Slovenia…( I can’t think of anything catchy.)
Sunday, November 19th, 2006From Zagreb I took a 3 hour train to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. I got off the train and wandered around with a map in my hands trying to find a hostel. This is pretty much what I have to do in every city in Europe which can be a huge pain in the rear end, but it has to be done. These are the things that tend to make traveling a little less glamarous than you might imagine. After several wrong turns and a couple of, I hate backpacking and I hate all of you’s, I found the hostel. The hostel I stayed at used to be a prison back in the day. I can honestly say it was the worst hostel I have ever stayed at during my trip. The place was still run like a prison. You checked in, gave them your passport, and a 10 Euro deposit for the key. They rattled off all the instructions and rules that need to be followed and then ended the conversation by slapping a pile of neatly folded and pressed sheets on the counter…oooh, how cosy. I was expecting to have to get into a fight here on my first day just to show everyone that they couldn’t mess with me, I mean isn’t that what you have to do on your first day in prison. The only thing really missing was her telling me when shower hour was and when lights out would be. After finding my way upstairs and into my room I was again disappointed to see about 15 beds…mattresses….laid across the floor in a very neat and orderly fashion. The beds themselves were about big enough for half a person. The ceiling was slanted in at all four corners so if you need to change or stand up you had to do it in the center of the room…what a bargain this place was. The first night I went and watched Borat and then went to bad rather early. The next morning I awoke to a lovely couple lying in one of these beds practically naked not too far from me. People really just have no shame. I mean, who doesn’t want to wake up to strangers making out in bed half naked?…ooh…ooh…me…I don’t.
The next day I took a bus about an hours drive north to a small city called Bled. Bled is situated right next to an alpine lake in the middle of the Julian Alps. The Julian Alps are named after who other than, Julius Caesar. It was truly picturesque. Huge castle sitting on top of a mountain that overlooked the lake. In the middle of the lake was a small island with what appeared to be a church of some sort. I spent the day walking around the lake and taking some photos. The peace, quiet and fresh air of being up near the mountains was very nice.
At the end of the day I hoped on the bus again and headed back to Ljubljana. I called it a fairly early night as I had to get up the next day fairly early and catch a train to Venice…On to Italy!
Gagnonius