Budapest

I wake up, check out of my hotel in Ljubljana and head down to the bus station. I have an all day bus ride today and we are heading to Budapest, Hungary. We leave on time but while still in Slovenia we are stopped to check ids. It gives me a chance to run to the bathroom.

There are no border checks Slovenia to Hungary. I can’t believe I don’t have to go to the bathroom again. Either I am getting real good at monitoring my liquid intake or I’m dehydrated. At least I am not having to pee every 45 minutes!

I arrive in Budapest at what I believe is the most convienent bus station of the two stops. Google tells me to take the 3 line on the metro. I haven’t had a chance to find a bank yet; I have a new currency to deal with here. Luckily I can buy metro tickets with credit cards. I buy a 72 hour transportation ticket because I will at least be here that many days – It’s a good thing I do. I get stopped almost immediately by someone who works in fare enforcement. There are signs warning you everywhere of this but it is hard to believe until you get stopped. I meet a couple later who actually had to pay the fine because they couldn’t figure out the ticketing system.

From my stop it is about a twelve minute walk according to google but with my bags and me being me it takes about twice that, plus I stop to admire things around me. It becomes clear that my apartment is in the “happening” part of town, the Jewish Quarter in Pest. Hopefully I’ll have some stamina to stay out late a night or two.

After settling in my cute and convenient apartment I head out to get a proper meal. I’ve only had snacks all day. I go back and forth about what I want but end up at this nearby restaurant where I order something local, Chicken Paprikash. It is satisfying but I can’t say its the best dish I have ever had. I’ll have to try my luck again later with Hungarian dishes.

Budapest wasn’t originally on my itinerary this year because I didn’t have it high on my priority list. I noticed I had a extra slither of time to dedicate somewhere between Slovenia and meeting my friends in Norway. I feel like I already had good amount of time in Slovenia and Norway is too expensive to add extra days this year so Budapest seemed like the only logical choice.

Budapest is the capitol of Hungary and formed by the two former cities Buda and Pest (and also Óbuda). Buda and Pest are still distinct parts of town today separated by the Danube river. They used to be part of the Ottoman then Habsburg empire, a nazi occupied territory, a communist dictatorship and now a member of the European Union.

The next morning I am up way earlier than I should be. Today is my Buda day. I plan to spend the entire day exploring Buda on the hill. Buda is the name of the part of the city of Budapest on the west side of the Danube. It contains government buildings, the Buda castle, wealthy residents and some good museums. I start my day at a breakfast where I order some avocado toast, a staple from back home.

I start walking toward the funicular to get to the upper part of Buda. The famous chain bridge to cross the Danube is closed for repairs for pedestrians so I cross another bridge. I am enjoying the architecture on the way.

I take the funicular up and enjoy the views from top.

Not doing much research besides figuring out what time things open, I have no idea where to start today. I end up at the Buda Castle History Museum. I have booked a tour at 12:15 to see the newly restored St Stephens room so I wander the museum as I wait. One thing I notice is the ruins of the old town underneath the buildings. This and the fact that there are so many buildings destroyed from wars outlies an long history, one that the government wants to preserve. In fact today I discover all the nearby construction is because the government has a project to recreate each destroyed building as they were originally in place using the detailed records that fortunately still exist. It is a long and expensive project that I am not sure I have seen replicated anywhere in my travels.

The beautifully restored St Stephens room is a great choice to tour today.

After the museum I walk over to the labyrinth and I watch someone lock the doors of the attraction. Apparently it is closing for lunch. I’ll go somewhere else and come back.

I try to visit the Hospital in the Rock Bunker but it is thirty minute wait for the next tour. It is expensive, no photos are allowed and reviews say you are rushed through the whole thing by the tour guide. I decide to skip it or come back later if I change my mind. It’s late afternoon and I haven’t eaten lunch so I decide to try one of Jamie Olivers chain restaurants for lunch. Foods ok and what I would expect from a chain. It gives me the energy to walk over and look at the Matthias church and nearby Fisherman’s Bastion.

I visit the Fisherman’s Bastion (fortress) and nearby cathedral (Matthias Church), although I did not pay to enter either.

My lunch was light so I visit a stand selling langos, a food I want to try. Langos is basically fried bread with your choice of sweet or savory toppings – like a pizza. I order a standard one with popular ingredients of sour cream and cheese. I don’t have high expectations for this food item but I am pleasantly surprised; It is very good. While I eat I watch all the extra tourists that are in town today because the Europa final is tonight. Throughout the city I’ve been hearing Italian and Spanish.

You think I am done with eating but I had my eye on this cake earlier – Chestnut Chocolate Cake. It is unique and surprising good.

Now that I have food and dessert out of the way I head back to the labyrinth. Again I didn’t know what to expect but I get a very bizarre and creepy experience. The visit starts with statues of mostly famous people then leads into a wax museum type experience with wax figures acting out an opera….with the opera music playing in the background. You then have the choice to continue on the well lit path or follow the pitch black path. I am up for adventure so I went the dark way. When I say it is dark, I mean it is dark. There is an occasional green light on the floor but I spend the majority of my time with my hands against a stone wall following it around listening to water dropping. Occasionally there will be music playing and a hidden creepy wax museum figure behind some bars. There is a little rope part of the way you can grab to take you along so I started using that eventually. I got creeped out and returned to the light. Only after looking at the tunnel map I realized it isn’t a true labrynth so I really wouldn’t have gotten lost. In fact a tour guide tells me later that these tunnels actually connect many of the residential buildings in the city through basement openings. They utilized an existing cave system to create a sort of alternative entrance and exit situation for the city. Kind of fascinating to think about it.

Eventually I get to the whole vampire lore part of the tunnel. There is a story that Dracula (the man or vampire) was captured and kept here at one time but no official record confirms that – it is just a fun story.

I have a Buda Castle vampire tour scheduled this evening and still have time to kill so I do more walking and photo taking. I forget to bring my phone charger aI head to a bar to have them charge my phone and get a drink (It’s a necessity!). For a short while I am living like I did before cells phones were everywhere. I just have to people watch and enjoy my own company.

I grab my slightly charged phone and head back down the hill to meet my tour guide. We know right away it is him because of his long black coat and top hat. He gathers us then slowly takes us back up the hill telling us story after story of mostly vampires or vampire adjacent creatures in Hungary’s history. He even includes his version of the “true story” of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula). He is a good story teller and I enjoy seeing Buda all lit up for the evening.

The tour ends and I just miss the bus that would have made my journey back much quicker so I make the silly decision to walk back the way I came this morning (40 or more minutes). It is 10:30 PM and I am exhausted but I do it anyway, enjoying the city in lights. I am tired but I am very surprised I still have this much stamina when most days I do not. I will definitely pay for this tomorrow in body aches.

I finally get to my district and as I suspect it is lively but not as lively as I thought it would be. Apparently that Europa match is still on and they have just started overtime and penalty kicks. I watch for a bit while walking down the really long party street that is two blocks from my place. I really need to go to bed so I head back.

What a long day. I have a feeling I am going to get a late start tomorrow !

Part 3 : Heading back to Ljubljana

I wake up way earlier than expected disappointed because I actually want to sleep in this morning. I pack up early for my drive back to Ljubljana. I have my last two climbs up that very long uphill path to get the car out of the tight garage. I am pleased to find no dings on my door. People in Slovenia must just be very considerate and careful. I see that there are parking spaces I can park for 30 minutes closer to apartment (but still a steep walk uphill). I try to parallel park along the stone walls but it is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. I am backing up into a steep and curvy parallel spot. While I try to straighten the car out it seems impossible because of the uneven stone road. I think the car has some automatic no collision feature on because I feel it trying to stop me from doing things. The alarms are also screaming at me if I get too close to a wall. However the screaming is warranted because even though I don’t hit a wall I am seconds from getting one of my back tires caught in this deep moat like thing along the stone wall. Things could have been bad. I will be so glad when I get rid of this car.

I finally get my backpack and return the garage key card and say goodbye to my host. And one more steep walk uphill. You should see my legs. They haven’t looked this good in like ten years. It is amazing what 4 days of intense hills and stairs will get you.

I decide to stop at the Technical Museum of Slovenia (Tehniški muzej Slovenije) on the way back to Ljubljana. The museum is basically building after building of items related to technical advancements.

The collection is large and vast but the museum is very popular for its extensive collection of cars, some that once owned to the beloved leader of Yugoslavia Josep Tito. How many cars does a communist leader need?

There is an old monastery on site and weird rooms of taxidermy animals. They must have put lots of time into this museum in the past; now much of it is outdated.

Finally make it to the car rental place. They dont do an inspection right away but I inspected and I think there is absolutely no damage. I take the bus back to town. Luckily the walk to my hotel is much shorter this time. I am staying in a proper hotel the next two nights. I like that is closer to the bus station since I have a bus scheduled in 2 days.

I still think Ljubljana is charming. I could make time in town to visit a museum or two but I am happy just walking around. I finally eat at a restaurant I had been eyeing last time called Julija. I order the special ravioli they have on the menu and a side of grilled vegetables.

After dinner I walk back towards my hotel contemplating stopping at a cafe when I come across another festival in the area by the church. This time it is a burger and beer festival. I am sad I already ate since the burgers smell good. I stroll along the water and pick up some pistachio ice cream. The pistachio ice cream I get in the Balkans is different. The nuts are put into the ice cream in more of a nut butter format like you would expect in a jar of peanut butter. The pistachio I’ve eaten elsewhere is always an overly processed thing thoroughly blended into the cream.

The next day I only leave the room to eat and run some errands. I need some warm weather shirts because it is starting to get warm everywhere I go and my wardrobe is heavy on the long sleeve shirts.

I finally try Kodila meat market and take a chance by ordering the Bujta repa (fermented turnip stew) and I am rewarded. I normally avoid anything related to sauerkraut but the sour turnip plus pork plus paprika really works for me. The waiter calls it hangover food. I am not hungover but I guess I might be working on one today with my two glasses of wine with lunch. I also try again the Prekmurska gibanica cake. It is like before, it is a semi sweet cake. It’s something in theory I should love because I don’t love sweet things but its not my favorite Slovenian dessert; I very much prefer Bled cake.

For this evening I have a fancy Michelin dinner scheduled. It’s up at Ljubljana castle. I take the funicular up the hill. Even though it is a long wait today for the funicular I am early. I walk along the free parts of the castle while I wait for my reservation. I am eventually seated on the terrace. I am used to dining alone but I always feel awkward when I do the fine dining because normally I read a book while eating to pass the time and it somehow doesn’t feel appropriate at the fancier meals. The food is good but it isn’t the best Michelin food I’ve had. Maybe I’ve had enough of the fancy foam dishes for a while. Give me some local favorite comfort foods instead.

The heavy meal and wine exhausts me for the evening. I head back to the hotel to pack since tomorrow I travel on to the next country, Hungary.

Caves of Slovenia

In the region of caves I booked a ticket to see the Postojna Cave and the nearby Predjama castle. From what I researched Postojna seemed like the lesser of the big caves in the region so I did not prioritize it, instead booking the Skocjan Cave ahead of time (scheduled tomorrow). After driving an hour away to the Postojna cave I am now thinking I have that reversed. Getting there early to not miss my start time I stop in for coffee and a strudel since I left before breakfast this morning.

I line up for my cave entrance time and they start scanning tickets about 15 minutes before start. All those that have requested audio guides go off into a separate room to pick up the guide. We also all enter the train together. Train? Yes there is a train to take us 3.5 km to the walking portion of the tour. This cave is the second longest cave system in the country made famous by its karst or limestone landscape. Formed by an underground river, the stalagmites and stalactites are quite impressive to look at. As I walk through the cave drops of water fall periodically from above proving the cave is still a work in progress. We walk 1.5 miles through the cave, get a look at a “dragon”-like cave creature and then we take the train back out.

During the tour of Postonja we end up in a cavern like area where there is good acoustics. It is common to have Christmas concerts here. Toward the end is a river running along the cave.

After my visit to the cave I hop in the car and drive about 10 km to Predjama Castle, a castle built into the rocks and around another cave system. It is pretty impressive how it is built, security being its top priority. Apparently it is too damp to be a permanent residence but it provided great protection to attackers for it being high up and its vast cave system that could be used for escape routes. I was able to visit a bit of the upper cave but I am too early in season to visit the caves below because bats use it for hibernation during many months of the year. The audio guide there talked about a couple of the past residents and uses but the most interesting is the Robin Hood like character that lived there for a while. He had quite the reputation for robbing the rich.

Tomorrow I go see another cave so we will see how it stands up to the one today.

I head back to Piran for some food and drink. I am craving some ćevapi and luckily they have a Bosnian restaurant in town. It is very good but some rude guy next to me felt the need to interrupt my meal and tell me I am eating my ćevapi wrong. I tell him I’ve been to Bosnia and know how they eat cevapi and can eat it how I please. He seems very proud of him self for “correcting” me. I basically tell him to mind his own business since he isn’t even Bosnian.

After eating I find a place at a cafe and have myself a happy hour and do some reading. It is a nice and relaxing way to end my day.

Škocjan Cave

In the morning they are setting up for a market. I hope it will still be active when I return to town later.

My tour for the caves starts at 10 am. I am early and I wait for the guide to gather us to walk us the kilometer or so down to the cave entrance. A group of men arrive as what seems like a stag party. There is a bar at the cave entrance. They start doing rounds of shots and cheering “OPA!”. It seems to be a lively group. They separate all of us by what language we understand for the tour. Each group enters a few minutes after the other.

I am visiting Skocjan caves and the first thing that comes into mind touring this cave is that this is some goonies sh*t. What I mean by that is that the high cave paths and views down below make me think of the movie Goonies, a favorite from my childhood. The cave was first discovered BC but was majorly explored in the 1900’s. It is culturally significant and added to the UNESCO list in 1986 (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/390/). We explore via a modern made path but as we walk along thee cave you can see the old path the explorers made, a pretty impressive feat. Unfortunately they have a very strict no photo policy inside (though ignored by the woman in front of me who made me stop constantly so she could take her illicit photos). I have borrowed a photo from the unesco site so you can get an idea of how impressive it is inside.

Photo of inside Škocjan Cave (credit to Borut Lozej from unesco site)

After our inside tour there are a couple different exit options. Don’t take exit 2 unless you just like stairs. Take elevator or long cave exit. Nothing to gain by exit 2 which I took. I felt I’d be too lazy to take the elevator and I didn’t have it in me to take the longer cave exit; although I regret it later. I do catch a little waterfall on my way out.

Afternoon in Piran

I return to Piran for the afternoon. There is a band playing with an accordion and tuba and I’m eating pizza at an outdoor cafe. I’m confused if I am in Slovenia, Italy or Germany right now, there seems to be a mix of cultures here. There is a flea market going on. People are selling various things like antiques, light fixtures, baskets, and jarred foods. Along with the band people are singing in the courtyard.

I take some time to do my laundry since I’ve been sweating through everything here near the sea. While I wait for my laundry I watch the singing groups perform at the square outside. It must be some sort of informal music festival, or do they do this every week.

I finally eat at the recommended restaurant in that very same courtyard. There is very strange way of getting a table compared to the rest of town. I wait in the unmarked line like I am told and watch at least two couples “steal” tables anyway, even after learning the rules. Once you have a table you can go order from the window. There is a waiter but that is for drinks only. You must pay attention for your number to be called. I eat one of the best plates of fried calamari I think I’ve ever had. If I had more time I’d come back and order the grilled ones.

I take it easy the rest of the evening. Tomorrow I am heading back to Ljubljana to return the rental car and explore some more

Piran, truffle hunting, and hair pin turns

I’ve checked into my hotel in Piran and settled in. It is a small hotel and I am the only guest for right now. I have a room on the top floor with windows that open up to the outside. It’s early in season but still very warm out so I take advantage of the air conditioning while inside. I do sneak some views from my window into the town center.

After a rest I go out for dinner, a drink, and a walk around town.

Finally found some good mussels and of course fresh fish is always a good idea.

I finish off the evening watching the sunset at a cafe along the water. The water gets rough and some of the tables in the cafe are in the splash zone. I see what looks like cruise ships off in the distance. We are nearby to the town of Koper which has a large port.

In the morning I get to sleep in a bit. I head downstairs and order breakfast at a nearby cafe. This is sleeping in for me but the cafe is barely open when I order. This is not an early morning town.

This afternoon I am heading to the town of Gazon to have a truffle hunting experience.

If you remember my previous post I was afraid I left the rental car unlocked. Obviously people are honest around here because when I get to the rental car in the garage it is unlocked. Would never trust an unlocked car in the USA.

This parking garage is bad for my nerves. Tight ramps that are too close for comfort are stressing me out. And seven floors of this! I hope navigating this gets easier.

I white knuckle it down narrow curvy roads with steep inclines between vineyards; at one point I am on a dirt and rock road. Not sure what is happening with google but these routes suck. I know there are highways I could be taking but google is giving me these goofy routes.

I finally arrive to the meeting place: a small, full parking lot across from a bus station. I park illegally until someone shows up to tell me where I can park instead.

I meet my host for the outing, Jerneja, who directs me to a parking lot I can legally park in. From there we walk to a wooded area to meet the truffle hunter and his dog. She tells me that she runs her own travel company and along the way she is greeted by people in town setting up for a party. It is one of those towns where everyone knows each other. She will be stopping by later after she completes my tour.

She also tells me that truffle hunting in Slovenia was illegal until 2012, even though it still occurred. My host tries to explain that the land for hunting is pretty much open for all hunters even though the land is private. I am not sure if I understood that part correctly. I do learn that white truffles are more expensive because they are more rare. We won’t be hunting those today because the season is September through January and we are in May.

I meet a Sheepdog named Lilly and her handler. Sheepdogs are very good at this but also golden retrievers are fine hunters too. Any dog can be technically trained for it. Lilly is 4 years old and trains every day. Her handler basically does this as a hobby.

Truffle hunting has its good and bad days. To make it enjoyable for visitors some truffles are pre staged for the dog to discover I find out later. However it is a good day because the dog finds many more after that.

We go back to Jerneja’s house where we I try some local products: wine, truffle sausage, truffle cheese, white truffle spread, black truffle spread, and homemade elderflower water. She also shows me how to make the popular local dish of istira truffle pasta. I help grate the truffles and she instructs me on pasta cooking and the importance of combining the truffles with fat to make the flavors appear, in this case it is butter. She later adds egg yolk and cheese as well. It is simple but perfect. We share a meal and a nice conservation. I learn a better way to drive back; in fact she discovers that I had asked google to avoid highways that was the reason why I had all these ridiculous routings. It must have happened when I was trying to avoid driving through Italy a day ago.

I head back to town and back to the dreaded parking garage. I find a parking spot but its too tight for me so I give up and drive 3 floors down. I find a better spot but still takes me ten tries to get it to where I am sufficiently away from accidently “door damage”.

For the walk from the garage to town I take a different route – this time down a bunch of stairs. The town of Piran is beautiful at night. I can hear people partying in the plaza so I have to close my window for the night. I am getting up early tomorrow to visit one of the caves of the area.

Vršič Pass and Piran

I am still in northern Slovenia. Today I pack up and drive out to the Vršič pass. Located in the northwest corner of Slovenia the pass is a switchback road through the Julian alps and Triglav National Park. It is only open for driving part of the year when the weather allows. Besides the beautiful views of the mountains I also get to enjoy an introduction to the Soča Valley. It takes about fifty hairpin turns to complete the pass.

I take the route beginning at Kranjska Gora first stopping at a rock bed along a stream that provided great views of the mountains.

As I am driving up the pass I discover how popular this pass is for cyclists. I pass by many struggling to get uphill, even some walking their bikes up the tough parts when they lose momentum. I know some people really like this but I would be miserably uncomfortable and unable to enjoy the scenery if I chose this method of traveling. I am happy biking on flat paths but give me a car for all the hard stuff.

One of the most popular stops on the pass is the Russian Chapel, a chapel dedicated to the Russians who were prisoners of WWI by the Austrians and were used build the roads. Many were killed by an avalanche while working.

I stop at a meadow with lovely views of bright green trees and the snow capped mountains in the background. This stop, Prisank mountain viewpoint, provides great views of the mountains.

I get a little closer to the mountain range and see things like the Heathen Maiden or the face in the mountain (Ajdovska Deklica).

There is livestock around to stop and look at.

I get to the top at the Vršič Pass high point or the Postman’s Lodge.

I drive down into the Soča valley blasting Sonic Youth’s Dirty Boots on the speakers inside the car.

I had wanted to stop at a dairy store near Bovec at the end of the pass – Soca Valley Dairy and Cheese Museum – but it is still closed another week or so until season starts. I pick up a bar of chocolate from the grocery store across the street instead.

Since my next stop is a couple hours away I decide to head back on the road south toward the city of Piran. Piran exists in a little slither of Slovenia that exists on the coast in a region called Istria. South of Slovenian Istria is Croatia and north of the area is Italy. The area is know for its warm temperatures, wine, and truffles.

Because I told the rental car place that I would not be crossing borders I end up taking the very long route to Piran to avoid entering into Italy. It turns out to be a nice drive where I drive through small vineyards with picturesque churches in the background….why didn’t I stop more for pictures? I also drive by the largest stone arch railroad bridge in the world. Unfortunately there is no where I can safely stop for pictures; I glance at it for a moment while I drive by.

Still many more back roads and I finally get to the town of Piran. I am told I can bring my car into the city center to drop my bags and my hotel will give me a card for a nearby parking garage. I can’t find somewhere to safely park the car except far away. I park in paid lot and carry my bag ten minutes to the hotel. If this is close parking I can’t wait to see where the satellite parking is.

I get my key card and map to the garage. I thought the hotel owner mentioned the garage I saw driving in but turns out its another garage. I eventually find the garage and I zig zag my car down four or five very narrow floors eyeing the narrow spots I pass on the way down. This is where the car is going to get banged up. I sure hope my credit card insurance is legit because I am about to test it. I find a spot where I can get close to a pole to lesson the chance of a door nick. I’ll have fun trying to get out of this tight space tomorrow. I get a few feet away from when I am not sure if I actually locked the car. Hopefully its one of those cars that auto lock because I am not going back down there right now. Google says its a 12 minute walk but it takes me more like 20 and that’s all downhill. I need to schedule 30 minutes for this walk to the car tomorrow when I leave for my outing.