Monday, November 13, 2017

From Split to Ljubljana, Slovenia mainly in the bus and it was finally raining...



We had been very lucky with our weather especially hearing about Vancouver's rainy weather but the forecast was rain and we did get it.



I thought it might be time to review the map to see that we had quite a drive from Split to Ljubljana.




Our first stop had quite the views...



We were near Skradin in Krka National Park


Here you can see a view of the town (which is apparently charming, a favourite of Bill Gates)





Here is the bridge over the Krka River that goes into the sea near Skradin.



not surprisingly in Croatia there was a kitty sighting (this one reminded me of my own time cat, Patches)



tangerines and dried figs for sale-figs were such a staple in Croatia I found myself buying some here the other day.  That day we were sampling those figs on the bus.



We veered away from the coast and as you can see the rain had begun-here we are crossing into Slovenia.  I think this is the crossing that was actually shared with Croatia but we had to be checked by both country's agents even though both are members of the European Union.  I may have mentioned that security has been tighter since one of the Paris bombers  posing as a Syrian refugee got into Croatia from Serbia to reenter Europe.  

In this case people were happy to have another stamp in their passports and at least we didn't have to get out of the bus.   Alex, our driver, often had an ability to charm customs agents.



We passed through a prosperous mining town, Zuzemberk, with its own castle.  I guess you noticed that it was pouring.  
 Slovenia had a fairly peaceful exit from Yugoslavia compared to Croatia's or Bosnia-Herzegovina's. Slovenia was traditionally the most prosperous country of postwar Yugoslavia with industry etc.  It actually was the first Eastern European communist country to become a democracy and then it negotiated exiting Yugoslavia in 1991, having voted to do so a year before.  It was soon recognized by the European Union etc.



Despite the rain, it was very pretty and  the countryside and buildings  reminded of its neighbour's, Austria.




It was still raining as we entered Ljubljana, the largest city with around 300000 inhabitants, and it is the capital of Slovenia.



Hard to see but this is the Dragon Bridge.  I just realized why it felt so familiar right away. It is used as an example on the Waterlogue app that I use on my iPad and iPhone that makes photos into watercolour type pictures.  


Here is the view from our very nice hotel and yes, still raining…



We had a bit of a break and dinner that night was at a castle.  Our bus dropped us off but we were going to walk back if we wanted or taxi back.    We took a funicular up to the castle.



Yes, it was still raining but rather lovely in the courtyard…



The castle has a very interesting and long history and is well used now.  In the restaurant we had a very nice dining experience.


Then rode the funicular back down and were taxied back to our hotel as it was still pouring.



Good news was that although it was cooler than by the coast (we were back in a continental climate) the rain was supposed to go away the following day, Monday,  but of course we were totally prepared for the worst.  If you live in Vancouver you are well versed in rain.  

Stay tuned for sunshine!

No comments:

Post a Comment