities one can indulge in; and do so in a comparatively uncrowded and more relaxed setting than found in western europe. Elysee and I especially enjoyed swimming in Lake Bled, I tried some fly fishing, many days we spent walking the countryside and trails in Triglev National park, and watching the competitive two and six man oar regattas on Lake Bled, a ... read more

The most common phrase running through my head the past couple of days has been, "I am so blessed!" How could I not think this when travelling beneath the most stunning mountain views in the very northern most corner of Slovenia, when traveling along hillside after hillside of gorgeous wine country, and when randomly meeting some of my favorite old friends here in Ljubljana who I otherwise had no way of contacting?? Needless to say the past few days have been wonderful. The high point came yesterday evening, driving through narrow, winding roads (aren't they all in Europe?), tiny little red-roofed villages, surrounded by the hillside after hillside of ancient vineyard in the hidden valley of Brda, near the Slovenia-Italian border. As my companion Iva stated, I really don't know why people dream and desire so ... read more