Lunch with Pigeons

Day Five

5 June 2012

Weather: Sunny, 22

Cat count: 1

T-shirt count: 0

The cats were looking well rested with shiny coats, clipped nails and waxed whiskers. They skipped breakfast. Wasn’t sure why till I realized there were ducks and swans in Lake Bled.

Well, there were.

I dropped into the spa, paid the bill and got access to the sun deck which gives amazing views of the castle and Slovenia’s only island. I snapped away, went down to have some more excellent eggs and went out on the lake front to take more pictures of the lake. Gorgeous with the sun out. 

I went to the bus to find the cats settled in on the spare seats. It was a 40 minute drive to Ljubljana (yes, I’ll spell that about ten different ways). The city name means love or beloved. Which is ironic as Slovenia is the only country with the word ‘love’ in it.

We pulled into the city and met up with our guide in front of the Parliament building. Her name is Petra. She’s our guide and our rock.

She turns us around and shows us the parking lot across the street. This used to be a military parade ground when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. Now you park your SUV instead of a tank.

Oh….wait.

The front of the Parliament building has a number of figures around it – all nude – representing a number of occupations that Slovenians do. We wonder if they are paid enough to buy clothes. Petra says she has no idea why they are all nude. She assures us that Slovenians generally wear clothes.

For which we are eternally grateful. 

There is a castle on top of a hill above the old town. It was originally built in 1200 but of wood so that it has been rebuilt several times. They started building it out of stone in 1500s and are still adding to it. They most recently added a section in the 80s on the side that we can’t see.

She says we should be eternally grateful for that.

From up there, apparently, you can see 1/3 of the country on a clear day.

We continue our walk and pass the Philharmonic Building and inside it sounds like ghosts screaming. We guess that they are Casper’s….I means Gasper’s relatives.

He is from Ljubljana after all.

We come to a river in an area that reminds me of Saint Petersburg. It’s gorgeous. The river is the same river that flows under the Postojna caves but has a different name. It goes into the caves as one river and comes out with a new name.

We cross the river on the Shoemaker’s Bridge where they used to punish greedy bakers by dunking them in the water.

If only we could do that to the Enron Execs or Lehman Brothers.

We walk in one block from the river and walk along the street towards the centre. The city is impeccably clean. We stop at the Town Hall and she takes us inside to show us the small courtyard in the centre and shows us a relief map of the city etched into the wall. She mentions that the Ottoman Turks were stopped in this area and that they didn’t go any farther, which is a good thing, she said, or they would all be Muslims now.

Not quite so fast there, Petra. LOL

The Ottoman Turks did not force conversion on those they conquered otherwise there would be no Orthodox Christians in Serbia and no Catholics in Croatia. The Bosnians converted because they were the one group that remained that had not been converted by the Holy Roman Empire or by the Byzantine Empire. They were not former Orthodox Christians or Catholics converted to Islam. The only ones who were required to convert were those that wanted to attain political positions in the government. (Not that I say that to her, but it’s interesting to have some detailed knowledge of the history of the area. If I can spot discrepancies here, I have to wonder about a lot of things told to tourists in other cities.)

We leave the Town hall and walk passed an alley where they sell flowers.

I call it Allergy Alley.

We come to an outdoor fruit market where they are selling local and imported fruit. Looks really good. And very very clean. I’d have no problem buying any of it. 

Next to the market, we come back to the river where we are shown another bridge. There are locks on the railings and he says it’s an imported tradition where people in love put a lock on the bridge and throw the keys into the water to signify that they are locked together forever.

I think I see some guys diving for keys.

At least there are no handcuffs hanging from the railing.

We move up to the next bridge which is a triple bridge. A wide centre one and two smaller ones and across from there is the main square. There is a statue of a poet names Preseren with a modern day whiskey bottle poked into his hands. Petra comes up with a story to explain the bottle – which wasn’t there yesterday. 

Apparently, he was in love with a woman named Julia but she didn’t love him. Across the square from him is a bust of Julia on one of the buildings. The statue is looking right at her.

He wrote the Slovenian national anthem.

We say farewell to Petra here and have an hour to eat and spend the last of our Euros. I tried to get a burger at McDonalds but it was packed so I got another donair with a pepsi. I sat below Preseren and chowed down with a pigeon buddy. 

We were both stuffed by the time I finished. Then I went in search of t-shirts but the pickings were slim. I did find a “cat” figurine for Slovenia. Got an ice cream too. Not as good as the one in Graz but nice in the warming weather.

And so I have 30 Euros left to spend, but for the life of me, I can’t find a Coke. Most sell it with the beer top that I need an opener for.

The cats suggest I just get a caffeine IV drip.

We all meet up at the Preseren statue and walk back to the bus. It’s a couple of hours to the Croatian border and Gasper plays another game of Who Am I?

He tells us he is a man who is still alive who has a connection to Slovenia.

Someone yells out Tito.

Nope, he says. “Tito is dead. I am not a ghost. Well, I am Casper, the ghost, but not Tito. He is a different ghost.”

Heh.

Turns out he’s Trump who is married to a Slovenian. So, he’s Casper with a toupee.

About a half hour after we left Ljubljana … did I spell that right? Anyway, we get to the Croatian border. I get a bit of a start seeing the line of trucks about a mile long but luckily, the bus followed the cars. Gasper said they could wait an hour or more to cross the border if there are a number of buses. But we’re the only one.

First we have to leave Slovenia and the European Union. For that, we have to get off the bus and get our passports stamped. Then the bus goes to the Croatian border and the Croatian border officer comes aboard and stamps all our passports.

Too easy. They’re letting me back in!

Whew!

They did have questions about the cats though. I assured them that all 315 were Canadian and fixed and off we went.

As we drove away, skipping by the outskirts of Zagreb, Gasper gave us all a nice map of Croatia. Very detailed. He gave us the Croatian introduction, giving us the history that you can find in Wiki no problem. He told us that Croatia declared independence a few days after Slovenia but wasn’t recognized until Jan, 1992. The first country to recognize them was Iceland.

Did you know the first country to recognize the US? The country (municipality?) of Dubrovnik.

He did note that they have 1185 islands and over 6000 km of coastline. Dalmatian dogs are Croatian breeds. Also, the fountain pen was created here as was the necktie (for military uniform).

So, men, now you know who to blame.

Also, Tesla was born here but his parents were of Serbian origin and the airport in Belgrade is named for Tesla.

After a half hour drive, we stopped at a roadside restaurant. It was probably the cleanest one I’ve visited on tour and it had amazing desserts and food. I had the Slovenian cream dessert that everyone was raving about in Slovenia.

600 calories. Minimum.

Ten minutes after we left, Gasper tells us that we are going to see another hidden treasure.

The Aussies are notably quiet.

So are the cats.

Then we pull into a town that has relics left over from the 1991 war. Tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery pieces and a complete MIG as well as the wreck of a MIG.

 Three buildings destroyed in the war remain as well.

 Kinda makes one think. Did I see any of these tanks before?

It’s a quick photo stop then we hit the road for Plitvice Lakes. It’s a back road all the way, so speeds are not up there. Gorgeous countryside. Gasper is warning us about the 300 steps at the Lakes and asks if anyone doesn’t want to go.

315 pair of paws go up. No human hands go up. The driver will take the cats and the luggage to the hotel while we’re at the Lakes. Apparently, the 300 steps lead to the hotel at the end of the walk.

We meet up with the guide at the entrance and she apparently was expecting us 15 minutes earlier. Apparently, that means we won’t see all the Lakes. She starts to lead us in at 4:30 and we come to a fork in the road. She goes left. Gasper stands at the one on the right and starts saying something to her. Apparently, she was taking the easy way down. Gasper said the other way was the prettier way.

We didn’t ask. We just follow.

We can see the Falls from the path. The rain last night has added a little to it. As we walk towards it, we can see the green lake to the left.

And it’s full of fish.

Fishing and swimming is illegal in the lakes, so they just sit there and tease us.

Did I mention trout was on the menu for tonight?

To get to the falls, we have to walk on some fairly old rough cut boards that look like they’re 100 years old. You really need to have good footwear on and watch where you step. It’s hard to see when the flat platform suddenly drops. No railings either, so one wrong move and you really will be swimming with the fishes.

All the way down to the falls, there are mini-falls going from the upper lakes to the lower ones. Some of them run over the boardwalk.

There’s a viewing area near the falls and even some rough cut lumber made into a sitting area where you can sit and get your picture taken. We have one enterprising photographer who yells out “Panorama!” and that’s our cue to get a group photo. He’s doing pretty good so far. I imagine he can ask $20 a shot for an 8 ½ x 11.

Heh.

Once we take our fill of pictures of the falls, the guide leads us back up the trail and we walk up to the next lake. Green and full of fish. Our group is spread out but Gasper brings up the rear to make sure no one takes a wrong turn. We are heading to the boat on the next lake and it’s a fair walk. The guide says that the last boat leaves at 6:30. We try to make headway for the 6 pm one, taking pics all along the way.

Then I see the word Souvenir at the end of the road. That only means one thing.

A bathroom.

The boat shows up for the 6 pm run and we get aboard, watching the ducks play with the fish in the water.

Pretty cool.

The boat ride takes only about 10 minutes and the guide gives us a brief talk after we land.

She notes that the area was one of the first areas attacked in the 1991 war and that there were still areas of the forest that were mined.

Something to be said for mines that deactivate themselves after one or two years.

When she’s done, we tackle the 300 steps.

Brutal after that long walk but as promised, it ends at the Jezera Hotel.

I pick up the keys and notice the cats are in the bar sweet talking the waitresses.

Guess there’s no spa in this hotel.

It’s a pretty dated hotel. Probably the most dated one I’ve been in. I mean, I feel like I’m back in the 70s.

Half afraid to turn out the lights. A disco ball might light up.

Not that there was much of a choice in the area. Apparently, there are only a couple hotels in the area. This hotel is full, too. Gasper has already told us not to attempt breakfast at 6:30 when it opens.

Yup. It won’t only be the cats down there that early.

Luckily, we don’t leave until 9 am so I can go down at 8:50 am.

Heh.

The hotel reminds me of the ones in the US National Parks. Rustic. This one just happens to be rustic from the 70s.

At least it has a TV. The US National Park hotels don’t. They want you to go out and see the park. Not stay indoors watching TV. LOL

My room has two single beds…whith bed spreads that are so loud, I might not get any sleep…

It also has a flat screen, mini-bar, shampoo stuff, shower and a heated towel rack that doesn’t work.

The wired internet won’t work either.

I went to dinner where we had a choice of fish or beef. It was pretty basic meal with a nice soup and salad. My beef was a bit tough, but those who had the trout really like it. When I was done, I went to the front desk about the internet and they promised to send down a “tech.” Well, it looked like I knew more about modems than he did. He turned if off and turned it on.

Did that.

Then he jiggled the cables and shrugged. I ended up down in the lobby for the free wifi there, but it was slow and spotty, so I packed it in after I checked what the next hotel has.

Free wifi in the room.

Sweet.

The cats were particularly interested in the fact that it was called a “resort.”

That means spa.

I really should hide my visa card before I turn in.