Slovenia Day 1, 27th May

 After a fabulous night train experience, in a small cabin with three bunks we arrived somewhat refreshed at Kranj at 7.30 am. Branko and Juliette were there to meet us, the sun was shining and it was a pleasure to be on the ground that was not swaying beneath our feet. And then we sat down and the world started swaying again. 

Jet lag is the worst


Branko took us to the top of a hill where we could see over the valley that is Kranj, and then off to the supermarket - Lidl - to get some groceries and then to his place for a sumptuous breakfast. We did say that we had been given coffee and bread rolls on the train. We had tucked the breadrolls away as we weren't hungry as we'd eaten the well processed packaged croissants and orange cordial provided. 

Still when presented with fresh croissants, grapes and mint tea, our appetites returned. 

Branko took us on a fantastic walk through the green green meadows, and the lush woodlands to the nearby river. Not as reminiscent of home in Waipara as I had thought it might be. When we were on the train earlier this morning - we woke shortly after 5, the landscape unfolding before us was so beautiful in the way only a rain drenched country can be. And the postcard perfect farmhouses, for mile after mile was enough to make you think you were dreaming it all up. 

After the forest walk, and a 15 minute respite at his home, Branko took us to the village. More gorgeous old buildings and town square vistas, cobbled streets and hardly any graffiti in sight. This is a really clean, well preserved place, full of art and beauty. 

We had lunch, and then I got the message that our Airbnb was ready, so Branko dropped us off around 3 and we had a long nap. We called Branko in case he wanted to show us anything more, but he had also napped and we decided we'd done enough walking- 14 000 steps in all. 

Bruce and I headed off to the supermarket and bought enough supplies to go with our rolls from the morning to make toasted sandwiches. We love exploring supermarkets. 

We tried watching the Sentinel with Michael Douglas but I was struggling to keep my eyes open. At 7.30 I fell into bed and woke at 4. Selah hadn't managed to wake up for dinner, so she has had about 12 hours sleep I think. 
































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vienna 31st May, and starting our cruise

Image
 We had decided the night before that we would rise early, check of the airbnb and start the day with coffee in a cafe somewhere. We were away by 7.30, and got an uber into the central train station so we could store our luggage for the day. This cost 3.50 Euro, so was a great option. We then grabbed a coffee and sat outside to plan our route. The hop on hop off bus won, as it would give us a way to get to other places as well as learning about other places on the way.  The first route took over two hours, wandering all around the city, over the Danube and back again. Lots of historical information about the places we passed and then it was time for lunch. We found hot food for sale at Spar Supermarkets, and tables and bar stools also inside. This was fantastic as it had just started raining.  Well fed, we heading over to Selah's choice: The Museum of Kriminology. It was very well researched, with lots of authentic displays and newspaper articles from the last couple of h...
Read more

Budapest Tuesday 4th June. Synagogue and Parliament

Image
 The day we met other kiwis. Doing the same tour in reverse, we happened to meet with them in the garden of the Parliament.  The Parliament was amazing and spectacular and incredible and overwhelming and and and ...ostentatious and there was no information anywhere of how much this edifice cost the people of Hungary. It might as well be a castle. And there's no drop-bears. How odd to have missed this important detail. Sometimes I thank God that we live in New Zealand with the somewhat embarrassing Beehive.  Bruce took these photos. The tour cost NZ$108 for the 3 of us.  In the morning we went to the Grand Synagogue. This cost NZ$148. It's been an expensive day.  The synagogue tour was better as it spoke to the heart. It spoke of a people, so willing to be counted as citizens, that they gave up their customs and built a synagogue, employing a Christian architect from Vienna. A synagogue that looks like a Catholic church, with symbols and imagery that would not lo...
Read more

7th June - Belgrade in Serbia. A very hot day

Image
So we set off around 9 and it was already 26 degrees and getting hotter. We had decided to do a scavenger hunt, and one of the first stops was the museum. It didn't open till 10 so shared an iced coffee while we waited for the museum to open.  We were delighted to be told the museum was free that day, and spent a wonderful two hours in the fabulous museum and art gallery. After lunch we chose to have a nap and wait till it cooled down a bit and then headed out at 4.30 to finish the scavenger hunt which was mostly around the fortress. This was a neat place, lots of families around for the Friday night.  As we left Belgrade the river parties had started and the very loud music was echoing across the river.   
Read more