On my way back from getting an MRI in Croatia, I took a detour up a mountain (heck, I had a rental car, a full tank of gas, and 16 hours to return it. What would you do?). Up at the top, close to the Skiing Town of Sljeme, was a cafe where I had a real tasty Apple Strudel and ended up posting it’s picture on FaceBook.
Apple Strudel on a Mountain Top
Privacy issues aside, this is one of the reasons why Facebook is so awesome. Just a few hours after I had posted the picture, my friend Veronica whom I know from San Francisco messaged me asking if I was in Croatia. As it turns out, she was at the moment in Slovenia with her husband, Marko! Not only that, they were in a town called Senovo which was just an hour away from where I was! We excitedly made plans for me to visit them that weekend. Saturday, I get on a train to Slovenia. Trains in Croatia and Slovenia seem to be freebie canvases to all the resident homeless artists, much like the alleyway walls of most major cites.
Slovenian Mobile Easel
After being subjected to the scrutiny of the sternest passport officer I have met at Dobova, who actually moved around to view my face from multiple angles to make sure (really sure) that the passport was legitimately me and not some gypsy trying to sneak his way in, I arrived at Krško. There I was met warmly by Veronica, Marko, and his dad, Vojč. As far as dads go, he is the cheeriest person I have met. Everytime I met him he would always have a smile on his face, and usually a Pivo (Beer in Slovenian) in his hand.
Marko, Vero, and Vojč
Our first stop was the town of Bled, on the opposite end of Slovenia. The journey from one end to the other only took 2 hours. Slovenia is a small country, mostly covered with a lot of greenery. Unlike countries like Austria and Belgium where even the trees sprouting the countryside seem to be lined in order, as if planted by Mother Nature’s OCD Aunt,
The Austrian Countryside. Note the regularities of the trees.
The trees adoring the sprawling countryside of Slovenia were spread thick all over the mountains. Irregular and bunched together, this appearance is what I think gave Slovenia its nickname, “The Broccoli of Europe”.
See?! Can’t tell one apart from the other, can you?
Bled is a beautiful town with a lake of the most Turquoise colour I have seen.
Castle Bled
There are tiny Ferry boats made of spruce wood whose orangeish tinge perfectly match the turquoise waters. The whole scene was like a picture postcard manufacturer’s dream.
Boats that take you to the Castle
We spent a relaxing morning here, spending a couple hours sauntering around the lake shore and a beautiful island in the middle of the lake,
Island in the center of Lake Bled
We finished off the visit with a sampling of a Kremšnita, a custard cream cake native to Bled. After that, we all headed over to Ljubljana, and Marko’s cousins’ farm. You can read about that in my second blog on Slovenia.
Also, check out all photos from my trip to Slovenia here!
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