Twisty turny travel day

 6 May 2024

Last day in Ljubljana, or half day really.  I slept pretty well and woke around 8.  I know there’s a tour group in the hotel so I waited until they’d mostly cleared the breakfast room before I went down.  Same breakfast as yesterday.  There was no way I wasn’t having that struklji again.  Holy cow.

There was a nice older couple next to me who I got chatting with and turns out they are from the south shore of Boston, and oddly enough are named Bob and Sue (my parents).  This is the second time in as many trips I’ve met a couple who share my parents’ names.  Dad if this is your way to give me a shout out, message received!

When I checked out and handed over my luggage for storage, the desk clerk asked if I would mind leaving 15 minutes earlier for the airport, because the taxi driver was worried we would need more time.  I didn’t really have any plans other than walking around so that was fine with me.

I just did a few loops around the city center and Old Town.  I found a cold brew coffee cart in the market and had another coffee there, and popped into some souvenir shops but didn’t see anything that called out to me.  It was a nice, comfortably warm morning, so I didn’t need my coat again.  I grabbed a yogurt drink again to hold me over until the meal on my flight, and meandered back to the hotel.  

I made one more stop at another Plecnik-designed building, this one the national library.  Every book written by a Slovene is kept here, and when the building was bombed during the war, citizens did a bucket brigade of sorts to take all the books out to safety.  It’s an interesting design with stones jutting out against flat brick and windows shaped like books that have been laid open, face down on a table.  Apparently inside he perpetuated his seating style of keeping everyone uncomfortable because it’s better for working and all the seats are ram-rod straight and slightly slanted forward to keep sitters on their toes.

I got back to the hotel and Boris showed up.  The man had to be about 80 and pretty slow.  Now it made sense because he drove as he moved on foot and we needed the extra time to get to the airport.  Boris took the time to berate me for only staying here for 5 days (while the guides I had thought it was brilliant that I was here for so long!) and sniffed when I said I was heading back through London rather than Frankfurt.  You can’t please everyone.

It was pretty straightforward finding my way through to one of Ljubljana airport’s dozen or so gates.  I did use the Business Class lounge which had an open air deck overlooking the runway.   Business Class on BA offers no extra legroom but it does block out the middle seat and as a bonus the aisle seat is also empty so I’m alone here in this row.

All took a turn however when we decided we had to wait for two final passengers to board.  They ended up boarding a full 25 minutes late (which is odd because I saw them both when I walked into the airport) and we lost our landing slot at Heathrow.  We were an hour behind schedule when we were told our reassigned slot means we’re not leaving for another 20 minutes.  I was livid, but what can you do.  We ended up leaving 2 hours late, which obviously stinks for me since I still had to make the connection to get to Brighton by train tonight. 

I did appreciate the nice flight attendant who hooked me up with enough gin and tonic to ease the anxiety.  I had some vegetarian finger sandwiches, clotted cream (for what?) and carrot cake for lunch/dinner.  The flight was otherwise uneventful.

By some freak of nature, landing at 6:10, getting on the Tube at 6:51, arriving at Farringdon at 7:28 and getting on the last nonstop Thameslink to Brighton at 7:34, I felt like I’d won the lottery.  Until we reached Gatwick, 40 minutes from Brighton, and the train stopped.  And all trains stopped. Flooding ahead, they don’t know what’s going to happen.  There was a scramble for another train that was going to go forward a few more stops, but I scratched that plan when the train looked overfull and got an Uber.  So 56 pounds later, and a near death experience with a speeding Uber driver, I arrived at the Queen’s Hotel and settled into my seaside view room.  Of course I can see no sea since it’s pitch dark, but I plan to set my alarm for 5:00 and at least open the curtains, if not go outside.

But I’m here, and Elbow is tomorrow, and all is good in the end.

Last full day in Slovenia

 5 May 2024

I must have been crazy tired from yesterday’s activity, excitement, fresh air…you name it.  I slept the sleep of the dead again, waking only to use the bathroom.  

I hit the breakfast room around 8:15 and shook up the breakfast selection this morning, instead choosing the traditional sweet (not savory) struklji.  I wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting myself into but enough people had told me how good it was that I was game.  I waited while it was prepared by having some granola and yogurt with OJ and my daily cappuccino.  When the struklji arrived, I realized I should have been eating it all along!  It was a pastry dough with cottage cheese rolled up like a jelly roll and the sliced and fried (I think!) then topped with butter and brown sugar.  Oh my goodness.  That was pretty darn good!  I took another cappuccino to go and got ready to head out for the day.

It looked to be another warm start to the day so I went out without a coat, a choice I did not regret.  I would not end up getting as hot as I did yesterday because both a strong breeze and some clouds kept it a tad cooler today, but it was nice and comfortable to walk around.

My first stop was the Plecnik house, the home of Joze Plecnik, the architect who redesigned Ljubljana as well as other cities like Vienna, Prague and Belgrade.  I’d heard on a couple of tours that he was not just a genius but also a character.  A loner, Plecnik made no bones about not wanting guests or visitors.  His waiting area had benches with seats that slanted forward under a roof that was missing.  If visitors stuck around through discomfort and rain, they weren’t getting his message.  It’s always interesting for me to be in a historic house and especially one where artists live.  His was meager and simple.  He took elements from other sites and integrated them into his home design, from a perspective of being frugal as well as not wanting to see things go to waste.  He worked for free on all of his projects and was a harsh self-critic.  He is now one of the two most celebrated names here in Ljubljana (along with poet Preseren).  I also took in two exhibitions on about him while at the house.  It was an interesting stop and one I’m glad I made.

I then headed back toward the city center and just strolled around a bit until I came across a road race.  I was curious what it was all about and looked it up on the web.  From what I could gather, there is a course but no finish line. Runners start and a half hour after they start a chaser car sets out after them, increasing speed every 30 minutes. When the chaser car catches you, you’re done. Last person to be caught by the chaser car wins. Interesting concept.  I stood and watched the race unfold on the big tv screens in Congress Square.  I then went and had lunch and returned closer to when the chaser cars were going to be setting off.  I was hooked but also trying to mentally calculated how far I’d get at my current race pace before the chaser car caught me.  Hmmmm.  The female winner of the race ran 33 miles before she was caught, the male 42 miles. That’s crazy.  I can’t times or paces for them but I am curious.

Lunch was at a riverside cafe.  I had a Beefeater G&T and a bowl of stew with fregola sarda pasta and spring veg (peas, carrots, zucchini, onion).  It was really filling and tasty.  Also I think I needed the liquid to rehydrate from yesterday.

With the Chicago ladies last night, we’d stopped by a place where they had learned had the best struklji in town.  It looked so good that I decided to go get a piece after I’d checked in on the race again.  It was at Moji Strukjli over by the market. It was a nice sunny seat with a slice of triple chocolate struklji and a cappuccino.  Delicious.  I could get used to this….

I ran back to the hotel for a bit before heading out to join the 3 p.m. Old Town tour given by Ljubljana Free Tours.  I was psyched to see Helena was doing it, as I had done the classic tour with her Thursday and really liked her.  This tour focused only on the Old Town and covered different subject matter and time periods than the first tour.  As I expected, it was a very fast 2 1/2 hours and I learned a lot.  It also included a climb back up to the castle but a much less steep route than I found on my first day here.  She took us through the castle complex, most of which is open for free to all since the city owns it now.

I was still full from my earlier lunch and dessert, so I just popped into a riverside cafe for a Bloom G&T and a mozzarella and tomato panini.  The sandwich was passable but the G&T was excellent.  Funny enough I looked it up and I can get the Bloom gin at home!  Here I was savoring it as if it was novel.

Damiejn had recommended Zvezda (meaning Star) ice cream parlor near my hotel, and having accidentally on purpose stumbled on it walking around today, I stopped there for a small dish of chocolate and pistachio, and it really was quite good.  I’ve certainly done my share of eating the good stuff on this trip!

I was back at the hotel by 7:00 and fully packed by 7:30.  I ordered the taxi to the airport for tomorrow and am calling it an early night.  I’m ready for the UK!  The Elbow fans who went to last night’s warm up show are ecstatic but keeping lips sealed on the setlist.  I can’t wait to get to Brighton for Tuesday!

Back out exploring new places

1 May 2024

Ljubljana, Slovenia, you ask?  How did I get here?  Interesting question.  Like any good travel decision, there’s a story behind it.

After visiting Poland in 2019 and loving it, I decided then to make a point to start visiting smaller, less high profile countries.  Then the pandemic happened and all my good intentions went out the window.

To keep running during the pandemic once bad weather kicked in, I bought a treadmill and with it came iFit, a video program built into the treadmill screen that allows you to “run with trainers” all over the world.  Essentially the trainer is running on location and the camera operator following behind him is meant to be you.  I ran and walked everywhere: Turkey, Tanzania, Paris, Mexico, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, and one series combining Slovenia and Croatia.  It looked interesting, I’d always been interested in Croatia, but had no idea Slovenia was also so pretty.

And then Slovenia was a destination on the Amazing Race last fall, and it was almost as if the travel gods were summoning me.  I really had to get here.

Originally I’d planned for this to be a two week tour of the Dalmatian Coast on a Rick Steves tour, and I’d even put a deposit down.  But somehow, I couldn’t find a way home from Dubrovnik that didn’t take two days, and I was already over my work-sanctioned 10 day FTO limit.  So that was scuppered.

And then….Elbow, a band I’ve loved for years but have just never managed to make the connection when they’ve been in the US on tour, announced a UK tour starting this week.  I got a ticket for their first show in Brighton, England and worked backwards from there.  So my 5 nights in Ljubljana will be followed by 2 nights in Brighton, since I’m “in the neighborhood” and will just stop there on my way home.  Ha!  In any event, I feel like the stars aligned for me to both explore a new to me country and see Elbow.  Score on both counts.

For whatever reason, once I had airfare and hotel, I didn’t do much planning until a couple weeks before I left.  I booked a couple of day tours and that was it.  I was literally reading the guide book for the first time a couple days before I left.  It’s not that I wasn’t interested, just that I had trouble focusing.  Fortunately, my travel OCD kicked in and I checked all my reservations and realized the hotel I’d booked back in December was for 2025, not 2024.  Thankfully they still had one room left for me when I realized my mistake.  And just before leaving I realized I’d packed my contact lenses only for my left eye, not both.  That was a good catch.  But I feel like maybe I’ve lost my travel mojo a bit.  I need to get it back.

Five days before the flight, an email from Delta arrived.  I’d purchased Premium Economy, planning on being economical on this trip (since I still had a safari I wanted to book).  I could not resist an upgrade to Business Class for $400.  It is worth it for the ability to spread out flat, not be piled on top of other people for 7 hours and get a really good meal.

It was a quick flight and I’m not sure how much sleep I got.  Dinner was wonderful:  celery truffle cream soup, tuna ceviche, 3 cheese ravioli, salad, and an ice cream sundae.  I may or may not have had a couple of gin and tonics to celebrate being on vacation.

I didn’t feel like I slept much, but I started watching New Amsterdam and woke up four episodes in, so apparently I got a few hours.  The galley behind me was quite loud, despite being 3 rows back.  I may change my seats for safari based on this experience.

Transiting at Charles de Gaulle in Paris was crazy.  Plane to bus to walk to security to immigration to walk to bus to terminal 2G.  An hour start to finish.  This terminal is small.  The planes are only Embraer jets so I’ll likely have to gate check my bag. 

And then there was the four hour wait until my flight to Ljubljana.  Interesting trivia: Ljubljana airport only has 21 arrivals a day.  And it only has 7 gates!

Starbucks in Paris has apparently done away with plastic cups. I ordered a cold brew and she pulled up the paper cup and started to mark it with my name.  I confirmed my order, and she said she knew.  There were no plastic cups to be seen.  Or straws.  That’s really something.

The flight to Ljubljana was uneventful.  I dozed for most of it.  Randomly, a Slovenian woman sat next to me and it turns out she now lives in Newton (near Boston) and works at a law firm working on a Patent project, just like I’m doing at work.  Crazy!  We chatted for a bit and then both slept.

The drive in from the airport took about 20 minutes.  The car the hotel sent was 42 euro.  It was worth it not to worry about logistics or shady taxis and be dropped at my door.

The receptionist here was very nice. She asked why I came to Slovenia and when I told her my treadmill story and showed her the iFit app with the Lake Bled run, she was amazed.  And she’s also a runner and has run 10k in the same time I have (and collected a bunch of running injuries!). Small world!

I checked into my room which is good sized and has a sofa as well as a king sized bed.  The shower is small but all is immaculate and very quiet so far.  This is the hotel Rick Steves tours use at the start of their trips so I’ll be curious to see if any tours are here this weekend.

I took a quick shower and threw on clean clothes and headed out for a walk.  The map is deceiving because I thought it’d be a long walk to the center, but it was maybe 10 minutes.  And then I climbed from Three Bridges to the castle at the top of castle hill.  That was probably the steepest climb I’ve ever done but it took less than 10 minutes and felt good after sitting so long.

While it was sunny when I landed, the overcast rolled in quickly and there were a few very quick sprinkles as I walked around.  I decided not to go in the castle today since I’m probably jet lagged so I just walked along the river deciding on where to have dinner.  Since Slovenia is nestled between Italy, Austria and Hungary, there’s a lot of pizza/pasta/gelato, schnitzel and stews.  Not many “traditional” Slovenian places that aren’t sausage.  I settled on a margherita pizza with a Last Word cocktail.  Followed by gelato (Snickers and 80% chocolate) and then I found a gin and tonic bar!  I had a G&T with Bloom gin and Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic.  It was delicious.  I’ve not had Bloom at home.  It was very citrus and floral, very light.  I enjoyed that.

I stayed out long enough to head back to the room around 7:45.  Tomorrow I’ll buckle down and do some proper sightseeing and a day trip.

Coincidentally, today is the 5 year anniversary of the last new-to-me trip I took, to Krakow in 2019!