Slovene seems to be a language of 'j's and 'v's. I soon learned the j sounds like y and v like u. So the capital city of Slovenja,Ljubljana, sounds something like lube-lee-anna. We flew into the Ljubljana airport late Tuesday night. I had found a small hotel (after a search on the Internet) nearby that had a shuttle service but no one came to meet our plane. No problem, we grabbed a cab and showed him the address. He was happy to take us for the 10 minute ride (this scenerio in Frankfurt had different results).
The photo on the hotel's website showed a quaint, Bavarian/Swiss type place. Little did I know it would be in the middle of nowhere. Penzion Jagodic was a three story inn with a maze of rooms (36). It boasted a sauna, free wireless, a large dining room (with a disco ball), and a pub-style lounge.
When we arrived at 11:30 pm, it looked like no one was awake. The taxi took off before we could try the inn's door. Fortunately, it opened and we quickly checked in.
As I waited with our luggage, another visitor came to chat asking me where I was from. An Israeli, he shivered despite layers of sweaters. He asked me if I were cold but of course, I wasn't. It was nice to enjoy the brisk country air after city hotels with sealed windows.
We crammed our luggage into the tiny elevator, then negotiated a labyrinth of halls to our room, the wheels of our suitcases making a terrible racket on the tile floors. When we entered the small room, both Glen and I burst out laughing. The bed was two single mattresses jammed together in a queen size bed frame with a polished wood board erected between them. Glen quickly removed it commenting that, with this set-up, he could tell if I were angry with him as the board would be back in place. We snuggled under our down comforters and slept solidly until church bells woke us the next morning.
Penzion Jagodic was one of three tiny hotels in the village of Vopovlje (population 121 according to Wikipedia). Breakfast, a hearty spread, was included in the 76 euro price but we had to pay 3 euros (total for room & ride, $110) for the shuttle service back to the airport. Our bus to Bled was to pick us up at 11:30 am so we enjoyed a leisurely meal and a walk about the tiny town and into the surrounding farmland. It was such a contrast to the press of people that was Prague.
Why go to Bled was the question asked of us before we left Canada. A Clostridium difficile conference was the answer, otherwise we'd have never visited this tiny country and never known its incredible hospitality. Unlike Prague and Frankfurt, most of the tourists in this mountain town were from Eastern Europe. All the Slovenians spoke some English and really appreciated the tips we gave, thanking us like we had bestowed a gift upon them. It was a nice change from North America where any tip under 20% is sneered at.
The Ljubljana airport was tiny, smaller than Victoria's, so we sat outside, between the two doors, waiting for the shuttle to arrive. Others gathered until two vans were full. Funnily enough, Glen knew no one in the crowd but the man who sat next to us was from Montreal. Truly a small world since he worked with a woman Glen knew when he did his post-doc.
The conference was held in the Golf Hotel, one of several run by Sava Hotels in the Bled area. Upon arrival, we met
George and Tanis making plans to take a bike ride that afternoon. We couldn't get into our room so stowed our luggage and headed down the stairs to the town (I would come to hate those stairs). Glen fancied a sandwich for lunch but it was after 1:00 so the first restaurant we sat in had begun serving its dinner menu. I discovered a pub as we walked George to the bike shop and it, Pub Bled, became our drinking joint for the rest of the meeting. The view from its tiny patio in the trees was spectacular.
When I saw Toast on the menu, I was back with my parents in Italy enjoying beer and 'toast' in an outdoor café. Our server explained that not all the sandwiches were available so we ordered what we could. My ham and cheese with cucumber ended up being ham, cheese, and a pickle but was still very tasty. Glen had a tuna melt. Both were cheap and so was the beer at 2,50 euros ($3.50) for a pint. We drank Austrian, Hirter beer as it was on tap but soon discovered Slovenian beer could be had in quart bottles so drank mostly Union beer after that.
Our room had a fantastic view of the lake, church, and castle. After getting settled, we walked around the lake enjoying the sights of swans with their cignets, boats being rowed like the gondolas in Venice, and the mountain castle. Glen's first session was at 4:00 with a reception at 7:00 so I spent the time in our room gazing out at the unbelievable scenery. The reception was a lavish spread with Slovenian wine and many tasty treats from the area. Bled is famous for a type of cake, Kremsnita, that melts in your mouth. It is often glazed with local honey and I was witness to the thousand of bees that 'worked' the town.
During the reception, we hooked up with some other Western Canadians but only one had brought his spouse. Ruth and I hit it off so after the reception, we walked down to Pub Bled and had a beer with her and her husband, Tom. She and I made plans to walk around the lake the next day.
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