Lake Bled

I am leaving Ljubljana today and because I like to save money I decide to walk twenty minutes to the bus station to take the four euro bus to the airport instead of taking a taxi that would cost me almost fifty euros. One could call me cheap but I will blow one hundreds and fifty euros on a Michelin restaurant on occasion – in fact I will be visiting a Michelin restaurant when I return to Ljubljana in a week or so.

From the airport I pick up my rental car for the driving portion of Slovenia. I am leased a brand new car with no scratches or dents. I am not thrilled at the thought of having to be extra careful with this rental; so different from Split where we definitely rented someone’s personal car. Luckily the roads in Slovenia are pretty straight forward.

It takes me about fifty minutes or less to get to Lake Bled. Lake Bled is a beautiful area popular for weekend vacations about an hour from Ljubljana. People enjoy trails, water sports and relaxing in the surrounding town. I am too early to check in so I drive a bit to where my wine tasting will be later just to see how far it will be to walk. I stop briefly in a parking lot to google some things and I realize I don’t know how to turn my car off. The car is one of those fancy self starting type cars. After some YouTube videos and trial and error I finally figure it out.

There is no one to check me in yet so I walk to town to eat. Finally my room is ready when I return. I don’t have much time to rest before I need to go to a wine tasting in a couple hours. I am tired and don’t feel like going but since I’ve paid already I’ll force myself to attend. The wine tasting is at a hotel a thirty minute walk away from where I am currently staying.

I am glad I make it to the wine tasting. All of the wines are quite good (forgot to take picture of the bottles). We (other guests from Australia, UK and I) enjoy making fun of USA politics while trying new wines in a wine cellar.

After being successfully filled with wine and very good local cheeses I walk 30 minutes back to the B&B where I enjoy some of the wine I have leftover from my Ljubljana stash and take in the sounds of the birds and the cool air. It is a longer walk than I like into town but I am really enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of the area. I really like my porch views.

My energy levels are quite low lately so instead of driving to another lake in the morning I decide to enjoy things in town locally. I’m going to be closer to my pension and can bail out of the day at any moment if I feel like it.

I start the day with Bled castle on top of the iconic hill seen from around the lake. Hopefully a morning visit will let me avoid larger crowds. It is possible to drive up and park towards the top but everything I read says spots are limited and I don’t want to move my car and have to possibly deal with tight parking (brand new car, ugh). I walk thirty-five minutes to the top following a path behind a building. Approximately twenty minutes of the walk is uphill. The hike up isn’t too bad – I am sweating of course but on a hotter day I would probably be cursing the gods.

Bled castle is nice but it is far from being the most impressive castle I have seen during my travels. But what is really nice are the views that you get of Lake Bled below. It is peaceful up here looking down. I visit the museum and walk the walls a bit. Tour groups start arriving as I am leaving. Looks like I timed things correctly.

There is a small history museum inside the castle.

I ride a traditional pletna boat to Bled Island: Pletna boats are traditional wooden boats that are unique to Lake Bled. They take visitors to Bled Island, where you can visit the Church of the Assumption and ring the church bell for good luck.

I head down to the lake side to catch a boat to the island in the middle of Lake Bled (the island in the famous pictures). I see Tito’s former residence now hotel along with other hotels and homes along the water while a guy paddles us slowly out the island. Seems like a real strenuous job.

We only get 40 minutes on the island, I guess it is enough if you are too cheap to pay to visit the church and museum on the island. I get some gelato and walk around and enjoy the views. Nothing life changing here but a nice place to visit for 40 minutes.

After we paddle back I have my eyes on this restaurant for a late lunch but it closes at three so walk swiftly in that direction while admiring the lake from the shore.

I once more order a very rich and heavy truffle pasta. The pasta good but that with the olive oil and bread accompanying has me very full. I feel like I could sleep at this table or at least grab some grass by the water and pass out.

No matter which direction I go I am still at least forty-five minutes from my pension by foot. I make the decision to continue walking the rest of the six kilometer trail around the lake, ignoring my fullness and ignoring my tiredness. I am glad I do because there are so many more nice scenic views around the lake. I now understand how important rowing is to this town (and this country for that matter). There is a large rowing center set up at one point in the lake where competitive rowers come to row. I notice on the schedule there will be rowing here early evenings this week. Perhaps I can come back and watch another day. I did row one year in high school but I have a feeling this rowing is at a completely different level.

I complete the loop around the lake and on the way out of town I finally peek into the large church in town. It has an interesting chandelier and even more interesting artwork on the walls. One of the paintings that is supposed to represent a famous verse looks like a lion giving a guy cpr.

I have a timed reservation tomorrow for the nearby gorge. More on that later.

Part 2: Ljubljana

In the morning I set off for coffee again and decide to visit the Metrolicko art center, a very funky art area. The area seems lively at night from all the beer cans around and bars nearby. I must return in the evening sometime.

I take a quick stop into Ljubljana Cathedral while it is open.

I have a restaurant picked out when I am reminded about the Friday food market very close to my apartment. There are so many food choices to purchase as well as wine and beer. The market is crowded making it hard to find a seat initially. Do people here work on Fridays?

I stop by a popular cafe to try the local dessert called prekmurska gibanica. Made with poppy seeds, walnuts, and cheese among other things this semi-sweet dessert should be something I like but I don’t really care for it too much. I guess I have finally developed a sweet tooth due to eating so many goodies while I am out traveling.

I end my day with visiting a rooftop bar. There is a nice view at Neboticnik but I am actually a little chilly outside and have to move indoors when a table opens up. I am chilly today but not complaining because I like the cold when I can get it. I know it won’t last long.

Back to my room to get ready to leave tomorrow. I am heading to the Ljubljana airport to pick up a rental car. I will explore more of Slovenia on the road. Luckily I’ll be back in town in about a week.

Part 1: Ljubljana, a new found love

I take a FlixBus from Zagreb, Croatia to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Now that I am in the eurozone border crossings are no sweat. During the couple hour bus ride it rains. It also rains my entire 20 minute walk to the apartment I have rented for my first visit to Ljubljana.

Slovenia is a country in the Balkans north of Croatia and south of Austria. While it was part of the former Yugoslavia, it was the first to claim its independence when the former communist nation dissolved. It was also able to leave Yugoslavia relatively easy unlike its neighbor Croatia. It has a very different feel to it then other former Yugoslavia nations since it was always popular for tourism due to its mountains and other resources.

It takes me a little while to find my apartment because while the instructions are detailed I still have a hard time locating it. I am not too far from the elevator that takes you up to Ljubljana castle.

I had planned to use this first day to catch up on some things like travel planning but arrived in town very hungry. I check into my room and go out for an early dinner at a restaurant across the street.

The rain stops and reveals a charming city. I decide the weather is so nice I need to walk around. I window shop and notice all the cafés along river that cuts through town.

Art Installation “Faces” of Locksmith Street

There is a good amount of interesting artwork scattered across the historic city.

Day 2

I wake up early get some coffee and something to eat. I head to a strukli cafe – My Dumplings of Slovenia. They aren’t fully open yet but they do sell me coffee and cold strukli to heat up at my apartment. I purchase two cold strukli thinking I have a microwave back at my apartment but apparently I do not. Because the other methods of heating are too complicated I eat a small amount of cold strukli (not the best) and save the rest for later when I have the patience to heat them up.

Today I am visiting the Ljubljana castle. I had bought tickets in advance and I plan to take the funicular to the top in lieu of the stairs or path.

The medieval castle itself isn’t too impressive in size. It was used for prisoners during various battles. I enjoy the video of the history of the castle. There is a Michelin restaurant on location that I have reservations for in over a week.

I also really enjoy the puppet museum. In the museum is a collection of weird puppets.

There is also a history museum of sorts but it isn’t too impressive because most of the items are just facsimiles of items in other museums. There is a good section on the history of the city in Slovenia during wars.

I walk down the long path to town and visit the central market.

For lunch I decide to try some Slovenia kranjska klobasa at Figovec. I get a very large smoked sausage served with dipping sauces. I order a side of veggies and there is bread accompanied by a butter mixed with some green herb that I can’t stop eating.

After my heavy meal I take a walk around the Tivoli park.

I stop for ice cream at Vigo.

This afternoon I have a Slovenian wine tasting scheduled. Looking forward to trying some local wines. In the tasting group are people from Spain, Mexico, and the UK. Our very enthusiastic host tells us all about the wines he is serving and the regions they come from. Slovenian wines aren’t made in large quantities so it doesn’t make sense to widely export them; although if you are part of the EU it is slightly easier to purchase them. I guess I need to just enjoy them while I am in the country.

There are two “surprise” wines of the tasting (although one I already know of due to advance city research). Slovenian orange wine is made by leaving the white grape skins in to ferment with the juice, like a red wine is made. Cviček is a rose like wine that is made from a mix of white and red wine. It is lower in alcohol and popular on warm days. Kind of like champagne it can only be named so if it comes from this one particular region in Slovenia. I enjoyed most of the wines I tasted but I probably wouldn’t order the Cvicek again. I do arrange to purchase a bottle of orange wine to take with me on my travels the next few days.

More sightseeing tomorrow

Zagreb, I love you

I am glad for a late start today because the rain does finally let up for my first tour which is a general city tour. The tour starts in the park Zrinjevac, one of seven city parks. Our guide talks about the upper and lower cities and Kaptol.

One of the sights is a meteorological box in the park. We are told how it was donated by a local. It holds information on things such as temperatures, sunrise/sunset schedules and more.

We go to a parking lot that once was home to a magnificent synagogue. When the nazis took over the city the religious building was destroyed brick by brick and cheered on by the nazi party. Also as a result of the nazi occupation the population of Jewish people went from around 11,000 to about a few hundred today. Most were sent to concentration camps, some in Croatia, and some migrated to other countries. The city has made sure the Jewish synagogue today profits off the current lot in order to one day build a new home. However due to the small numbers in the city it is unlikely that is happening anytime soon. Along with the Jewish people, the Romani and Serbs were also persecuted at the time of the war.

Our guide tells us about the statue in the main square, a leader on a horse that originally was overlooking the town in the opposite direction (looking at upper town). During the communist time of Yugoslavia the statue is removed from the square. Thank goodness it is not destroyed and kept safely in a museum. After Croatia becomes independent again the statue is returned to the square but this time pointing in the opposite dirtection because most of Zagreb now exists in that direction and the statue is overlooking the city.

We are told about the performance artist Tomislav Gotovac and the filming of “Zagreb I love you” (I later see this in Graz, Austria in a museum). There is a sidewalk plaque with a footprint noting this moment but I forgot to take a picture.

We walk over to Dolac Market which is normally bustling but due to the constant rain only a few vendors are set up today. We learn how women called Barica would traditionally sell the produce at the market. We also learn the origins of the traditional umbrellas of the city. It of course has love story origins but now you can see example of these umbrellas all over the market.

We stop by the Zagreb Cathedral, closed due to renovation.

Our guide takes us over to the tower near the funicular. It is close to noon and just in time to hear the cannon fire. One man does this job every day at 12:00 noon. It is very loud.

We then take the funicular up to the upper town. It is said to be the shortest funicular in the world.

In upper town many of the street lamps are still gas powered. There are people who come every night to light them as well as blow them out in the morning.

Ahead is a beautiful church, St Marks, from the 1300’s but the tiles the 1800’s. It is mostly covered in construction but the tiles are still visible. We learn that all these “under renovation” buildings are a result of a bad earthquake about 3 years ago. Only one life was lost fortunately because most were on lockdown and not at their place of business due to covid. The repairs needed to all their historic sights are in the many billions so it might be a while before we see Zagreb at its finest again. Hidden behind the screens I can tell there are some pretty impressive sights here.

Finally we end up at the little gate that has been turned into an alter to the Madonna since it is the only thing that is not destroyed in a fire.

As we say goodbye it starts pouring again. We run off in our different directions. I want to grab a quick lunch so I order a prosciutto and cheese sandwich from Pigvin. I eat my sandwich under the over hang until I see the rain lighten. Then I fight the winds as I walk back to my room with my sandwich. I think this is when my poncho gets its first rip. It is getting a workout today.

Art installation around town of solar system

After a couple hours of rest I contemplate bailing out of my afternoon tour because it is cold and wet and I am tired. I force myself to put my poncho back on and go back out for my afternoon tour : Communism & Croatian Homeland War Tour. I have never been particularly interested in history or wars for that matter. For some reason I cannot get enough of these tours during my time in the Balkans. While much of the history is way in the past, I think things are so interesting to me now because we are talking about a conflict that happened during my time, when I was old enough to be aware of the extent of what was happening, but I did not. I was a teenager not really concerned with what was going on in the world and the USA media and education system didn’t really seem to be concerned either. We only really learned of conflicts when they started affecting Bosnia. There were many conflicts going on in Croatia I knew nothing about.

I also didn’t know how much Croatia flirted with fascism in the WWII. They basically were a puppet state of Germany. They thought aligning with nazis would give them status as an independent state but what they found is that they were just another occupied territory.

The history is very complex and I would not do it justice trying to explain it. If you are interested look for resources on Croatia during Austria-Hungarian/Venetian era, during WWII, during communism (Yugoslavia) era, and during the war of the 1990’s fight for independence. Also as all my tour guides say look for non-biased sources and sources from different points of view….in the 1990’s in particular Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian point of view (looks like I need a trip to Serbia in my future). Also as hard as it is don’t ever “take sides” in a discussion with a local. There are many perspectives that we cannot imagine. Basically we know nothing.

During this tour we stop in the bomb tunnel again. I learn that it was used once to host a rave and as a shelter during the wars of 1990’s.

The tunnel entrances were not convienent for everyone so we finish our tour in a bomb shelter in the basement of a local resident. There we get a in depth explanation of the history of communism (more Tito) and watch a movie about the war of 1990’s. Overall the tour isvery informative.

I am wet and tired and want to call it an early night. I pick a restaurant that looks good enough after I discover my first choice is actually a fancy Michelin place that is booked up more than a week in advance. At the local restaurant I have more Strukli and a big seasoned meat burger. The food is tasty but very filling. I can’t keep eating like this; I need to start asking for to-go boxes. Balkan people love large portion sizes.

Tomorrow I head to my next country in my Balkan adventures – Slovenia.

Zagreb, Croatia

I’ve only been here a few hours but I am liking Zagreb. I like its vibe and I like its grit. Zagreb is in the northern part of Croatia and is much different than the Adriatic style Croatia that most people are familiar with.

I check in to my B&B and look for a restaurant since I didn’t really eat lunch today and it is already mid afternoon.

I try a local specialty called strukli. There are a couple different ways strukli is cooked but it’s a salty cheese dish. It can be sweet but I never try a sweet one. I order the gratinated version which is like a pasta dish served very hot. I have to wait until it cools to not burn my mouth. I am very surprised I like it so much. I have had many cheesy things lately so hard to impress but this dish is good.

I decide to walk up the stairs to upper town where I get a look at the city and the funicular that I will take tomorrow. It is overcast and a little chilly but I don’t mind. At least it’s not raining (today) like other parts of Croatia have been.

Most museums are closed but one that is open later is the museum of broken relationships. The theme is relics that are acquired during a relationship, romantic or otherwise. Exhibits are accompanied by short stories or explanations of its meaning.

I leave the museum and walk around upper town, the old part of Zagreb that’s located up on the higher part of town. One can walk up stairs to get here like I did, walk uphill or take a funicular (which I will do later).

One common thing I notice is that most of the major sites are almost completely covered and under maintenance. I already know I am going to have to return to see the city when the work is completed.

I walk some more and find a hidden church in a walkway as I walk back down toward lower town. I find out later the significance of it. Porta di Pietra, or Stone Gate, is a Christian shrine to Mary that miraculous survived a fire.

It’s probably obvious by now but if there is a “hidden” tunnel or cave or whatnot I am interested in seeing it. I head to the not so hidden WWII bomb shelter tunnels in Zagreb. There are multiple entrances but there isn’t much to it besides it being pretty large. I guess it has good acoustics because i hear singing from one part of the tunnel.

I pass through the passage way called the Oktogon. It has a beautiful octagon atrium.

The weather is nice so I walk the streets some more.

Nikola Tesla actually born in the region in a town nearby to Zagreb. They have a statue for him in the city.

I have a drink at a cafe and then a snack and then I head back to my B&B, staying up later than I anticipated. My reprieve from the regional rain ends since it starts up when I get back to my B&B. One problem with shoulder season travel is the threat of rain. The rain goes all night but hopefully it doesn’t ruin the two tours I have planned for tomorrow.