Monday May 2nd: It was a little sad packing up and leaving Budapest that morning. It had treated us well and we felt that we could have used another soak in the baths, done a pub crawl through the ruin pubs in the Jewish Quarter, and definitely ate and drank our way through a number of enticing cafes and restaurants that we hadn't had a chance to try. However, we were excited to see what Slovenia had to offer since it hadn't even been on the radar until a few days past when our original plans of going to Poland had fallen through. We'd be missing Warsaw and Krakow, but I have a feeling that there will be another chance someday.
After breakfast we strapped our packs on and took the metro line 2 to the Budapest Deli train station which we hadn't visited yet. With some help we found our platform, train, and car, but when we found our seats we thought there must be some mistake because the whole car was filled with students on some sort of field trip. I didn't see the little slips of paper on the seating chart outside the cabin door that usually marked reserved seats so I figured we had gotten on the wrong car somehow, but after bothering two train attendants we were eventually directed back to the same place. Kat and I steeled ourselves for a crowded and noisy ride. The only non-student in our cabin was a business-looking guy who stared at his phone the entire time. We pushed ourselves past a tangle of legs and I hefted our backpacks into the storage racks above the seats, shoving aside other miscellaneous items to make room for our stuff.
As the train left the station it was like the recess bell had rung. Kids began running up and down the passageway, chasing and shouting at each other, their few guardians and handlers attempting to stay well out of the way. Not that long into the ride I began to smell the distinctive odor of urine coming from somewhere. I later discovered the reason was that both WCs in our car were broken and did not flush. I found out the hard way when I went to use one and lifted the seat to find a full to the brim toilet sloshing about as the train bounced and jerked along the tracks. I almost added to the contents by losing my breakfast. Apparently this didn't stop the kids from using the bathrooms and they would track stuff on their shoes all over the train car which accounted for the terrible smell.
After that we chose to retreat to the dining car. It was going to be a 9 hour trip and we were ready to stay right there for the whole time if we had to. Although it wasn't even noon yet we both ordered beers to nurse while I worked on blog posts and Kat read on her Kindle. Thankfully we had free WiFi while still in Hungary. We were a little bit nervous leaving our bags unattended for long stretches of time, but felt it was worth the risk rather than braving the chaos.
Several stops later we noticed that the student group had reached their destination and was disembarking. We returned to our assigned cabin which was now empty, made sure our bags were still there, and then Kat sprayed it all down with febreze which managed to take the edge off the smell. For the next few hours we were alone and at peace. As we crossed into Slovenia Kat and I practiced our Slovenian phrases on each other: "Hello", "Dobre dan", "Thank you very much", "Hvalah lepah", "You're welcome", "Prosim". I watched the countryside became ever more eye catching and wonderful as fields of green grass and yellow flowers turned into gently rolling hills and the grew into more rugged, forested, and mist covered crags and valleys. Tucked into nooks and crannies of the landscape were little farming villages with their iconic hayracks and clinging to the cliffs were abandoned stony fortresses. So far Slovenia was putting on quite a show.
At one of the stops we picked up a couple of passengers who decided to share our cabin with us. The woman spoke enough English to understand us and be understood, but if the guy understood he didn't let on. Not long after they got on the guy put his earbuds in and started listening to his collection of Slovenian electro speed metal at such a loud volume that I was surprised he wasn't bleeding from the ears. The earbuds did practically nothing to dampen the sound so Kat and I were subjected to a never ending stream of tinny noise radiating from the man's head as he obliviously thumbed at his phone. His companion appeared to be so accustomed to this behavior that she didn't seem bothered in the least as she read and flipped through some sort of paperwork. Kat and I briefly considered retreating once again to the dining car, but mutually decided to defiantly tough it out. We were nearing the end in any case and I was betting that his phone's battery life wouldn't hold out that much longer.
Either the phone died or the man finally lost his hearing because he turned the music off when there were still a couple of stops left. We reached Ljubljana on scheduled and we loaded up our packs once again and set off on foot. It was a short enough walk to our B&B which was situated about halfway between the train and bus stations and the center of old town. We found the building it was in just fine since it was clearly labeled "Slamic", but finding the entrance was a little bit harder. The stairs were around a corner and between two buildings and were partially hidden by some scaffolding wedged between the narrow gap in the buildings. I hoped deep down that it was just there for show and not any indication that we'd be hearing construction noises throughout the day.
We got buzzed in and met Mika at the office to get checked-in. He was friendly and helpful, but warned us when we asked about getting dinner that many places would be closed since it was a national holiday as was the day before and a couple days before that. When I asked if we were all good for the rest of the week or if there were more national holidays I should be aware of and he said we should be fine for a while.
Our room was small but clean and at least wasn't a giant dance hall like the one in Vienna. We'd learned our lesson though and requested a "Do Not Disturb" sign for our door to avoid any unnecessary cleaning and entry. I looked out the window and straight at the scaffolding I'd seen earlier. I hoped again that maybe it was just an elaborate prank or that they'd be taking the rest of the week off in observance of the previous national holidays. We got ourselves situated and then headed back downstairs to go see if we could find old town and some dinner.
The first thing I noticed when we reached the busy commercial street leading to old town was that the same smug model we'd seen in Vienna had followed us here. She was plastered on all the billboards, but this time at least she wasn't caught in an infinite video loop. Soon we were past her judging looks and in to old town proper.
Ljubljana's old town center is a pedestrian paradise. An old castle with a remodeled clock tower sits on the top of a hill overlooking the town. The river bend circles the hill and is criss-crossed by numerous small bridges, each with their own distinct character and colorful name. The river front is lined by a myriad of exotic cafes, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and a long elegant colonnade which becomes a busy market almost everyday. Old town is packed with little details in every corner to catch and delight the eye. An accordion player plays a jaunty tune in the middle of Preseren square, his song carrying throughout the streets and alleys of old town. Despite being a touristy town it doesn't feel jaded or gimmicky and the people are still friendly in a matter-of-fact kind of way without being pushy or fake. In a very short time I felt we had made a good pick for the end of our vacation and knew it would be one of the highlights of the trip.
That evening we strolled through old town, sampling its sights and getting the lay of the land. We stopped for pizza, because we couldn't really make a decision on anything else, and were presented with a menu containing over 100 types of pizza to choose from. The waiter seemed surprised that we attempted to read the entire list. We chose #39. After dinner we walked the many bridges and stayed until it was late and ended up grabbing a treat of tiny cakes, hot chocolate, and espresso before calling it a night.
No comments:
Post a Comment