So Many Consonants

Ah Slovenia- so nice! But still so rainy :-(

Ljubljana (Lube-e-ana), the capital of Slovenia, is another really cute town with a castle atop a hill and a river running through it (the city was named after the river). They pride themselves on being just the right size, not too big or too small for their 250,000 residents.

The city's symbol is the Dragon, which symbolises power, courage and greatness and is pretty much everywhere: on top of the castle tower, in the coat-of-arms and on the Zmajski most (Dragon Bridge). As the Greek legend goes, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, slayed a dragon after returning home from having taken the Golden Fleece.

Sadly all these former Yugoslavian towns are starting to look alike-- I am a little over them, and their churches and castles- good thing, cause this is my last stop.

However, Ljubljana did have a gourmet restaurant that I never wanted to leave. Ah, a healthy salad and soup, which wasn't super salty, and a yummy glass of Slovenian wine. We don't get Slovenian wine in the States since they don't produce enough for export (beyond their neighbors I guess, since I got some in Austria later), which is too bad since it was damn good.

Revived after my meal, I followed the tourist information's 'tourist route', which didn't take too long since the city is mini. It had all the standard stuff- the castle, veggie/fruit market, churches, bridges (one that went in 3 directions) and Austrian architecture, with a little Art Deco and graffiti mixed in for flavor. Ljubljana has a lively youth community where music, graffiti and other art are taken seriously, for example graffiti was displayed as art along the embankment walls.

Sadly, before I could find a wine bar to ply me with more Slovenian wine it started to thunder and the sky turned pitch black. I scrambled, but failed, getting absolutely SOAKED before I got back to my room (even with my REI umbrella).

The bulk of time in Ljubljana was spent hibernating (and planning the next few days) until it appeared to clear up for a few hours the next day, in fact only enough for a quick walk in Tivoli Park and a tour of the newer sites, including the US Embassy which looks about as un-American as you can imagine (I can't show you since they yelled when I attempted to photograph).

More cold rain. It was so bad I was forced to see "Knight and Day" with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz and actually didn't think it was SO bad- believe me, nothing else was playing! I told you, I am getting soft without my daily dose of NYC! Ljubljana was so mini, the movie actually started 15 minutes late because the projectionist was stuck in traffic due to the weather- this is a capital city??

On a separate note, I know I was talking smack about Nutella in the Zagreb post, but I also discovered in Ljubljana that it is actually pretty delish! Uh oh, now I am going to be eating chocolate for breakfast too. :-(

Shhhh, Don't Tell

Everything seemed beautiful until....Slovenia!

It is gorgeous!!!!!!!

After a train and bus combo, I was in Lake Bled for a late lunch at my guesthouse on the top of a very steep hill (damn this backpack!).

Unfortunately the weather had started to deteriorate along the way, which isn't great when in a lake town full of outdoorsy activities.

When the downpour turned to a sprinkle I ventured back down the hill for a walk around the lake.

It is SO nice, with a swimming complex, fishing area, rowing center (Slovenia's first and only Olympic gold was in rowing) and cafes along the way. However, what it is most famous for is the church built on an island in the middle of the lake and a castle on the hill atop. Again, gorgeous!

It was so pretty I felt the need to leave it the next morning (it was sunny, yay) for a side trip to Lake Bohinj about 45 minutes away. This lake was reported to be even more beautiful.

The drive through the mountain towns was lovely and once there, it took all my willpower not to paraglide when I saw people flying around the lake and mountains (I might have done it had I not had 3pm plans already).

After a 4K power walk I was at the Vogel Ski Resort cable car. I definitely didn't have enough time for this excursion, but I went to the top to see the spectacular views. I was only up there for half an hour since the cable car schedule was limited, but enough time to marvel at the mountains and lake and question why there were cows at 1535 meters. These Alps are nice!

Rush- back on the bus to Lake Bled for a quick borek (the worst on the many I had sampled so I had to supplement with a slice of the cream cake for which Bled is known) and off to CANYONING!

Canyoning is kinda ridiculous, but I have never done it so figured I would check it off the list.

It basically consists of navigating canyons by jumping (only 4 meters) into icy, shallow pools, sliding down rock formations and rappelling down canyon walls. We were fully wet suited, but it was still damn cold (they said it was 8 degrees C). Like the other silly adventure sports I have done, it was also really fun. Mario and Allen, our guides, were not so friendly at the start (I was beginning to question the company name Fun Turist), but ended up being really cool, as were my Brit, Scot and Brazilians mates.

Some of the drops and slides were a bit dicey- with a rope burned hard here and a banged elbow there. It was about the thousandth time on this trip that I said "I can't believe we didn't have to sign any liability waiver.... we would never be allowed to do this in the States."

Sadly there are no pictures of this craziness since the 20 euro price tag seemed too hefty at the time (plus, we looked ridiculous).

Unfortunately my plan to swim in the Lake Bled pool was foiled the next morning by more rain. I now know that hiking and biking in the rain are not my things, so I decided to make my way to my next destination where the weather was reported to be better.