Grand Hotel Business Ljubljana

... saw a bit of action, we must have missed the main event. I just hope no innocent bystanders got hurt.

When we got to the train station, we weren’t really sure where we were going. We wanted to go to Rovinj, a beach town on the northwest side of Croatia. But we found out there were no trains or buses going there that day. So we took a train to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, instead. The weather was supposed to be cold in Rovinj anyway. And who wants to go to a cold beach town?

... in some old factories and abandoned warehouses that have been turned into discos and pubs. There's lots of clubs around an open-air area and every pub is decorated in a very eclectic and original way. It's very very alternative and if you feel attracted by the undergroung culture, you have to go to Metelkova. We spent a great time there, first in a rock/heavy pub and later in a serbian pub -very eclectic, I told you!). I earnestly recommend everybody who ...

... Granted, there are always options to go for more or less expensive; this is just an average.

Cafe culture thrives. From nine in the morning until well into the following night, there are tables lining the main streets and people lounging everywhere. Coffee and snacks give way to full out dinners...which eventually become drinks, mingling and music.

An example place: River.

There was also no ...

... than authentic but had great views from the train going up the hill and the top. Also there at the top was a good photo exhibition of a famous Slovenian photographer from the late 19th century who made thousands of prints of the nearby caves (karsts) famous around Slovenia as they are caves with deep caverns and stalactites and stalagmites still famous today as tourist sites.

Down on the ground we ...

... do with any tradition except that of the flute and New Age music in general. It's not bad, but no more 'Mohican' than it is Bolivian to my knowledge, the war bonnets serving what purpose I know not. I've seen similar acts in Buenos Aires and Barcelona within the last year or so, the others from Ecuador. I guess work's work, and I've even been accused of 'sacrilege' in my career as a folk art ...

... part of the day, a sauna awith lavender oil whisked off a icy wet towel through the air for inhaling. Talked Chuck into a Hostel for our second night in Ljubljana. Turned out this wasn't for Chuck, after a couple dorm mates come in an turned on the lights, Chuck was up and back to his Hotel. For my part, simply asked the young man who started reading if he would take his book back out to the dayroom so I could sleep. Problem solved. Anyway off to Chucks in Northern Italy.

... to the prison hostel (Celica Hostel, a former military prison turned into a hippie hostel), left my luggage there and took my already traditional (in my private universe, of course!) aimless walk through the city. Even though Ljubljana has a population of about 250,000 people its central area is very compact and small and if you walk 30 minutes in any direction from the train station you will start seeing cows, pigs and horses around! :-) Its city center ...

... comparison. Bled is the most gorgeous town, nestled into the Alps, and built on Lake Bled, which is just breathtaking. The water of this lake is swimming pool quality, 6 km. in diameter, and as clear blue as you could get. It takes about 3 hours to do a leisurely stroll around the diameter, but it really takes all day, because you stop and people watch, find a big shady tree to snooze under for an hour or 2, hop in for a quick dip to cool off, rent a ...

The final country we would see on our winter break was the tiny nation of Slovenia, squeezed in between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. It had also been part of the former Yugoslavia, however had gained it's independence before most of the hostilities in the region broke out. It was granted EU status in 2004, and after a lengthy talk about the country with a girl I met in Wroclaw a few months earlier I was looking forward to seeing the spectacular mountain ...

... side lane leads to the next or through a park or up some stairs or to a church. We find what we find. A tiny bronze replica of the city with finger width streets is my favorite. A Mexican restaurant?? Homesick for beans we try it, but find tacos made with cabbage and mushrooms covered with spaghetti type tomato salsa. Good in its own way. Caught an industrial design exhibit, the type of thing that will hold our interest for hours and had some very ...