HEADING HOME

Our taxi arrived late but did 150 km on the freeway to get us to the airport on time. 

          (Waiting in the dark)

Though now we wait and wait in Munich for our 2nd flight that apparently has technical difficulties. No problem, please fix those, we'll wait...

THE BEST OF THE BEST

One more sleep and we'll be heading home. Taxi is arranged to pick us up at--are you kidding me?--5 a.m. Flight is at 6:45. 

TODAY WE:

Said goodbye to Venice.

Crammed 9 people and one "Ferrari"(ride-on toy) into a van headed to Ljubliana. 

Went for our last meal in Ljubliana. 

         (Mom and I enjoying our coffee)

Saw even more cool things in Ljubliana:

          (A milk vending machine with one liter bottle to fill up)

   (And a cheese one right next to it)

Came full circle as we walked the same lane to our hotel after dinner as we did from our first hotel in Ljubliana. 

                    (Adam & Eve)

     (Love locks on the bridge)

Tucked in early in our triple room. Did I mention 5 a.m.!!

Now here's the best of the best. Cue the tear jerking, triumphant music and imagine the images of these great moments projected in slow motion.

Most crowded: Venice 

Most unique: Postojna caves

Most surprising find: Piran salt pans

Most awe inspiring: Murano glass demonstration 

Most verklempt moment: Ratzendorf

Most serendipitous: Baroque concert in Maria Saal

Most old-world elegant hotel: Quattro Fontane, Lido

 

Most high end hotel: Arcotel, Klagenfurt

Most beautiful terrace: Miracolo de Mar, Piran

Most able to charge anything electronic anytime: Mike

Best farmer's market: Klagenfurt

Biggest pretzel: farmers market, Klagenfurt

Most stairs: path to slap Savica (waterfall)

Highest heights: Bohinj gondola 

Lowest depths: Postojna caves

Best alarm clock: Mike (needs a snooze button)

Best blogger: Karen

Best editor: Dianne & Mike

Best server: George at Julia's

Most gassy: Mike

Most disappointing: seeing a McDonald's on Venice

Most bossy: Karen (no she's not)

Most snotty (ie congested): Dianne

Best navigator/map reader: Karen

Best decipherer of street/water travel: Dianne

Best expression: Mike's: What is that, a ham sandwich?!

Best breakfast: Quattro Fontane hotel, Lido

Best chocolate: salted dark chocolate, Piran

Best pizza: Dvor Pizzaria, Ljubliana

Most inviting city centre: Ljubliana 

Best transportation: Venice's water busses

Most enthusiastic travel info lady: Novo Mesto

Most pastoral: Pollandl & Obcice

Best laugh: Mike spitting out his first taste of Gorgonzola 

Best purchase: umbrellas & wellies

Best main course: Michael's smoked Gouda and pancetta ravioli, Julia's in Ljubliana

Best appetizer: raw scampi & sea bass, Piran

Best chocolate cake: Cacao, Ljubliana

Best bread: Bohinj

Best oil: pumpkin

Best panoramic view: Ljublianski Grad overlooking entire city

Best showerhead: hotel Pri Mraku, Ljubliana 

Best ice cream: Piran

Best smell: Jasmine bushes, Piran

Best bouquet: lilacs from Ratzendorf, lily of the valley from Klagenfurt and jasmine from Piran (our own bouquet)

Most blisters: Dianne with 5 in one day on two feet 

 

Best drink: Borovnicevek

Best beer: Slovenian Union

Best shopping: Murano

Most lost: Venice day 2

Most spontaneously helpful: Guesthouse Stari Tisler

Most eccentric artist: Bobi, Lake Bled

Most gracious: Quattro Fontane, Lido

Best insider knowledge: Miracolo de Mar, Piran

Best idea for 3 travelling: putting meals, hotels & attractions on one credit card

Best fortress: Predjama  castle

Best hotel booking website: booking.com

Best prepared: Dianne: pharmaceutical collection and blister relief

Best sounds: birds & church bells

Best travel companions: US!

& finally...

Most fearfully anticipated visa bill: OURS!! Mike is wanting to start a non profit "Siblings See Slovenia Society" to off-set travel expenses

IF VENICE IS SINKING...I'VE GOT MY WELLIES

There is a great Canadian band, Spirit of the West, whose lyrics actually reads: If Venice is sinking, I'm going under. Cause Beauty's religion and it's christened me with wonder. Couldn't help singing the tune as we walked into this fantastical island. This is how we did it:

THURSDAY HEADED TO VENICE

Woke at 4:45 in Ljubliana. A.M. Ack

Knocked the fuzz out of our heads (we're all a wee bit bushed from the whirlwind pace of adventure).

We had packed up our suitcases and prepared our small carry ones, laden with a few necessities. 

Headed for the bus station and locked our suitcases up.

Boarded a small bus that whizzed us up into Austria and into Italy, plopping us in Mestre. 

Dianne, armed with the handy tips from Rick Steves (the guru of European travel), quickly got us our 48 hour bus/waterbus passes and we waited for the city bus. Great system here: the bus terminals have a digital readout of the ETA of the next busses to come. 

Finally in Venice!! 

             (Mapping out Venice)

With map in hand we managed to get to our hotel in Lido (staying in Venice would have cost us a small fortune!). As soon as we got through the crazy busy city and onto the very cool waterbus ("vaporetto").

       (Fancy hotel--best deal we could find)

Mike announced that he was done with Venice! He'd seen enough, thumbs down. I believe at that moment there was no sound, the world stopped spinning and there was a giant cosmic gasp. But Michael, I said, how can you say this? This is a city built that birthed: Vivaldi & Marco Polo; a city of great art, artists (Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto); a city of fabulous architecture; a city whose patron saint is St. Mark (look into the story of how his body hidden under pork fat reached Venice). 

This is when we banished Mike to the isle of Lido to wander the large, uncrowded streets streets alone, face time his family and find a sandy beach to dip his sore feet in. Wait a second...what kind of punishment was that? Meanwhile, Dianne and I reboarded the waterbus and headed back into the crowds and hot sun. We were baffled at how many young children there were, how many strollers (even a double wide) pushed through the frenetic streets as we moved like sheep along the passageways, ducking into various shops along the way.

It's a stunning place to visit. And Mike actually rejoined us for dinner near San Marco square. 

Day one in Venice was crazy. Taking the waterbus back to Lido was lovely. I felt just like a pirate since I didn't even realize the waterbus had departed. I officially had my sea legs, but then it lurched and I saw myself like Captain Hook running on the water as the tick-tock crocodile chases him. There was also a drunken  sailor--no, this is true, a man... In a sailor suit (striped blue and white shirt, hat and all) teetering but never falling until he fell into a deep sleep. I can't make this stuff up. We came to the end of our line but I did wonder: at the end of the boat's line, what do you do with a drunken sailor?

DAY 2: MURANO & VENICE

Awoke to the knocking of Mike's hand on the door, then the clap of thunder outside.  

Mom perched herself atop the window still and announced that it was indeed raining. But who brought her wellies to Venice? Yup, me. 

Yesterday the nice man at our hotel told us we could take a water taxi (provided at no cost by the hotel) to Murano, the glass making capital of the entire world. 

And, sure enough, after a "pretty" breakfast (we each had wee coffee pots), we were whisked away like rock stars to the island of Muano, lifting our noses just a tiny bit at the poor slobs drifting alongside in the plebeian waterbus (yes, today the waterbus was simply pitiful. Oh, who were we kidding? It was a treat though). We are still not sure which boats have right of way! I think the fancy taxi ride, the cooler temperatures and less people changed Mike's opinion of Venice. 

    (View from our taxi--boat careening toward us. Who has right of way?)

Then, exiting the taxi onto the glass isle, we were greeted by a host who offered us a tour of a glass factory. We spent A delightful hour watching a master (and his apprentice and helpers) create an incredible piece! Feeling the heat even from a distance, I can't imagine how they could tolerate it so close.

(This artist was literally swinging a 10 kg piece of molten glass at one point!)

I was a tad worried we'd be obligated to buy the piece he created! Apparently his creations sell for upwards of 2000 euros. They make 4 of each design, choose the best and smash the rest. They film the making if the glass and send it with the buyer. 

Murano...even in the pouring rain is one of the most beautiful places. I think Heaven will be laden with Murano glassworks--probably mixed into those streets of gold. Dianne was certainly in heaven. How wonderful to have had seen the glass piece being created right before our eyes. We one could truly appreciate the process and art involved. 

Popping in and out of glass shops, admiring the different styles of the artists and wandering the island at our leisure made for an unforgettable day for all three of us.

Glass installations outside. No hail here:

Beauty everywhere: 

   (How much is that horsey in the window?  22000 Euros!)

Venice in the rain was a completely different experience than yesterday. No crowds! We spent a couple of hours so off the beaten track that when we asked a local where we were on our map, she pointed to a point off it. Funny! 

    (Even the garbage cans are beautiful--enough said!)

Ended the day with our first taste of Italian pizza (inside the restaurant cause it was poring!) then headed to bed. 

Only 2 more sleeps till we're home. 

Today was a great day.

DIGGING DEEPER DAY

A beautiful sunny day in Ljubliana! 

Another great day for our second "finding our roots" field trip to the Gottshee region of Slovenia.

Hit the road first thing to find a laundromat for Mike to do his delicates, so we opted to forage for breakfast in a little grocery shop (bought a bit of bread, cheese, fruit & sliced meat) and coffee to go from those fancy dispensers I like. 

Then we headed south-east near Novo Mesto to find the birthplaces of Oma & Opa. After driving the pristine and speedy A2, I (the trusty navigator) got us onto the "scenic" route through small villages. This made Dianne quite carsick in the backseat driving the winding roads. The landscape is quite beautiful: rolling hills, lush farmland, big skies and dense forests. 

        (Unmarked church? In Soteska--close to Novo Mesto. Gorgeous)

                       (WOW!)

In no time at all, we found our first destination: Kocevske Poljane. This is the place our Oma talked about--but it was called Pollandl: a German settlement until 1941 when it was "resettled" by the German occupation forces. Quite a history lesson and lots of information on the net too. 

           (Panoramic of Poljane area)

Unfortunately, though we saw twin girls and a man mowing his lawn (uncanny parallels to our Klagenfurt visit), there were no English speakers to help us with the history. But we did see...

Some bees!

                       

A lovely church:

Some houses old and new:

A hip and happening Main Street:

Driving on to Opa's birth town we found a small graveyard with some Samida graves (looks like it was Opa's cousin, August's family). The grave seemed to be kept up, so I'm a little disappointed we couldn't find someone nearby who may have known the family. The few people we did see in Poljane spoke only Slovenian. 

 

Arriving in Opa's hometown--Obcice--we were greeted by a bull crossing the street. Mike refused to get out and pose next to him--what a spoil sport (Mike, not the bull). 

I think we got pretty close to someone who could explain some of the history to us when we came upon "Kulturverein Deutshsprachiger Jugend": a place where Gottscheers could know their heritage. Alas, no one was there. But we nosed around taking pictures.

Found some strange looking garden fellows: 

Off we went, our tummies grumbling, to Novo Mesto to find grub. Enjoyed the sunshiny, warm weather. Walked around the town and headed along the river for a  lunch. 

Novo Mesto:

     (Graffiti under the bridge. Where's my spray paint when I need it to write: "ME TOO!")

The day ended back in Ljubliana with our final quest: finding the nectar of the Slovenian blueberry that we'd come to love...Borovnicek. If I love you enough, you may taste this divine drink at my house. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will not last (the drink, not my love for my friends).

  (Mike, testing the brand we bought--couldn't find a paper bag)

Just a few more Ljublianna pics (we just love it here!!):

      

    (Umbrella lights all along Trubarjeva cesta & do you see the shoes on the line?)

     (3-D replica of Ljubliana old town)

Hanging out on the river...

Till bedtime...

      (Mike rates this pizza the best of all in Slovenia: Dvor Pizzaria) 

Heading to Venice at the crack of dawn tomorrow.