PART 2

 

Tuesday 24 May 2011

We drive from Varaždin in Croatia to the Slovenian border. At the time of the rental of our car we indicated that we would be crossing the border into Slovenia. By paying an extra 25 euro we got the necessary Green Insurance Card. At the border the Croatian Border Police stamps our passports. The Slovenes do not bother. Just beyond the border we buy a motorway vignette  at a petrol station. It is valid for one month and costs €30. Contrary to Croatia, Slovenia does not collect tolls at toll gates but checks with cameras wether you have a valid vignette glued to your windscreen. We drive to Ptuj. We have booked a room in  Vladimir Šilak's B&B in the old town. The B&B is based in a monumental building from the 16th century. Next thing is lunch in Ribič on the bank of the river Drava. Fine food (trout, steak).

In the afternoon we walk along the Drava to the Terme or Spa complex. Thermal springs feed a large outdoor swimming pool as well as the spa complex connected to the Primus Hotel. In the hotel we do a round of various steam rooms and saunas followed by a swim in the pool. Refreshed and clean we return to our B&B.

At night we eat at restaurant  Amadeus. The Qualitiy of the food is not half bad, despite the fact we are the only guests tonight. Later in the evening we enjoy drinks at one of the many side walk bars in town.

Weer: 25 degrees (77°F) and sunny  

Wednesday 25 May 2011

We have breakfast in Hotel Mitra, a few blocks away. We got a voucher from our b&b. After breakfast we set out to explore the town. We start with the Water Tower. It is not a water works, but a defense tower on the river bank. We have coffee on Minoritski trg. Across from the café is the Minorite monastery and the Peter & Paul Church. Both were dammaged during the war and subsequently restored. Earlier the complex had survived the anti-monastic policies of the Austrian emperor Joseph II, but during World War II the Germans seized the building and used as a local headquarters, which was a reason for the allies to bomb it. The church has a modern interior. We continue passing the post office and arrive at the town hall, built in 1907 in a neogothic style. In the middle of the square is the Pest monument with an efigy of St Florian on top. It is a copy made in 1993.

From there we walk uphill to a triangular space near the tourist office. Here is also the city tower. The 16th century tower started life as bell tower and later served as watch tower. Now it rooms a souvenir shop on its ground floor, but the tower itself cannot be climbed. We walk a little bit further for a peek inside the St George Church. We are only allowed a look through a grille from the front porch. Via the main street we walk towards the Dominican monastery, now an archeological museum. Its facade is pink with white decorations. From there we start our ascend towards the Castle. The climb is not particularly steep or strenuous. From the castle hill we have great views overlooking the town. We visit the municipal museum that now occupies the rooms. The exhibitions consist of weaponry, musical instruments and the castle's original furniture. There is a music hall and a chapel inside the castle. We are not allowed to miss a single thing. The lady who inspects the tickets sees to that. Every time we have finished a hall or floor she points is the right direction for continuing our visit.

After the castle visit we have lunch in the town centre.

In the afternoon we take the car to Ormoz, from where we start a tour of the wine region of  Ljutomer. Following narrow roads we drive along the vinyards and hamlets. In the midst of it is the settlement of Jeruzalem. We stop there at a tavern perched on a hill top for a taste of the local wine. Then we drive until Ljutomer itself, where wine region ends. We turn a take the fast route to Ptuj. Back in Ptuj we have another Slovenian wine on the river side.

At night we have a pizza for almost nothing at Pizzeria Sloncek.  

Weather: sunny; 23 degrees (73°F) .  

Thursday 26 May 2011

After breakfast at hotel Mitra we are on our way to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. Erik has paid for the room yesterday evening with the owner Silak, because he out working on his other job in the mornings. We take the motorway in the direction of Maribor and then on to Ljubljana. On our way we pass a number of check points, which we pass through the gate marked "vignette". It takes about an hour and twenty minutes until we arrive at Slamic b&b in the capital. It is just minutes past 10am and the room is not ready yet. Slamic has a coffee house attached with a roof garden, which are very happy to use. After coffee we hit the town. The city is compact and nicely kept. We walk on to the central Preseren square, where a number of pedestrianised streets converge. Just now a children's festival is going on. We cross the Triple Bridge. This bridge was designed in 1929 by the architect Plečnik. Plečnik is also responsible for the design of the market collonades along the river Ljubljanca, where we see a large number of market stalls and delicatessen. Next is a visit to the St Nicolas cathedral. The entrance door of 1996 commemorates the visit of the pope to Slovenia and the first millennium of Christianity in Slovenia. Inside, the church is adorned with fabulous frescoes by the Italian Qualio. He made these frecoes from 1703 through 1706 and they depict various scenes of the life of St Nicholas. The altar and the pulpit are beautiful too. We continue our walk towards the Dragon Bridge. This bridge in Sezession style was built in 1901 and is flanked by four dragons. We walk around the vegetable and fruit market, which is a lively scene before get to Mestni Trg in the old town. Here we find the Bishop's palace and the town hall, built in 1719. It is one of most noteworthy baroque buildings in town. In front of it is baroque fountain named after the three Canolian rivers. It is a replica. The original has been moved to the entrance hall of the National Gallery. Mestni trg continues into Stari trg, the oldest medieval square in town. It is more like a meandering street than a square. It leads us to Shoemaker Bridge. We cross it and have a light lunch at Zlata Ladjica.

We continue our walk along Stari trg and admire the baroque houses dotted along the street like the Schweiger house. We end up at Levstikov trg and the Hercules fountain. This area was owned by the Jesuit order after the counter reformation. Their legacy consists of the St James Church. Undoubtedly it is a nice church, but as were are unable to get passed the grille separating the entry hall and the main body of the church we do not get to see much of its interior. We cross the river once more and walk past the Križanke, once a monastery founded by Teutonic knights, but converted by Plečnik into a cultural centre in 1950. We continue by the Square of the French Revolution, where a commemorative obelisk reminds us of the time Ljubljana was the capital of the French province Illyria under Napoleon's rule. The square in front of the Ursuline church and the Philharmonic is undergoing serious reconstruction so we miss the promised charm of this part of town. 

We walk back to our hotel. Later in the afternoon we walk up Miklosiceva cesta. After the 1895 earthquake a lot of houses went up here in Art Nouveau style. First striking example is the Union Hotel from 1905 and the Cooperative bank from 1922. The wife of the Slovenian architect Vurnik painted the front in national motives. 200 yds further up on the Miklosic park we find the Bamberg house by Fabiani, decorated with plaques depicting famous printers. Also by Fabiani is the Krisper House from 1901 with guirlande like decorations and a turret on the corner. We then continue towards  Metelkova, a former army barracks. After the departure of the Yugoslav army in 1991 the barracks were taken over by the alternative art scene. Various efforts by local authorities to regain control failed. A kind of cultural free state developed here over time. It apperently wakes up quite late in the day, because late afternoon it still very dead. 

Our alternative is to head for the Ljubljana castle. We take the Funicular (with an  all-in ticket for 6 euro) up the hill. We visit the watch tower, offering a great view of the city and the snow capped Julian Alps in the distance. The only other serious attraction up here is the virtual museum. This is 3D video presentation of 20 minutes, telling the story of the founding and development of the city until the present day. There is a show every 30 minutes up until 9pm.

We descend again and return to the hotel. In the evening we go out and eat sushi in the old town at a sushi train eatery. According to a Japanese idea a conveyor belt carrying saucers with sushi passes our table. The colour of the saucer indicates the price. You take as many saucers as you can manage. Great meal for relative modest price. Later that night we enjoy the summer evening atmosphere on one of the many side walk café's along the embankment of the  Ljubljanca, where it is very lively and enjoyable.

Weather: warm afternoon, up till 29 degrees (84°F). Sunny.  

Friday 27 May 2011

Ljubljana - Bled v.v.: 110 km (69 miles)

We drive to Bled, almost an hour's drive north of Ljubljana at the foot of the Julian Alps. It superbly situatied on the shores of Lake Bled with a picture perfect castle on a hilltop and and island with an idyllic church in the middle of the lake. The village itself is nothing to write home about, but the views of the lake and the surrounding mountains are priceless. We have coffee on the lake's shoreline and then board one of the rowing vessels , called pletna's, that will take us to the island in the lake. The boats do not leave until they are filled up with enough passengers, so we have to bide our time. The boat ride costs 12 euro per person. This allows us 30 minutes to roam the island. Our skipper is not the youngest anymore, but he still rows with the best of his collegues. Once on the island we head for the little church. Inside you can ring the bells (3 times) and make a wish. 

Back in the village we have lunch on a modern terrace at the Villa Preseren, naturally with a view of the lake. After lunch we drive to the Pokljuka gorge. It is about 7 km West  near the hamlet of Krnica. From the entrance of the national park it is another 20 minutes on a steepish mountain track to the edge of the gorge. Most seeworthy is the Pokljuka Luknja, or "Pokljuka Window": a subteranean room with three holes in its ceiling. We walk back to the car and drive to Kranj, according to our guide book a nice medieval town. It is a bit of disappointment. It looks neglected. After quick tour of the place and a drink we drive back to the city of Ljubljana. In the city we go for a drink on a side walk café on the embankment. Later that night we have a luxury dinner at  Pri Vetezu. We eat al fresco and enjoy lamb cutlets and duck breast respectively accompanied with a lovely Slovenian wine. 

After dinner we walk to Caffé Open, the only  gay café in town. It is rather quiet at this hour. It is located in a side street with and has some chairs and tables on the side walk. After some drinks we walk back along the river, where we see some performances as part of a poetry festival. Young people recite poems. We land again at the Dvorni Bar, by the time that the sky starts cloud up. Just before a heavy thunderstorm starts we make our escape to the B&B. Rain and thunder continues all night. 

Weather: cool start at 12 degrees. Hot afternoon 28 degees. Thunderstorms during the night.  

Saturday 28 May 2011

Ljubljana - Skočjan - Stanjel - Triëst: 143km (89 miles)

It is still raining and it is a lot colder than during the previous days: only 9,5 degrees. We have breakfast, check out and head for the direction of Koper. We turn off the motorway at Divača and drive to the Skočjan caves. The caves total 5,800 meters in length and have been formed by the Reka River. They are considered to be the most important natural sight in the country. Near the hamlet of Skočjan the river goes underground. It re-emerges briefly and disappears into the entrance of the cave. The caves can be visited with a guide. This time of year three tours a day leave the reception area. We buy a ticket for the 10am tour. There is a quite a crowd waiting for the tour and we are marched towards the entrance of the cave with over 200 people in tow. At the entrance the group is split up by language into four groups. We enter the 300,000 year old  cave system by means of an artificial tunnel. We enter a giant underground space with lots of stalactites and stalagmites. We first walk through the Silent Cave, which has been dammaged by earhquakes , but nevertheless has some interesting formations. We go further down (about 150 metres) and get to a large hall with a 30 metre high stalagmite, a giant more than 250,000 years of age. We continue towards the Murmuring Cave, where we hear the River Reka  stream. Along galleries and stairs we arrive at a 45 metre high bridge that leads us to a long and winding path passing several rooms and ending at the Schmidt Hall and the big valley. This is where we exit the cave.  Those who have booked the grand tour re-enter the cave system for more natural marvels, but we walk up a path leading to a funicular that brings us back to the reception area. Up there we walk to a viewing point overlooking a valley formed by a collapsed cave.

We drive back to the village of Devica for lunch, but we are not exactly spoiled for choice. We end up at a hotel, where we get a mediocre meal. We carry on through the wine region of the Karst towards Stanjel, where had planned to spend the night in a hotel farm, but turns out to be booked out. The rain has resumed which limits our options of exploring the area. We decide to carry on to the big city, to Trieste one day ahead of schedule.

  

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