Last Two Days in Ljubljana

Well, Lake Bled is the #1 excursion from Ljubljana, and we took a tour with Get Your Guide on Saturday. Ickily early start, 7.50am.. under a 10-minute walk from my apartment, but still.

And excuse me, since when has Guinness been English?!

Pickup was at City Hotel, and I was first there, joined by the others in due course. I still hadn't found anything to eat.. I found out too late that there was a bakery right around the corner.. Anyway, our friendly guide rocked up, and we piled into the minibus for the drive to Bled. And I had a great time as we got closer to the mountains.. I have a real thing for mountains.. I mean, our guide was chatting all the way, telling us everything he could think of about Slovenia, but for me, he just couldn't compete with the scenery.. I do remember the big sport in the country is cycling, and some Slovenian chap keeps winning the Tour de France..

Well, as he said, we were effectively a private tour, since our group filled the whole minibus, so we could do what we wanted, in whatever order. We agreed to do the castle first, which sits on a massive crag at the edge of the lake. He drove us to the carpark at the base:

And I see they have what, in Ireland, we call "jaunting cars"!

..and this is as close I got to the castle, because of this:

Just at the bend, it gets really steep.. and I don't do steep slopes. Can't. Bathmophobia, it's called - fear of steps and slopes. Basically, it's not the climb.. it's the descent. Ah well, so much money saved, I guess.. I hung around the carpark for a bit, and then the guide returned and took me down to the town, recommending me to go to the cafe where they actually make the cream cake they charge a premium for at the castle, and that's what I did - thankfully, because I was starving. 

I was later to discover that the little specks on the lake are actually markers for lanes for competitive rowing.. they look quite ethereal from the shore though! That, by the way, is Bled Island - the only island in Slovenia, it transpires. And it has a church on it, with a wishing bell, which you have to pay to ring.

And yes, that's the castle, to the side.

A clearer view of one of the rowing lanes:

The boats, I later learned, are called "pletna" boats - the name refers to the fabric of the canopy:

I didn't have the cake, because I was properly hungry - had a rather bland ham & cheese panini, and a very welcome Sprite - they don't tend to have it in vending machines, so I didn't see it that much in Slovenia. I tell you what, though.. service is glacially slow. I must have stood at that counter for 10 minutes while she ignored me, serving people at tables, making coffees.. when she finally took my order, it was to open the Sprite for me (it had a cap that required an opener), promise to heat my panini, and invite me to take a table. I had the Sprite half drunk by the time she emerged with the panini. And by the time I'd eaten that.. I had five minutes left to get back to where the guide had said he'd pick me up! And I hadn't paid yet.. I gobbled the rest down, ran in, and asked her to take payment as a matter of urgency, then legged it back around the lake. Yes, I was slightly late for him - we went to pick up the others, and after some humming and hawing (not everyone was keen), we agreed we'd all take a boat to the island.

Hmm. They're flat-bottomed boats.. I hadn't taken one before, and what it involves is that it has to be balanced - both embarking and disembarking, people have to sit so that both sides are balanced, and if anyone decides to get up for any reason during the trip, it really does lurch alarmingly! The oarsman stands at the end, rowing. And the story about a boatload of Koreans, who all ran to one side to take a picture, tipping the boat over and landing everyone in the drink, was NOT appreciated!

I was really unnerved - which is a pity, because it's a stunning trip:

It was with relief that I got to the island, and back on dry land. Our guide walked us around the island to a shorter set of steps up to the church - and a viewpoint of Tito's house!

..and yes, in yet another fun development, I took a look at the steps, and no - for all that this flight of steps is shorter, it's still significant - and crucially, hasn't got a helpful handrail. I made my way back to the dock. I loved the lanterns in the woods though - very The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!

Well, I was a bit better on the return journey. Our guide took us to a part of the lake that was about ok to walk back from in the time we had left. And as we started on the walk, lo, we came across a wedding couple! Yes, this is a really popular wedding venue:

Tito's pad again:

I was slightly exhausted after my morning's exertions, and glad to get back to the city. A short stop back at the flat to use the loo and fetch my sunglasses, and I met with some of the others at Fari's, a fast food place just off the central market. I had a honey and mustard chicken wrap, and a decent wine.. and noticed that we were right beside a stall I'd noted earlier, selling t-shirts with dragons on them - not necessarily Ljubljana-specific. Next thing, I saw him packing up.. so I made a dive for the stall and picked out a black one before he got away. V happy with that - I suppose there isn't going to be a opportunity to wear it right now though, with the weather a bit colder..

In the interests of expediency, I unwrapped the wrap and picked out the chicken - which turned out to be a good idea, as there was a tomato hiding inside, and the less I eat of those, the better. And then we scurried across town, to meet others, as pre-arranged, at the Museum of Contemporary History. Well, we were supposed to meet at the Potato Statue - which is a thing:

The steps up to the museum have an intriguing timeline:

Now, I saw a book on a table and thought it looked interesting.. turned out to belong to the curator, who'd stepped away for a moment!

The museum covers the 20th century, and helpful maps on the floor show whereabouts the borders are at any given point, in what has been a hotly contested part of Europe!

There's an interesting display on the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife, which sparked the First World War:

Quite a disturbing exhibition about trench warfare, in a section with very creaky floorboards and poor lighting - probably deliberate:

Ah, me old friend Plecnik again!

The formation of Yugoslavia, and the rise of Tito:

WW2..

Nice ceremonial dagger:

Nice building too!

Lots of more contemporary memorabilia:

Ah jeez, these shots could have been taken in Ireland:

Finally, I returned to the mysterious staircase beside the WW1 section:

..which leads up to a section about prisoners of war, refugees and the like. This amazing box was carved by a Russian prisoner of war:

And here, a priest's travelling kit!

A depiction of refugees:

For all that I was tired, and half considered not seeing this, it proved a fascinating place, and I'm glad I did. On the way out, I checked out the vending machine - not knowing what all the drinks were, I took snaps and asked AI what drink this was! And so I ascertained that, yet again, there was no Sprite:

One last section comprised gifts from foreign leaders - some were weird, some very cool:

If I'm not wrong, this section of lace depicts bees around the edge - and I do remember being told that bees are Slovenia's prime export!

Walked home for a well-deserved rest, and to do a bit more blogging:

Oh, and I met the ostrich that others have seen!

On the way home, I also - finally - found a Spar, so could get some stuff in for the morning. And before dinner, I didn't get much blogging done, although did have a chance to chill a bit. Dinner was very close to me, in Ljublianski Dvor, a pizza place, of all things! Less than a five-minute walk, mind, and we had a table outside:

The menu has a seemingly never-ending list of pizza - happily, there are also some pasta options. If you want to avoid tomato (as I have to, I'm intolerant), you're restricted to lasagna or chicken strips. I decided to try the lasagna - and a bottle of white. Mind you, the guy was a bit deaf, and initially brought me a bottle of red. We sorted that out before he opened it.

The lasagna had a thick layer of tomato sauce on the top, which had penetrated underneath. I scraped as much as possible off the top, and after that, tried to avoid as much as possible of the top layer.. what was underneath, I have to say, was delicious, and much better than what we'd had in Raw Pasta. I was on my second bottle of wine (not as good as that of the previous night, but excellent), and we'd been wondering what had happened to Clare, whom we hadn't seen or heard from.. when in she bounded, exclaiming that she was delighted to catch us! Only just arrived, it seems. So, she shared the last of that bottle with me, and we got another and repaired to mine to finish it. An excellent end to a great weekend!

My checkout yesterday was 10am - happily, I didn't have much to pack. I was still doing that, mind you, when the cleaners arrived - at 9.50! Cheek.. well, they retreated, and spent the next 10 minutes chatting on the stairs while I flew around, making sure I had everything and chucking it in the bag. I was walking out the door as the bells chimed 10am, and bade the cleaners farewell. I walked to the edge of the pedestrianised zone, and called an Uber again to go to the airport - then, when it arrived, I suddenly realised I wasn't quite at the bit he could drive to, and scuttled down there! Happily, he hadn't left - and his English was good enough for us to have a decent conversation as he drove. He was as opinionated as any cabbie, but had a great sense of humour - and was shocked that I drink neither tea nor coffee, and am not into football, living in England as I do. "Shame on you," as he said..

I was flying with Easyjet - again, booked a large cabin bag, and checked in, last week! (They let you check in very early.) Others in the group were extending their holiday in Venice, but goodness knows, I've done that to death. It wasn't until I dragged out my boarding pass that I realised I was flying to Gatwick.. I booked so long ago, and have had so much else going on. Makes sense, of course, with Easyjet. Well, I was kind of rushed through the airport, didn't have very much time to browse.. and they had no separate EU passport lane, damnit! Never mind, it was a comfortable enough flight.

I did get hungry on the flight, but decided to wait till I got to London, and head to The Sun Wharf for food - I was planning to go to London Bridge Station anyway. It wasn't until I got to the train station that I twigged that something was wrong with the Thameslink to London Bridge - exactly what I'd been going to take! Consulting Google Maps, I ended up taking the Thameslink to East Croydon, and the Southern Line from there to London Bridge. Where I arrived an hour later than I should have, but mercifully got a table quickly enough at the pub, and had a very welcome dinner. Good to be back.. and I'm still in a holiday vibe!

I thought I might head to the cinema yesterday evening.. what was coming up was Coyote Vs. ACME, a partly animated comedy based on the roadrunner cartoons, in which Coyote sues ACME, whose products always blow up in his face. It's getting great reviews - nearest showing to me was in the Genesis. Didn't feel like it in the end, though.

Tonight, heading to Laughter to the Rafters, a comedy show in aid of The Passage homeless charity, and starring Dara O' Briain, Ed Byrne, and Sara Pascoe, among others. That's at the Hackney Empire. I've booked a table at the Pizza Express across the road for beforehand - I've had trouble before, with them being full, and eating options around there aren't great.

Then it's six days of Meetup in a row... starting with three days of mythology. Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Bloodsport - After Helen of Troy, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.. all about Helen of Troy, and what it means to return to your home, after abandoning it and starting a war. She's played by Michelle Dockery, and it's set in modern-day Essex.

On Wednesday - whee, I'm hosting storytelling with London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) again! The Crick Crack Club - in the form of Lucy Lill - is performing Doom Scrolls - The Never-Ending Prophecies of the Sibyls in Folklore Hoxton. Female prophets, the theme - and still getting new sign-ups. Hope they have tickets, as it's now sold out. I'm eating in the Blues Kitchen Shoreditch beforehand.

And on Thursday, I'm at Watkins Bookshop (yes, they have their own Meetup group) for the launch of a book called Pantheon, about the Roman Pantheon and the society that birthed it. Eating in Bella Italia Cranbourn Street afterwards, yay!

I'll probably be eating there again on Friday, when I'm with The Hideout for Her Private Hell - a stylized, futuristic psychological thriller set in Tokyo, and starring Sophie Thatcher. Details TBC.

On Saturday, I'm back at last with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies for a walk entitled Heavenly Heights of Hampstead.

And - as so often on these walks - that evening I'm off to a film (second day in a row). This time, it's with Movie Roadhouse London for Bad Apples in the BFI - a comedy with Saoirse Ronan as a teacher who locks a problematic student in her basement.

And on Sunday, back yet again with LoMAZ to see The Coming of Age exhibition at the Wellcome Collection.

Finally, next Monday, I'm back with TAC to see Who Killed Marilyn? at the Emerald Theatre. Spoiler, this assumes it's the Mafia..