Sunday night is upon us and we have had another great day.
We caught the bus to Bled this morning and did a test run of how long it takes to walk to the bus stop. We have to catch the 5.20am bus to the airport Tuesday, heading for Moscow. But I am ahead of myself.
Apart from sitting on the bus and never seeing a Bled sign until the last 10mins of a 80 min trip we had a relaxing day. Bled is simply stunning, a photographer's dream . The water was ice blue and superbly clear, the sun was shining, the trees were in full leaf and the combination made for constant exclamations. We walked around the lake, around 5 kms, with numerous other folk and dogs.
The lake was full of ducks, white swans, water lilies in flower and rowers. There was a big Eastern European rowing meet so the lake had plenty of colour. Coupled with the inexperienced rowers, who thought they could row to the church on the island and back in 60mins, the lake was full of action.
Ash walked up to the castle while I coffeed and chatted at the bottom in a lovely bar. We whiled the day away and forgot to swim so I stuck my feet in just before we caught the bus back.
Later we dined and walked around a new section of town. The architecture here is very broad with Art Nouveau in the area we walked in this evening. After dinner we went to the stage in the Square to hear what we thought would be a pop concert. Unfortunately it was more a dramatic performance by young musicians and very language reliant so we bailed out.
Last night we saw a little of the Slovenian ballet company doing their interpretation of Swan lake. The entertainment is free on the central stage in the square. We are determined to see the whole performance tomorrow night as we farewell Lubljiana.
It really is a lovely city and reminds me of Melbourne on a much smaller scale. Our apartment is in an area just like Carlton but only a 5min walk to the centre of town and 30secs to the river with a wide walking path with cafes and restaurants and bars. The market is also a 5min walk. Avenues of trees are everywhere and it feels very leafy. It is very green and cycling is the major form of transport. The footpaths all have cycling lanes built in. In the centre you don't see many cars. People walk, cycle and roller blade. Looks funny rollerblading with the baby in the pram! I can't get over how young Croatia and Slovenia seem. Full of young people. Of course Lubljiana is a university town and is vibrant because of it.
Friday we hired bikes and did some riding but we are so central it is easier to walk. In the afternoon we visited the National gallery. They have a great collection and had a political poster exhibition which was great. We then ventured out of town on the local bus to the shopping precinct BCC? It is a total shopping precinct with warehouses and malls all in the same area. It's enormous but convenient for the town as all the shopping is in one zoned area. We bought a DVD burner for Ash to backup his photos and video as we are aware this little netbook may crash at some stage and it would be a pity to lose everything.
Saturday they had an art market along the river which I happily attended while Ash burned DVDs. They also had musicians of various sorts in the streets. I really enjoyed a guitarist and singer performing Russian folksongs and purchased their CD.
The music here has been a treat. Thursday night we found a great local restaurant with a guitarist and balalaika player doing Croatian folk music. We had another downpour and had to scuttle inside. As the evening progressed we got to know the locals a little better and I had a bit of a sing and harmonize with the boys who invited us back the next night to hear the violinist. Everyone knows the songs and harmony is just terrific. A lot of the feel seems almost Hawaiian. There is an easy feel to the music, a simplicity and it is easy to pick up the notes. The Bosnian sound is much more Middle Eastern and these guys could really sing a melancholy tune. We went again the next night and they had a great violinist with a wonderful voice so we had two great nights of entertainment and were treated like royalty. Not to mention the amazing Slovenian food we ate.
This city has been a treat. The apartment is just great, very modern, small but well designed and equipped with a mezzanine for the bed and a wonderful location. The river is beautiful to look at, as are the trees and parks. The food has been great and prices very reasonable.The wine also deserves a mention. It is cheap and more than a little bit drinkable. Apart from a couple of downpours on our first night the weather has been superb- the days warm and the evenings too lovely to go to bed. The further north we go, the longer the daylight hours and the later we eat. I hate to think what we will be like in St Petersberg during the White Nights. My timeclock will be totally destroyed.
I'll away now, Ash will add pictures later or in the morning.
Lots of love to all Janet
