My nephew returned from his northern European journey and we met up in Ljubljana (Slovenia's capital). Went up to the castle, the hard way (walking), with great views and coincidentally caught the start of the Tour of Slovenia cycling race. A few observations to date:
Back to Bologna
You may recall from my previous blog, issues I had with my hotel. Well, apparently, the couple of apartments in fact constitute a B&B. For the breakfast bit you get a 5 euro coupon which you can use in three cafes. You then are required to go on a treasure hunt to find these cafes. I didn't bother participating as I was catching an early train. In any event, the owner wanted to meet me outside the apartment at 11am (checkout) to give him the key. I advised him that I was leaving early and he said to leave the key in the apartment. At 10.45, when I am on the train, I get an SMS asking me whether I was coming. I texted back that the key was in the apartment. This all occurred with me writing in English and they replying in Italian. The apartment next to me, seemed quite small. More the size of a prison cell.
The platform at Bologna that I had to catch my train from was deep in the bowels of the station and took some time getting to. Munich had the same issue with platforms nearly a kilometre away. Seems that these big train stations are becoming like airports.
On the train trip back to Trieste I was treated to a complete makeover opposite me: first face cream was applied, then it was the eye brows that were tended to, then we moved on to the hair, this was followed by eye lash work, then we applied eye shadow, then general face make up, then lipstick. Then she moved to a now empty adjacent seat, probably noticing the expression on my face. I guess there are just not enough hours in a day.
While in Piran
I went shopping to a shopping centre in an industrial area, just outside a major adjacent town. Surprisingly, a Chinese couple got on wearing Playboy caps. This was unusual (not just the hats) as you don't get many tourists catching the local bus to this shopping centre (which only has a few supermarkets). The only possible conclusion is it was some sort of espionage mission.
While in Ljubljana
We had to stay at a hotel which I have had issues previously as there were not many to choose from. It started OK; nice, clean room (with a TV), not too small. Then it deteriorated. We couldn't get the lift down because tour groups were hogging the lifts. This extended to the breakfast room which was as if a load of zombies had been released in a confined space. Then there was the door slamming and hallway conversations at night that the Chinese in particular like to engage in. Apart from that, it was better than my last stay.
The hotel was adjacent to an apartment block and we could see and hear some maintenance work that was going on, involving grinding a metal grate. It attracted a few residents, no doubt providing some advice. But what struck me was the maintenance mens' uniform: crimson shirt, black shorts, and thongs. I guess it's better being comfortable than safe.
The trip back was on a bus driven by The Neck. We have had him a couple of times. He is The Neck because he has a thick neck with several crevasses (at the back). He looks like a retired bouncer or kick boxer. He speaks a hybrid language which includes Slovenian and Croatian words; he expects cars to give him way because his vehicle is bigger; he hasn't quite mastered how the gears work; and suffers bouts of Alzheimers as you have to repeat your destination to him at least twice when you buy your ticket from him. Apart from that he is friendly and likes to stick to the timetable. Once he was over 10 minutes late and managed to get back that time. But he is his worst enemy. Unlike, most drivers he announces the major stations. He got caught out once when he didn't announce a town stop and the passenger had a go at him for not announcing the stop. It became his fault for that the person didn't get off at the right stop.
Back to Bologna
You may recall from my previous blog, issues I had with my hotel. Well, apparently, the couple of apartments in fact constitute a B&B. For the breakfast bit you get a 5 euro coupon which you can use in three cafes. You then are required to go on a treasure hunt to find these cafes. I didn't bother participating as I was catching an early train. In any event, the owner wanted to meet me outside the apartment at 11am (checkout) to give him the key. I advised him that I was leaving early and he said to leave the key in the apartment. At 10.45, when I am on the train, I get an SMS asking me whether I was coming. I texted back that the key was in the apartment. This all occurred with me writing in English and they replying in Italian. The apartment next to me, seemed quite small. More the size of a prison cell.
The platform at Bologna that I had to catch my train from was deep in the bowels of the station and took some time getting to. Munich had the same issue with platforms nearly a kilometre away. Seems that these big train stations are becoming like airports.
On the train trip back to Trieste I was treated to a complete makeover opposite me: first face cream was applied, then it was the eye brows that were tended to, then we moved on to the hair, this was followed by eye lash work, then we applied eye shadow, then general face make up, then lipstick. Then she moved to a now empty adjacent seat, probably noticing the expression on my face. I guess there are just not enough hours in a day.
While in Piran
I went shopping to a shopping centre in an industrial area, just outside a major adjacent town. Surprisingly, a Chinese couple got on wearing Playboy caps. This was unusual (not just the hats) as you don't get many tourists catching the local bus to this shopping centre (which only has a few supermarkets). The only possible conclusion is it was some sort of espionage mission.
While in Ljubljana
We had to stay at a hotel which I have had issues previously as there were not many to choose from. It started OK; nice, clean room (with a TV), not too small. Then it deteriorated. We couldn't get the lift down because tour groups were hogging the lifts. This extended to the breakfast room which was as if a load of zombies had been released in a confined space. Then there was the door slamming and hallway conversations at night that the Chinese in particular like to engage in. Apart from that, it was better than my last stay.
The hotel was adjacent to an apartment block and we could see and hear some maintenance work that was going on, involving grinding a metal grate. It attracted a few residents, no doubt providing some advice. But what struck me was the maintenance mens' uniform: crimson shirt, black shorts, and thongs. I guess it's better being comfortable than safe.
The trip back was on a bus driven by The Neck. We have had him a couple of times. He is The Neck because he has a thick neck with several crevasses (at the back). He looks like a retired bouncer or kick boxer. He speaks a hybrid language which includes Slovenian and Croatian words; he expects cars to give him way because his vehicle is bigger; he hasn't quite mastered how the gears work; and suffers bouts of Alzheimers as you have to repeat your destination to him at least twice when you buy your ticket from him. Apart from that he is friendly and likes to stick to the timetable. Once he was over 10 minutes late and managed to get back that time. But he is his worst enemy. Unlike, most drivers he announces the major stations. He got caught out once when he didn't announce a town stop and the passenger had a go at him for not announcing the stop. It became his fault for that the person didn't get off at the right stop.
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