Hotel Bellevue Maribor

After an early morning start that saw us leaving Ptuj at 8am, we arrived in Maribor just after 9:30am, finding me a nice hostel to dump my bags, we went off in search for a couple of alcoholic bevies prior to Leannes train to Graz at 10:30...
We stumbled into a cafe and sheepishly ordered two beers - not so unusual for eastern europe where everyone seems to have a ...

... get there and where to head to next...
Upon arrival at the train station, our next obstacle was the 'helpful' station attendant who was the most reluctant person I've encountered working in a 'service' industry (and I've encountered a few on this trip..)

With tickets in hand, & time on our hands, we found the bar and tried to spend what few Florints we had left at the bar... Whist waiting for our train, our Italian ...

... spas. Everyone of them is a sure cure for something or other.

It was a pretty picturesque spot... ruined only by the big parking areas for the tourist buses bringing in the sick and the lame for a swim. Well, probably nowadays it's more of a fun park for children. But we only went to the old mud-bath... not really sure what the new and bigger one is like. More fun and modern no doubt.

Tuhelj, Croatia budz888

Another interesting day in Croatia. We were off to some mud-baths but the birthplace of Tito was just about on the way so we nipped into Kumrovec for a look.

This place is really close to Slovenia...



which looks superb. It definitely must be worth a visit. Somehow I didn't realise that even Zagreb is so close to Slovenia. If I had I would have caught a train to Slovenia for a day. Well ...

We took the train from Vienna through Graz to Maribor, in Slovenia, enjoying spectacular scenery as we wound through the mountains which were encircled by Alpine meadows in full May bloom.  Maribor is Slovenia's second city and will be a European capital of culture in 2012. We arrived on a sleepy Saturday afternoon in the glorious sunshine. The Hostel Alibi was pretty basic but otherwise fine ...

Vabilo na potopisno predavanje POPOTOVANJE OD BANGKOKA DO PRAGERSKEGA Pridruzite se nama pri najinih dogodivscinah iz Tajske, Laosa, Kambodze, Vietnama, Kitajske in Rusije, kjer sva potovala med oktobrom 2008 in marcem 2009. KJE: OS Gustava Siliha Laporje, vecnamenska dvorana KDAJ: Petek, 27. Marec 2009 ob 18:00 VSTOP PROST Vljudno vabljeni! Tina Golob & Teodor Stimec

... 9 König Fritz 1 Tag 06:20 10 Sperrer Karin 1 Tag 06:25 Siegerin der Damenwertung! 11 Heinrich Gert 1 Tag 08:22 12 Gotthard Ewald 1 Tag 08:43 13 Krammer Joe 1 Tag 08:43 14 Schmalfuß Olaf 1 Tag 09:33 Was soll man da noch sagen: "Ihr seit alle große Helden, Gratuliere"

... Team bekam stündlich die Verständigung, dass sie schon früher aufbauen müssen und die Zeit wurde immer wieder noch füher angesetzt. Schließlich konnten die Organisatoren Jo 3km vor dem Kalch gerade noch abfangen um rechtzeitig das Ziel aufzubauen. Der Bürgermeister bedauerte, nicht persönlich dabei zu sein, aber keiner konnte ahnen, dass Jo bereits um 4:55 über die Ziellinie laufen würde. An dieser Stelle will ich dem ...

So now that we're in Slovenia in the tiniest orlock in the world, having no clue where we are geographically the adrenyline is kicking in. I Feel Alive!! Needless to say, the train getting into Zidani Most was late arriving and we missed our connection to Vienna. BUT, much credit to the only staff behind the counter of this tiny place, they ...

... So we trundled in and told the staff of our situation and how we needed online timetables in English.. we found some and figured out a vague way ourselves of getting to Prague on time for our flight, it would involve an unintended stop in Slovenia, but hey, at least there'll be beautiful views... So with the sound of St Germaine's Rose Rouge ringing in our ears from the cafe we made a run to the station to grab the 9.44 to Zidani Most...