Olomouc

Day 1

We arrive via Pendolino, a smoother, faster, quieter, ritzier train and easily make our way to the hostel. The thing about travelling within Czech lands is that, like it or not, this is our home. We are accustomed to the customs, to the waitress slamming the beer down like she has a vendetta against the table, to taking our shoes off inside living spaces, to navigating the menus and speaking Czech, to the trams and to the grey and miserable Autumn we are having. 

Due to an internet mishap we are doomed to set up in a dorm for the night, which given the nature of our journey, a relaxed weekend away, is not ideal. However we are given some helpful pointers of restaurants and sights and head out to caffeinate. Our first stop is cafe 87, a clean, spacious, non smoking venue, adjacent to the art gallery. Our hostess has suggested Hospoda Hanacka for Czech food so after an appetite inducing wander through the quiet streets we find the restaurant to discover that it also is non-smoking! In Prague people smoke in every restaurant, the subway and the hospitals. However, our dinner is exquisite. Beautiful halusky with smoky Moravian bacon and creamy, tangy sheep cheese; and chicken like a duck, which has been coated with beer and roasted until the meat dropped from the bones, served with chewy potato dumplings and the most amazing sour cabbage ever. We stay to try the hefe weisen and then back to the hostel to drop dead. 

Day 2

With morning comes the prospect of ham and eggs. Nervously wondering how it will come, we are presented with real Moravian ham held together with three perfectly runny fried eggs. After breakfast we intrepidly set foot out into the rain heading for the prettiest church which does not dissapoint. It has a wonderfully decorated interior with a quiet cloister and a windy stone staircase up to some brilliant bells. After one tower we predictably go looking for another which has a double-helix staircase followed by some slightly frightening metal steps which take us out onto the roof for a birds eye view of grey Olomouc. The roof is wet and uncaged, juxtaposing communist-era super market with 14th century churches. We returned to earth and peek inside the church to find a small, blind old lady with many bags and a big voice singing hymns in Latin, filling the emptiness with warmth. Back at the upper square we wait for noon and the astronomical clock. Unseeing workers slowly pound iron for six minutes and half formed melodies appear when finally the cookoo cock (yes really) beats his wings and dings 12.06. After lunch we go to the modern art museum and spend a delightful hour with the anti modern painters and printers. 

Day 3

Kratochvile provides afternoon tea and then we circumnavigate the empty town looking for a suitable restauraunt until we end up under the clock on the main town square eating garlic soup and Ceasar Salad, edible but unexciting. We sleep early and heavily, thankful we are no longer in a dorm with snoring men. 

We are leaving midday but when we wake the clouds have dissipated and we are pleased to attempt the city walls. First we head to the cathedral where they are having mass, and the Arch Bishop's museum where they have religious art books and fragments of buildings. After a brief jaunt up and down the walls its time to collect our bags and head back to Prague and the real world. 

Istrian Interests

Croatia, Slovenia, Italy
Thursday 20/8 Split

We pulled in very early due to a 6:30 am flight and caught a bus straight to the port. Split was wide awake, and already nearly 30 degrees when we stumbled upon our hostel directly outside of the Silver Gate, one of the entrances to the old town. We dropped off our stuff, then scoured the neighboring Green Market for for edibles. We were rewarded with sheep cheese, gorgeous tomatoes, carrots the size of my fingers, and a large loaf of fresh bread. After we wandered back down to the waterfront, we scored a stamp-sized patch of shade and made a picnic on the ground. The pungent cheese, sugar-sweet tomatoes and delicately crisp baby carrots offset the earthy scent of lavender which threatened to overwhelm the city. It grows wild on the islands, and is planted along the waterfront, along with rosemary and lamb's ears. We used the bread as a napkin to clean our sticky fingers, then trundled in the direction of the marina, and a possible beach. When we found a fallen church in a park instead of a beach, there was little choice but to sit under the umbrella of a palm tree and nap. Waking, we walked carefully back into town, taking regular breaks in whatever snatches of shade we could find. In the old town, some locals dressed as Diocletian and Roman guards stepped out, spoke to the crowd in Latin, and disappeared. At the hostel, we napped again, then headed out for the evening. We started off with a slow beer on the waterfront before finding a family-run pizza restaurant, where gorged ourselves on tender octopus salad, local smoked ham, more tangy cheese and beer. We stayed two hours, as the World Athletics Championship was showing, and Croatian Blanka Vlasic was in the process of winning the high-jump. The Riva (waterfront) was hopping when we strolled home through it.

Friday 21/8 Split

It must be noted that our hostel was somewhat of a disappointment the room was hot and airless, there were fans but no windows. They would not let us use the kitchen and the fat, lazy, Italian owner was always on the terrace with his entire extended family.

We found strudel for breakfast and sat down for a morning beverage with the locals. The coffee culture and the expectation that you will sit with it all morning was definitely appreciated. We took advantage of the cooler morning temperatures and climbed up Diocletian's tower. The level of safety features was minimal. A very small railing and some very large open windows induced terror on the climb to a wonderful view. We headed again to the lovely local market where we feasted our senses on the colourful, bustling yet peaceful atmosphere. We bought fresh figs and greens from talkative old ladies and olive oil in a water bottle from a very nice old man who thought we were Russian and was very happy to talk to us about Czech beer in a mix of Croatian and Czech.
After our siesta we went looking for the beach again. We found it heaving with people, a lot of whom were local, and we were traumatized by the local teenagers. Eventually we did manage to find a nice spot to swim, sit and eat ice cream.
For dinner we visited a pleasant terrace overlooking the Riva for decent pizza and excellent feta laden salad. We were wandering through the fresh darkness when we stumbled upon a group of 50 year old men wearing togas playing 'Achy breaky heart'. We sat down close by to observe the crowd and have a small beer. When the men broke into an unintentional reggae version of Layla, the pull became too strong for us and we were forced, by some unknown magic, to go dance with the locals. On our way back to the hostel we followed the sound of violin and found a group playing a mix of gypsy music and desert song. Then socialized with the other guests at the hostel over a game of Uno.

Saturday 22/8 Split

We headed to the local beach which was a bit further, but less crazy, less trashy and cleaner than the city beach. We entered the water via a crooked, rickety ladder hung precariously off a rock. The Adriatic was calm, clear, pleasantly warm and quite deep. On the way home we stopped for beer at a cafe with a balcony, then perhaps due to the beer, we spent the hottest hours of the day horizontal in the hostel. At about 4pm we managed to leave the hostel and walk two blocks to a shady park for another rest. We returned to our unlikely favourite spot, a local sports bar with a terrace and excellent people watching for a pre-dinner beverage. We had cheese and prsut for dinner before heading back down to the Riva for more people watching and live music. Croatian, like Czech, is a terrible language to sing in but the locals were mad over the band.

Sunday 23/8 Split

For our last morning we walked out of the tourist zone heading towards a green spot on the map, on route Katie had a near fatal accident, involving a curb stone, and injured her pride. (I slipped on an incredibly dangerous piece of shiny stone and fell to the floor on the road in front of a moving vehicle). This place, in contast to Prague, is quite clean and noticably free of dog poo. In fact, with the exception of the sulphur smell on the Riva, (Diocletion appreciated the benefits of the local sulphur spring) the town smells like lavender. We found our green spot to be a clump of trees on a hill over looking the industrial harbour so we looked at the cranes and headed back into tourist town for lunch. We followed the aroma of cooking garlic and were rewarded with seriously good pizza. After lunch we relaxed and prepared for our departure.

The Ferry Overnight

We boarded just in time for the sunset and checked into our private cabin. We raced onto deck going from one side to the other trying to get the best view. Finally we set off and sat tucked in a wind free corner with bread, cheese and fruit. Surprisingly there we people sleeping on every available surface inside and out; on the stairs, on benches in the restaurant, on deck and even on air mattresses and a hammock. We were too excited to sleep much and a tad disturbed by the noises the boat was making so we got up at 5 to watch the sunrise with a few other hardcore passenger. We were pleasantly surprised by our unexpected breakfast buffet before pulling into port.

Monday 24/8 Rijeka

When we disembarked at 7am in Rijeka's port the city was already awake and heading to work. We sat on the Korzo until the tourist information opened and we could get a map to find our Hostel. In direct contrast to the last one it was clean and friendly and the hostel boy sent us off to see a castle on a hill before our room became available at 11. It was a good plan to take a bus to Trsat because it was on top of a mountain which offered us a great view of the city.

We appreciated the real world industrial atmosphere of the city compared to touristy Split. We bought a half kilo of gorgeous tomatoes from the local market and hiked back up the hill to the hostel for a salad focused lunch. Immediately afterwards we fell asleep. After 2 hours and a shower we were ready for the second morning of our day. Rijeka is quite different from the rest of Croatia as it was controlled by the Hapsburgs so much of the architecture is similar to Prague. It was also part of Italy after WWI and the Italian influence on the language and the people is quite noticeable. After an espresso break we were ready for dinner. We had found the menu to 'Fork' a vegetarian restaurant and we decided to check it out. They served Velebitsko, a Croatian beer we had not yet tried and found to be superior. The very friendly waiter said it was the best, the food was typical vegetarian fare, filling, nourishing but nothing special. However the experience was very pleasant and our after dinner harbour walk was beautiful and relaxing as the day had cooled off.

Tuesday 25/8 Pula

We frittered away the morning eating coffee and drinking pastries and loitering in a bookshop until our noon bus departed for Pula. We had a very perky, somewhat insane flirt of a bus driver, who took us along the coast, over some mountains, and through an 8 kilometer tunnel at breakneck speed to reach our destination. On reaching Pula we walked out of the bus station and along an uninspiring residential street when suddenly we looked up and there was an imposing Roman amphitheatre sitting there. In fact, it was the 6th largest in Europe, and in excellent condition. Obviously, we went inside, this being the main purpose of the Istrian leg of the journey, and spent a pleasing hour climbing, wandering, and taking pictures. The amphitheatre was initially built in the first Century, and used for about 500 years, but when the gladitorial combats ceased, the locals and Venetians began plundering the nicely-cut limestone in order to make other buildings. Thankfully they didn't destroy much more of it than the interior seating areas, so it is incredibly well-preserved to this day.

The rest of the afternoon we meandered the town, which was at points rather run-down, and sometimes rather fishy, but every hundred meters, we came upon something 2000 years old; a mosiac floor, a temple, an arch, all surrounded or underneath the newer, Hapsburg-era buildings.
On returning to the bus station, we alighted, ready to nap on the journey home. Alas, every turn brought a new view of mountains, cliffs, and earthworks down to the sea. There was another maniacal bus driver who made this rather like a roller coaster with a view. On our return to Rijeka, tired and hungry, we were shocked, dismayed and horrified to discover that while cafes litter every corner, the city is virtually devoid of any establishments which serve food. Again, we managed to follow our noses to Pizza Braco, an expensive (though not compared to the rest of the city), packed little place, tucked into both sides of an alley, bridged by seats. We ordered Czech beer, a rocket-topped pizza, and a very interesting salad comprised of anchovies, potatoes, chilli peppers and lettuce. After digesting a bit, we trooped back up the hill to the hostel where we met 4 pleasant English girls and 1 Liverpudlian boy who really liked the sound of his own voice.

Wednesday 26/8 Rijeka to Koper

Katie talked transport and post-communist politics with the hostel boy while waiting for Selena to get up, and he gave a brief run-down of the personalities of the former Yugoslav states. "Croatians are nice. Everybody likes them. Serbs have a great sense of humour. Bosnians are dumb. Slovenes are arrogant and nobody likes them." We had a leisurely breakfast on a fountain and some slow coffee before heading to the train station for our lunch time train to Koper. We had to change in Pivka, a small border town. We walked through it, searching for a bus station, town center, or anything of interest, but ended up back at the train station 45 minutes later, having found nothing but an extremely depressing drive-through town. Eventually our train came, and we were dropped in Koper in the midst of a construction site/strip mall. We had to ask for help, and were directed to Motel Port, a multi-coloured and charmless building whose only redeeming features were air-conditioning and a private room with our own bathroom, although still an improvement over the first hostel in Split. Tired, we wandered into town in search of food and life. On the way into town, Selena remarked that Slovenia was kind of pleasant and clean and boring. It was also kind of dead as we walked through the Old Town at 8 o clock. We were getting kind of discouraged and contemplating ice cream for dinner when we came out on the Riva. It was buzzing! The sun was setting over the harbour and there was loud Latin music playing. We settled on a pizza restaurant and gratefully wolfed our dinner and a couple bottles of Lasko, the Slovenian "love" beer before heading for the source of the music. We discovered that there was an outdoor Latin dance class in session, headed by a very gay, slightly chubby gentleman.

Thursday 27/8 Koper/Piran

Up early and straight into town. We found a bell tower and decided to climb it. 200+ steps to the top and we were rewarded with a view of the whole town. Koper is more industrial than beautiful. However there is clearly money coming into it so there are ramshackle old houses neighboured with shiny new glass office blocks. As always, everything looks better from above. Two steps into our descent from the towe, as we were about to walk past the bells there was a deafening noise. Both of us may have screamed like girls and gone running back onto the balcony thanking anyone who would listen that it was only a quarter past 10 and not noon! Still resonating a half hour later we stopped for coffee then strolled back to Motel Port for a picnic on the terrace without Selenas swiss army knife, which never made it past Pivka.

After lunch we trotted over to the bus station in our bathing suits and caught a bus to Piran, the more touristy and asthetically pleasing locale. In Piran we walked up a hill to a church for a drop dead georgeous view and found singing German girl scouts. We decided against the hike to an appealing looking fort on a hill based on the 35 degree weather and made for the 'beach' instead. We took a quick dip in the glistening turquoise Adriatic and hung out on the uneven rocks of the sea wall which is what constitutes the 'beach' in this town. We dined on truffle pasta and fresh fish in a restaraunt with an excellent sea view and a slightly grumpy waiter. Then we bussed back to Koper for a quiet beer and a game of cards.

Friday 28/8 Trieste

We caught an early bus to Trieste and found the contrast between the friendly, loquacious Italians and the somewhat uptight and grumpy Slovenes to be flattering on the part of the former. We deposited our bag at the railway station and, with a map and directions from the very nice man at the luggage office, made for the center of town. Stopped for a caffeination break and then headed for the castle on the hill with a brief stop at a small Roman theatre. Coming back down from the castle it was already time for lunch and following Katies sixth sandwich sense we found a cute little sidewalk sandwich bar which rewarded us with excellent sandwiches and prime people watching. We spent hours appreciating the well dressed Italians on their pedestrian promenade and thier ubiquitous scooters. Then it was time to head back to the train station and on to Venice for our overnight bus and home.

Northern Summer

Monday

We flew in late, as usual, were picked up by the Aunt and Uncle and out of the car park before the free 10 minutes were up. England is becoming more familiar to me, to the extent that when we got into the car, it didn't even register as odd that we were driving on the left-hand side. 

Tuesday

Drove out to Flamborough Head, a chalky outcropping on the Yorkshire Coast. It features an old lighthouse and many grassy cliffs which seem to fall off the edges of themselves. We took a 4 mile amble, pausing to admire the sea stacks and nesting birds, and to rehydrate with fizzy drinks (a swift pint for the grown-ups). 

After returning to Howden, we met up with various other family members for a very pleasant Indian meal. For some reason, they seated the foreigners (the American and the man from Birmingham) together at the end of the table. However, we managed to break the language barrier and pleasantly conversed. 

Wednesday

This lazy day featured a trip around a 9th century Abbey and an attack by a somewhat reserved budgie. 

Thursday

We headed to York in the hopes of finally seeing the inside of York Minster (my first visit, they were literally locking the doors as we walked up). On the way into the city, we walked along some of the remaining city walls, where we spotted an attractive tea room that whispered lunch. Inside the Minster, we decided to climb the tower, in hope of a view. 275 claustrophobic, narrow, spiral stairs later, the view did reveal itself. 360* of Yorkshire. 

After all that exercise, lunch was necessary. We headed back to the tea room we'd spied earlier. Gray's Court was a historic house, at times belonging to various and prominent locals and the College and, more recently, privately owned and renovated as a tea room. We dined with the wasps on unpretentious sandwiches and (no surprise) tea. 

Friday

Clumber Park was the meeting point with Katie's friend Anne. We picked up a 93-year-old relative and headed towards a picnic. Anne found her way to the party, and quickly kidnapped us and forced us to walk 5 miles around the lake by telling us it wasn't far. Clumber Park is in Sherwood Forest, legendary home of Robin Hood. Anne took us home and fed us Thai food. 

Saturday

All beach towns are the same. Skegness is perhaps a little bit colder, and the North Sea perhaps a little less friendly than some, but it abounds with glitter and gold and glitz. From the slot-machines to the crazy golf to the boardwalk, you'd find this familiar if you'd ever been to, for example, Ocean City, MD. 

7 miles down the road from Skeg lies Gibraltar Point, a nature reserve and lovely respite from all the plastic. We were taken for a short walk by Indy, Anne's excited yet hydrophobic dalmation, who had to be carried over a short bridge. Eventually Katie's parents met up with us and we took another walk, this time down to the extremely wide beach (the point is collecting sand and sediment and the beach is growing) to photograph the wind turbines in the water and collect sea glass.

Sunday

Spent the day in Grantham, walking the gardens and grounds of Belton House, where Pride and Prejudice was filmed. The grass is mowed by a herd of sheep, who leave their poop everywhere. However, the gardens are quite pleasant, if crowded by picnickers eager to appreciate the good weather. 

Barbequed a vegetarian feast and finished the night watching the sprinters break world records. 

Monday

Took the train to Chesterfield, where we met Helen, had tea and crisps, and ogled the crooked church spire. Local legend claims that Satan sat on it and bent it with his tail, or that a non-virgin walked the aisle and it recoiled in horror, but actually, the wood warped by getting wet and drying in an uneven way. This church, though of a similar period to York Minster, was a much different style, with darker stone brickwork, a less ornate pulpit, and more refined scale. Outside of the church we were ambushed by a chatty old lady keen to share her personal version of town history. As we headed towards a picnic slightly later, we were ambushed by a very pleasant gentleman keen on telling about his cricket club. We finished a pint of local strawberries on our picnic, and very shortly, Helen was driving us to the airport. 

Obviously the plane was delayed 3 hours (East Midlands Airport is bad luck), but we managed to fall in the front door at just before 2am. 

Brasiliero

For my birthday, my bosses gave me a gift certificate to Ambiente restaurants (www.ambi.cz). Ambiente is a small group of restaurants in Prague, expensive but with a reputation for excellent food. Several of these have some kind of all-you-can-eat option, which doesn't usually go with a classier place. However, when the waiters walk around wielding skewers of meat offering them to customers at their tables, it takes a bit of the trashier element out of it. After some deliberation, we agreed to go to Brasiliero, not because either of us is a big fan of meat, but because they have a very gourmet salad and seafood bar. Arriving at the underground restaurant on a rainy and chilly evening made it seem even cosier. We selected an Italian wine and began the feast with some sushi, which a chef was preparing on the spot. On our next trip, we tried some of the salads. They had a very pleasant potato salad, mung bean sprouts with raisins, prawn salad in cucumber cups, mozzerella and tomato stacks, steamed carrots and beets with chevre, and room temperature potato halves smothered in sundried tomato paste. After repeated trips to the bar for seconds and oysters, we finally had more sushi for dessert. Upon leaving, we discovered that three hours had passed in a blink. Highly recommended. 

Croatia

Saturday

Got to Vienna by a comfortable bus ride with Student Agency, one of the nice Czech travel companies. We'd packed a serious picnic, so when we arrived in the city, we were relaxed and not starving and hungry. Lisa and Joel met us at the bus and took us to the hotel before going in search of coffee "mit schlag". We took a rather circuitous route to a cafe and finally the Hundertwasser Haus, an apartment block that has been rounded off and brightly painted. As the day disappeared, we decided to hunt dinner from a tram, and in the end found a pleasant neighborhood on the edge of the river and a garlic-scented restaurant for Austrian food and beer.

Sunday

Breakfasted on strudel and more coffee "mit schlag" before going to Vienna airport. The flight to Dubrovnik (via Austrian Airlines, a major airline which was completely unimpressive compared to Czech Air or even most of the budget airlines) was smooth and featured a stunning U-turn over cliffs and the turquoise Adriatic. Experienced the first of insane Croatian drivers. Were warmly welcomed at our guesthouse by our host, Anica and her slippered teenage son. Set off to find the Old Town and got ourselves lost in it's labyrinthine streets before stumbling upon an appealing (if empty) restaurant where we gorged ourselves on oil- cured cheese, local prosciutto, squid, mussels, fish and local wine.

Monday

Went out early and got Strudl for the grown ups and ate on the terrace. Walked through the local market to port Gruz. From there (after something "mit schlag") we walked over a residential hill to the Bay minutes before the fog lifted. We lunched on bread, sheep cheese and apples while the fog cleared before walking around the peninsula and through a truly hideous resort. More coffee on a busy pedestrian promenade with some amazing people watching before walking back over the hill with some minor detours. Roof top terrace with sunset and a view over the harbour for dinner.

Tuesday

Early rising and more strudel. We caught the 10am ferry to the Elafiti Island of Lopud after the relaxing trip across crystal water we found a nice spot on the Island and ate lunch. After lunch we left the grown ups to do their own thing and walked up to the top of the Island for a view of the coast and a ruined church, communed with the lizards and came back down to the water side to take a nap in the sun. As everything on the Island was closed we climbed a tree and picked some unripe oranges for liquid but they were far too sour to enjoy. Met the grown ups and sat by the sea and enjoyed a cold beverage until the boat came to pick us up. Ridiculously amazing sunset!

Wednesday

Chill day. Instead of taking any trips we split up for morning walks and met in the Old Town for a truly delicious lunch at Dubrovacky Kantun. In the afternoon, we walked the city walls, an interesting excursion since Joel has a strong dislike for heights and would periodically hold onto the back of your shirt if he felt you were too close to the edge. However, the views were stunning. Interestingly, the only noticeable war damage was in the brand-new red roofs and several fallen buildings. Cooked an excellent dinner of market-fresh greens and pasta and relaxed on "our terrace".

Thursday

Rented a car in the morning to drive to Montenegro, the newest European country and next-door neighbour to Croatia. Our destination was the Bay of Kotor, one of the few fjords outside of Scandinavia and a full third of Montenegro's coastline. At one point the fjord cinches in. During the Roman era, Queen Teuta controlled this point and installed a shipwrecking device there to increase her wealth. Eventually the Romans took notice and "removed" her. The drive in was lovely, with increasingly beautiful views at every turn, but quite time-consuming. We arrived in the early afternoon quite hungry and had yet more bread and sheep cheese by the water. We decided to climb to a fort above the town of Kotor, which the grown-ups weren't up for, so we left them to wander while we climbed vertically for an hour on crumbly cobbled steps and steep grades. When we reached the fort, triumphant and sweaty, the town spread out below us as if from an airplane. Drove out before dinnertime, stopping at the Croatian border at a lovely local restaurant. We ate fantastic roasted vegetables topped with ham and cheese.

Friday

Had a relaxing morning, drinking coffee Croatian-style (for hours) and purchasing vegetables for lunch at the market. In the afternoon, determined to sunbathe on our last day in Dubrovnik, we headed out to yet another rocky spit and watched some men's swim team arrive, decide the water was too cold to swim, and relax in their bathing suits for a Coke or cards. Met the grown-ups for another lovely seafood dinner and ice cream dessert.

Saturday

Packed up and left at noon with the same insane taxi driver who'd driven us in. We had a very tight connection, and the airport seemed bent on making us miss it, with a late plane, some unattended baggage closing the arrival area in Vienna, and a mysteriously difficult to find bus stop, but we parted ways eventually, and made it back to Prague in time to catch the last bus home.

Slovenia

Friday:

Arrived in Ljubljana via a very very bumpy flight in a ridiculously small plane with propellers, flying over amazing mountains (which presumably caused the turbulence that left me feeling like I was going to die). Checked into Hostel Celica, the trendy rehabilitated prison. Our cell, like all the others was individually designed by local artists. Took a meander through the town and was shocked by the emptiness of the streets at 4pm. We had our first experience of Lasko Dark beer and on returning to our hostel later in the evening found it overrun with drinking teenagers.
Saturday:

We visited the town market where you could find anything edible and decorative (as long as it was cabbage). We used a strange hybrid language of Czech & Slovenian to buy fresh bread, young (and brilliant) goat cheese, and fruit. Then we hiked up to the unimpressive castle and had a picnic. The original 12th century castle has been added too with a monstrous combination of glass and metal and was still under construction. I think we are spoilt!
For dinner we searched everywhere for a restaurant that was not completely empty and eventually stumbled into a Mexican restaurant and found everybody in town.
Back at the hostel we picked up a couple of old men and drank some more of that nice dark beer.


Sunday:

We got morning coffee alongside the river then bought sandwiches and a half bottle of champagne for our picnic in Tivoli Park. We people watched and climbed trees and then took an unintentionally long walk over a hill. We may have been a tad lost. We recuperated in the hostel cafe before going out again to another empty restaurant where we ate delicious Slovenian dumplings and garlic soup in bread bowls.


Monday:

Bled. We caught a bus from Ljubljana bus station where we bought (or thought we did) 2 return tickets to Bled. We were pleasantly stunned by the scenery on arrival in Bled and started on a clockwise walk around the lake. Taking far too many pictures of the Castle on the Cliff, the incredible green water, the Alpine mountain backdrop and the Island.
We took a short but near vertical path up to the Castle on the Cliff to take yet more pictures, and at the top we met a woman wearing 4 inch heels. Coming down from the castle we put our feet in the snow melt lake water then went to catch the bus home.
When happily seated on the bus the driver came along and told us our return tickets were not valid on his bus. So a little grumpily we left the bus to wait the three hours for another one. This in the end was not such a bad thing, we found a lovely Pizza restaurant (apparently the only place in town open) and caught the sunset over the lake. Eyegasm!



Tuesday:

We returned home on another one of those silly planes.

Notes:
The Ljubljana Card is published in many places but is probably not really worth unless you plan on using transport. We found a number of the restaurants were no longer in business and some would not accept the vouchers.
Hostel Celica is definitely worth visiting for the artistic prison experience but for more personal service you could probably find a smaller more welcoming hostel that doesn't have guaranteed custom.
Ljubljana itself is a very small place which probably only needs two days, however Slovenia is a lovely country with a combination of Slavic and Mediterranean culture food and atmosphere.