Saturday, August 4, 2007
Wow… What a whirlwind week! I took the train from Pecs, Hungary to Ljubljana, Slovenia to meet Ivana for our car/camping tour through Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia. We ended up doing side stops in Trieste, Italy and Herceg Novi, Montenegro, bringing our tally to twenty-three stops in five countries, and 2,200 kilometers in six days. Writing time was extraordinarily limited then came Budapest, then the states, and, then, to my heart’s delight Sighisoara. The post will necessarily be a work in progress until it is a finished work, as time allows. Kisses are simply more important right now. J
Surprising Slovenia
I was duly surprised by this small but geographically diverse country with its lovely turn of the century cities and little churches perched on hill tops throughout the countryside. From Mediterranean beaches to Alpine ski slopes, rolling valleys, and life sustaining rivers of the most amazing colors of grey and blue and green, Slovenia really does have it all.
Crossing the borders from Hungary, through Croatia, and into Slovenia, it was if some heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. Perhaps it was the storm the night before illuminating the night with old-oak-branches of lightening a vague color of purple, blasting and blowing the heavy heat from the Hungarian skies. There was a coolness to the morning air as I walked with the rising sun to the train station I hadn’t felt in days. The most striking thing as you cross the Hungarian countryside is the inconceivability that a land can be so frigging flat. Texas is flat but you can see forever. Hungary’s flatness never ends but with its scrubby little trees that gather in clusters and a markedly short horizon, you only see a little piece at a time. It gave me this strange sense of being jailed in the wide open.
Maybe it was the shift in the landscape from dry, endless plains to small suggestions of hills, to these rich, rolling, verdant green hills of Slovenia that follow one another with barely a breath between them like waves racing each other to a nearby shore. Whatever it is, the Hungarian heaviness has lifted from my body and heart. It was love at first sight for this countryside with its small houses and white-steepled churches gathered in clusters in the rare valleys or perched on the side of the hills in little clearings. The trees are the deep, dark green of evergreens, that mysterious, rich green of primordial forests past.
Ljubljana was another unknown name. I came here simply to meet my friend, knowing nothing of the town itself. Ivana and I had met at the CS London Calling gathering back in May and bonded over the scavenger hunt, which we won! We agreed to meet up again and travel her homeland of Slovenia together. Ljubljana just happened to be the town she was flying in to.
I was immediately as taken with this city as I was with the countryside. Beautiful turn of the century buildings line the cobblestone streets marking Ljubljana as one of the best preserved examples of baroque architecture in the world. It is simply lovely, a charming, inviting, tranquil city; the perfect blend between real life and quaint tourism appeal. It is undoubtedly a tourist city, but a new tourist city, given the greater ratio of backpackers to vacationers – you can always tell a city about to enter mainstream tourism because it is crawling with backpackers but still few vacationers. The river off the main square is lined with bustling sidewalk cafes and bars. Party energy hangs in the air and the night is rich with conversation of friends over drinks.
With Italy as its neighbor, Slovenia is interestingly influenced by the Italians and their culture. The Italian tourists were there in droves, their beautiful language filling my ears with its sweet melody. Some towns in Slovenia still require signs to be in both Italian and Slovenian and, though it may have been wishful thinking, I swear I could hear a slight cadence of Italian in the native Slovenian language.
I thoroughly enjoyed my day wandering the streets, winning the town a high ranking on my recommendation and someday-I-must-come-back list. I met Ivana and her best friend Tina after my delightful day of exploration and we headed to Ivana’s home town of Maribor. I was astonished as we crossed the country by all the little churches at the very tip-top of otherwise undeveloped hills scattered throughout the countryside - another reason to return for I would dearly love to explore every one of these quiet guardians of time.
Tina, her fiancé Matej, and I got acquainted over coffee before Ivana and I headed to her home and a wonderful home-cooked dinner prepared by her mom. This would be a dangerous place for me to live – I’d be 200 pounds in a month as good as her mother cooks!!! Afterward we took a late night stroll through the already long-asleep streets of Maribor. It too has a certain charm and grace though I ended up seeing very little of it. Our great plans for a Friday of Maribor sight-seeing slowly dissipated as we chatted away the morning, and then the afternoon too! It was good to have real girl talk time and we had much to catch up on about loves and life.
We finally dragged ourselves out around 4pm to ride the ski-lift up “Mount Maribor” (which is really just a hill – though a steep enough hill to rate a slalom course in the Olympics) and ride the little track go carts back down. Now that was FUN! After play time was provisioning time, preparing for our camping and road trip ahead. We loaded up on instant coffee and munchies before heading to Tina and Matej’s for the evening. It was nice to have a little suburban-life time - just sitting around and talking about their upcoming wedding, Ivana modeling her maid of honor dress, Matej laying out his clothes, and Tina showing me pictures of her dress while Matej wasn’t looking. They were such a great couple – I loved their ‘Ikea’ home and their “dinky” lifestyle (double-income-no-kids-yet). It was a delightful evening of conversation and laughter. They even invited me to their wedding though it is doubtful I could get back for the September 1st date. Still it was nice to be invited. We parted with hugs and smiles and promises I would visit again.
Saturday morning it was time for Ivana and I to hit the road. We loaded up the car and headed for Lake Bled. Wow. What a place! Deep alpine-blue water surrounds Slovenia’s only island with a church perched at its center. Tourists are everywhere – walking, shopping, sunning on the grassy slopes alongside the lake. Actually, Lake Bohinj was our destination. We pitched our tent, rather precariously given the drought-ridden, rock-laden dirt, then headed to the nearby lodge for dinner. Dinner was good – but the complimentary blueberry schnapps in little chocolate cups – oh my goodness! That was a decadent delight! A storm was brewing as we finished up dinner and Ivana had work to do so we settled early into our tent, where we found to our tickled surprise we had a wireless signal! What an amazing world – google at your fingertips while camping! We frittered the night away to the sound of crickets beyond our tent flap and the cicada-like rhythm of two speed-typists within.
Sunday we broke down camp and headed to Bled, walking around the entire lake. It is really a wonderful tourist place with that easy tourist/camper vibe. We were on the road by early afternoon and headed to Slap Peričnik – a breathtaking double waterfall. I was wearing gypsy pants and flipflops but still managed not to slip on the rocky, wet terrain walking behind the waterfall, and looking through its transparent wall to the beautiful mountains and woods beyond. Nature is so amazing….
We crossed the Vršič Passage through the alpines and down again, crossing and re-crossing the Soča River, known for its unique ice-green color. We stopped near Bovec and descended to the river’s edge to stand in its glacier cold water.
Back on the road again as the sun was setting, we picked up a hitchhiker as we headed toward Kopper. Črt was a delight, easy going, and quite the good sport for our impromptu stops. First was the tiny hill town of Trst, a walled city with a beautiful though abandoned Italian garden. If I didn’t know better I would have thought we were in Italy. We continued on our way to Kopper but the signs for Trieste called too loudly to resist. How could I pass within a stone’s throw of my beloved Italy and not stop?!
Črt guided us to the center of town where much to our delight there was a concert going on in the incredible Piazza. Nothing like stopping by Italy for a glass of wine and a concert! It was late when we finally arrived at Alen’s, Ivana’s friend in Kopper. I had time on my own the next day to explore the little town. That evening, Ivana and I took a little tour of the nearby seaside towns – lovely jewels jutting out into the deep blue Mediterranean….
Captivating Croatia
Post to come – Driving the coast, Murter, Trogir, Dubrovnik
Moments in Montenegro
Post to come
Bounding through Bosnia
Post to come – Mostar and Sarajevo
Zagreb Adieu
Post to come
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