Lake Bled

The train options from Budapest to the next place we decided to go, Bled, Slovenia, were very limited. So, we had to take a train to Salzburg, Austria and change there. The train was very nice, since it was an Austrian one. I've been used to busses and rickety Eastern European trains. I was actually able to get some sleep. Not all the cars on the train go to the same place, and we found out the hard way. I became concerned when everyone got out of the car and we were the only ones left. It was the end of the line for that car, it turns out. We had to scramble off the train, with our belongings loose in our arms, and find the platform that the other, disconnected, cars had gone to. It all worked out, though.

When we got to Salzburg, we decided to take full advantage of the two hour layover and explore some. Four hours would have been much nicer. All we could do was run with our fifty-pound packs from the train station towards the historical center. We made it to the bridge, where we could see the castle and other old stuff lit up at night in the distance. Then, after five minutes, we had to run back to catch the train south to Slovenia. The people in Salzburg obviously have a lot of money; it's very nice. I'm not really going to any of the expensive countries on this trip, but this is what I imagine it's like elsewhere in Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

The place we're staying at in Bled is an old, drafty hotel. The heater looks like it's from the 1900's. This is a good budget option in this expensive tourist destination, though. It's a picturesque town in the Julian Alps on a lake with an island - the only island in Slovenia actually. The island has a church on it. Europeans sure have a knack for putting churches in inconvenient locations. This is not the first one I've seen alone on an island.

















There is a castle on the hill, overlooking the lake as well as the surrounding meadows on the other side.












Here is the castle from the other side.
































There is also a ski resort here in the winter, which turns into what they call "summer tobogganing" in the summer. It's a downhill rollercoaster right on the ski slope. You get to the top via ski lifts.

The country of Slovenia is tiny. The capitol, Ljubljana, is the only real big city. By the way, the letter J is pronounced like a Y in slavic languages. Almost all industry is in Ljubljana, and it is within commuting distance of the entire country. So most people that live outsive the city commute in; I hear the rush hour traffic is pretty bad.

The iconic image that represents Slovenia is the ever-present hay racks, used for storing and drying out hay.















It's a beautiful, relaxed country. I'm told it feels just like Austria except for the slavic language. It is very western here. They are part of the EU and use the Euro. They were the wealthiest, most western (literally and figuratively) part of Yugoslavia, and split off first, and peacefully.

Walking through the meadows with the alps in the background is amazing. There are many hiking trails through the forest. We walked north across the plain to the next town, which is on the river at the mouth of the Vintgar Gorge. A wooden footpath was built to allow people to walk through this gorge. There are waterfalls and some nice swimming holes. I'm reminded of the Yuba river back home.

















We took a trail to a remote farming villiage, and walked around a bit.
















They seem to live very simply, except for the very nice tractors and farm equipment that are parked in front of even the most modest of homes. That's a change from Romania, where they still use horse power.

The individual beehives here are painted different colors, supposedly so the bees can find their way home.

















We took a different route back to Bled, over the mountain, with a nice view of the surrounding towns.