Hello,
Back from the seven day tour of Slovenia with my friend from Australia. Well it was not actually a tour of the whole of Slovenia, we only did parts of the western bit, including Piran (and surrounds), Postojna Caves, Ljubljana (the capital) and Lakes Bled and Bohinj. A selection of pictures is below. But as with any trip there were a few things that happened along the way....
Transportation Tales
Travelled mainly by bus and there appears to always be plenty to entertain. On one bus, the mother was obviously getting tired of looking after her young child, so child caring duties were being shared amongst the bus passengers. At least two other passengers had the privilege of looking after her child.
I am amazed by the number of tourists that get on the bus not having much idea of where they are going and what they are going to do. At least a couple of times they started compiling their itinerary in consultation with the bus driver, specifically seeking his advice on their travel and accommodation options. Whatever happened to the internet? Sometimes they are better planners, like the Japanese woman who wanted to go to a place so she showed a picture of it, from a brochure, to the driver. In fact I think the Japanese get the reward for the best tourists. They are quite, polite and appreciate any help anyone gives them.
The bus trip back to Piran was particularly eventful. First there was the Italian who had to sit next to me spreading himself out instead of sitting next to his wife as it appeared that the wife's bag was more important than the husband. Plus he had more hair in his ears than on his head. Then there was the three American tourists that missed their bus stop at Postojna despite it being a major bus terminal and the driver shouting out the station name (usually you are lucky just to be given time to get off of the bus). The bus driver asked them whether they had fallen asleep (in English), there was no reply. They were lucky, they only had a kilometre walk back to the station.
But perhaps the most memorable thing was being thrown off the bus - a first. It turned out that we were on the wrong bus to Postojna and so we were dumped on the side of the road a few hundred metres from the bus station (the bus driver should have checked the tickets properly and earlier). It turns out that we missed the previous bus but I blame the ticket seller who instead of giving me the ticket was arranging her catch up with her friend for coffee. It was very embarrassing. To compound the embarrassment, my friend's back pack got caught on the bus door as traffic was piling up behind us.
Hotels
It's amazing what people do where buffets are offered, be it breakfast or dinner. At dinner I saw someone carrying off three chocolate cakes and two pastry cakes. I thought it was for a group but he was the only one at the table. At breakfast I saw him fill his breakfast bowl from the coffee machine with milk instead of the provided jugs.
It might be a generalisation but it appears that Spanish people can only eat meals in groups and in selecting their food they need to consult with their colleagues across the room and at a volume level which drowns out any other noise. They also seem to be on a strict time schedule when getting their food (fear of the food running out?) as you get about 10 minutes of frantic activity around the food and then you don't see them again.
I wonder what goes in hotels sometimes when people are out. When were returned to the hotel one day my friend's bed had dry red lipstick or nail polish all over it. We complained and the bedding was changed but it will remain a mystery as to how it got there.
There's also not a lot of room in hotel lifts, my friend nearly decapitated a small child with his back pack. There should be a warning.
Hungry Birds
A word of warning, the pigeons in Ljubljana are very hungry and aggressive. One couldn't bother waiting for the crumbs from my friend's hot dog (or wouldn't be satisfied with that) and instead tried to take the hot dog itself. In Bled the sparrows there like cream cake (a speciality of the Hotel Park cafe and well recommended) but at least they wait and take turns to clean up the plates when people leave the cafe.
Bicycles
One semi-trailer driver had an innovative way to always have alternative transport; he had his bike attached to the back of his cabin.
Also saw a cyclist in Ljubljana cycling along with his dog quite comfortably lying on a trailer at the back.
Gorge Walk
The walk down the Vintgar Gorge, near Lake Bled, was a highlight (see pictures below) but people's behaviour was interesting. There seemed to be some competition amongst visitors to see who could take the greatest amount of pictures of themselves in the gorge. At one stage, one pair were taking a picture every 10 metres or so alternating positions. There was also this group of Hungarians which I can only describe as a cloud of noise - it was non stop loud talking/shouting at each other - you could here them a mile away as they approached and then as they moved past the noise eventually melted way. Then there were the dogs. Do you really have to bring a dog along on a busy gorge walk of three kilometres with its narrow walkway? I bet if they had to pay for the dog they wouldn't be as keen.
Anyway, here are the pictures...
Back from the seven day tour of Slovenia with my friend from Australia. Well it was not actually a tour of the whole of Slovenia, we only did parts of the western bit, including Piran (and surrounds), Postojna Caves, Ljubljana (the capital) and Lakes Bled and Bohinj. A selection of pictures is below. But as with any trip there were a few things that happened along the way....
Transportation Tales
Travelled mainly by bus and there appears to always be plenty to entertain. On one bus, the mother was obviously getting tired of looking after her young child, so child caring duties were being shared amongst the bus passengers. At least two other passengers had the privilege of looking after her child.
I am amazed by the number of tourists that get on the bus not having much idea of where they are going and what they are going to do. At least a couple of times they started compiling their itinerary in consultation with the bus driver, specifically seeking his advice on their travel and accommodation options. Whatever happened to the internet? Sometimes they are better planners, like the Japanese woman who wanted to go to a place so she showed a picture of it, from a brochure, to the driver. In fact I think the Japanese get the reward for the best tourists. They are quite, polite and appreciate any help anyone gives them.
The bus trip back to Piran was particularly eventful. First there was the Italian who had to sit next to me spreading himself out instead of sitting next to his wife as it appeared that the wife's bag was more important than the husband. Plus he had more hair in his ears than on his head. Then there was the three American tourists that missed their bus stop at Postojna despite it being a major bus terminal and the driver shouting out the station name (usually you are lucky just to be given time to get off of the bus). The bus driver asked them whether they had fallen asleep (in English), there was no reply. They were lucky, they only had a kilometre walk back to the station.
But perhaps the most memorable thing was being thrown off the bus - a first. It turned out that we were on the wrong bus to Postojna and so we were dumped on the side of the road a few hundred metres from the bus station (the bus driver should have checked the tickets properly and earlier). It turns out that we missed the previous bus but I blame the ticket seller who instead of giving me the ticket was arranging her catch up with her friend for coffee. It was very embarrassing. To compound the embarrassment, my friend's back pack got caught on the bus door as traffic was piling up behind us.
Hotels
It's amazing what people do where buffets are offered, be it breakfast or dinner. At dinner I saw someone carrying off three chocolate cakes and two pastry cakes. I thought it was for a group but he was the only one at the table. At breakfast I saw him fill his breakfast bowl from the coffee machine with milk instead of the provided jugs.
It might be a generalisation but it appears that Spanish people can only eat meals in groups and in selecting their food they need to consult with their colleagues across the room and at a volume level which drowns out any other noise. They also seem to be on a strict time schedule when getting their food (fear of the food running out?) as you get about 10 minutes of frantic activity around the food and then you don't see them again.
I wonder what goes in hotels sometimes when people are out. When were returned to the hotel one day my friend's bed had dry red lipstick or nail polish all over it. We complained and the bedding was changed but it will remain a mystery as to how it got there.
There's also not a lot of room in hotel lifts, my friend nearly decapitated a small child with his back pack. There should be a warning.
Hungry Birds
A word of warning, the pigeons in Ljubljana are very hungry and aggressive. One couldn't bother waiting for the crumbs from my friend's hot dog (or wouldn't be satisfied with that) and instead tried to take the hot dog itself. In Bled the sparrows there like cream cake (a speciality of the Hotel Park cafe and well recommended) but at least they wait and take turns to clean up the plates when people leave the cafe.
Bicycles
One semi-trailer driver had an innovative way to always have alternative transport; he had his bike attached to the back of his cabin.
Also saw a cyclist in Ljubljana cycling along with his dog quite comfortably lying on a trailer at the back.
Gorge Walk
The walk down the Vintgar Gorge, near Lake Bled, was a highlight (see pictures below) but people's behaviour was interesting. There seemed to be some competition amongst visitors to see who could take the greatest amount of pictures of themselves in the gorge. At one stage, one pair were taking a picture every 10 metres or so alternating positions. There was also this group of Hungarians which I can only describe as a cloud of noise - it was non stop loud talking/shouting at each other - you could here them a mile away as they approached and then as they moved past the noise eventually melted way. Then there were the dogs. Do you really have to bring a dog along on a busy gorge walk of three kilometres with its narrow walkway? I bet if they had to pay for the dog they wouldn't be as keen.
Anyway, here are the pictures...
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| Nanos, near Postojna |
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| Postojna Cave |
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| Views from Ljubljana Castle |
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| Bled Castle |
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| Bled Lake, from Bled Castle |
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| View from Bled Castle |
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| Around Lake Bohinj |
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| Vintgar Gorge, near Bled |
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