The day before I left Italy, I looked around online for the best way to get to Slovenia. I couldn't find much info, so I went to the train station to see if they could help me out. The best they could do was get me to an Italian city called Trieste, which is very close to the border of the two countries. I checked again online and found a timetable that said there was a train from Trieste to Ljubljana (capital of Slovenia) that took about 4 hours. Sounded fine to me, so I figured I'd just get that ticket as soon as I arrived in Trieste.
The next morning, my first of 3 trains to Trieste left at 7:50 am. I finally arrived at around 3:30 pm, and went to the box office to get my ticket to Slovenia, where the vendor said, "No trains to Ljubljana." I blankly stared back at him, wondering for a second if he had misunderstood me. There had to be trains to Ljubljana. How else would people get there? Do people even go to Slovenia? There definitely weren't any flights there from Turin or Milan, I had already checked those. "Only bus." Aha! Lucky for me and my back, the train station was across the street from the bus terminal.
I got there and asked the lady for a ticket to Ljubljana, and she paused and gave me a strange look. At this point I was wondering what I was getting myself into. But then I realized that she probably only gave me that look because the next bus didn't leave for about 3 hours. I finally got my ticket and set out to find a cafe with wifi.
When I got on the bus, I heard a woman speaking english to her son (jackpot!) so I went and sat next to them. We chatted the whole journey (only an hour and a half - moral of the story? don't believe everything you find on the internet, especially outdated train schedules) and they told me about some good places to see and some slovenian foods to try. The woman had been born in Canada, gone to high school and university in the US, and had been living in Slovenia for the past 18 years! After hearing that, I decided that I could manage 4 days.
And I could have stayed even longer! It is gorgeous, and kind of like Canada in some ways (except not in the city). Lots of mountains, trees, and lakes, and really friendly people. I spent the first few days exploring Ljubljana (pronounced as Lubliana, from what I've heard), which has a river going through through it, lots of pretty buildings, churches, a huge park with flower gardens, big trees, fountains, and footpaths, and, like almost everywhere else in Europe (but unlike Canada) a castle on top of a hill in the middle of town.
I wasn't getting very good vibes from the hostel I was at (as in, no kitchen, rude receptionist, and 10 euros per load of laundry- as if) so after 2 nights I switched to a different one that was nearby, cheaper, and had everything that the other one didn't. Here, I asked around about burek, a local type of fast food that is essentially a greasy pastry with either meat or cheese in it. One of the girls who worked at the hostel pointed me in the direction of a good place, and recommended the meat one, which was delicious:
The next day I did a day trip to a town called Bled (pronounced Blade), about 45 min away. It's known for having a beautiful lake with a small island in the middle, and a big castle on a cliff overlooking the lake.
Unfortunately it was raining that day, but I went anyway for something to do, hoping that it might clear up for just enough time to take a few photos. When I got there, I wandered through the little town before finding the lake. Just as I was about to set off on the path that goes around the lake, I heard a voice from behind me, "Oh you're from Canada! What part??" I turned around to find a cute, talkative, elderly lady from the US who was on a 3-week group tour. I invited her to walk around the lake with me, which she did.
This woman was absolutely fascinating, and hilarious too. She's 77 years old, her name is Bonnie Bliss ("sounds like a stripper name, I know!" she actually said this, I kid you not) and she has traveled just about everywhere, and multiple times. We spent a lot of time talking about her experiences in Turkey, where she's been 4 times. And she's been to every continent, including Antarctica!
We circled the lake in just under 2 hours and the sun even came out for a bit. Everything I had heard about this little place turned out to be an understatement, this place is more than picturesque. I couldn't get over the colour of the water, it's SO BLUE. Definitely a must-see for anyone who's planning a trip to this area, I highly recommend it. On the train back to Ljubljana I saw a rainbow, which was the 3rd one I'd seen since I'd been in Slovenia- more in the past 3 days than I'd seen in Canada in the past 3 years! (probably).
That night I chatted with a guy from Kosovo, and we watched a UEFA soccer game (Sweden vs Ukraine) on the TV at the hostel, along with a guy from Croatia and another from Germany. Diverse!
http://www.bonnieblissauthor.com/ ;)
ReplyDelete