Ljubljana

We awoke on the outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Another sleepless night. The train was running 45 minutes late, so our changeover at Zagreb was swift. With 5 minutes to spare we boarded the train to Ljubljana.

The countryside between Zagreb and Ljubljana is quite stunning. The train travelled mostly along a river valley. We passed several pictureque villages on route. At the Croatian/Slovenian border we were checked by the police who came aboard the train to check our passports.

We arrived in Ljubljana - pronounced La Jubble Jana shortly after 9 am. We walked to the hotel where we left our bags.

Ljubljana is Slovenia's capital and largest city. It's known for its university population and green spaces. The curving Ljubljanica River, lined in outdoor cafes, divides the city's old town from its commercial hub. Ljubljana has many museums.

We walked toward the rover where we had breakfast. We then caught a river boat cruise. From there we headed toward the castle. We bought postcards on the way which the kids filled out and we posted. After that we caught the Funicular up to the Ljubljana Castle. The castle complex stands on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana. It is a key landmark of the town. Although there have been extensive renovations done and attempts to put together a interesting story behind its history, altogether we found the castle rather uninteresting.

Just as it had started to rain we headed back to the hotel where we checked in. We had some rest and caught up on emails and this blog.

We headed to a restaurant near the river for dinner. We sat outdoors under a large canvas umbrella at "Most" just in time for the heavens to open up. We managed to stay dry although we had to. E moved to another table. It was the first rain in 2 weeks - which is apparently a long time in Slovenia - which is one of the wettest countries in Europe. The food was excellent as was the service.

After that we headed back to the hotel for a well earns rest. Unfortunately the aircon was warm - so it was another restless night.Read more