Dreary Maribor

The next morning we again bought some Slovenian Strudl and drank our coffee for the first time. Then it was time to check out and drive to Maribor for a days visit. The streets were alright and not too packed, but the few drivers were killing my nerves as they drove rather relentlessly. Arriving in Maribor, we parked our car for 2,5 hrs and started the stroll through the city. I've read the Maribor was the European capital city of culture in 2012, however, I haven't thought of actually investigating what to do in Maribor. As it turned out: Nothing really. The city seemed as lifeless as dead fish and smelled like them, too. The streets were empty, as if souls wouldn't like to wander about in them. There were no shops, no cafés nor restaurants. Rotten buildings stood next to very modern new ones that overshadowed the remaining beautiful houses. It seemed as if Maribor hadn't done a thing for the looks of it since 2012. So we decided to cut the visit short and drive to our new accommodation near Ljubljana. Driving there, we realised that there weren't many foreign cars coming or going to Maribor - so not a tourism hotspot at all anymore. That's actually a good indicator for Slovenia.
We arrived at our next apartment that looked rather life- and joyless as well. But the pool was really nice! After this grey day, we went for a walk in the green before settling for dinner which was extremely delicious (although it's been pizza again) and extremely stuffing. I didn't eat my whole pizza, but the waiter knew I wanted it to take home and brought me some paper for my doggy bag. When the bill came, we were positively surprised as the food was about 20€ cheaper than we were used to. Slovenia isn't really cheap, especially not in the tourism spots. I'd say, it's about the same as in Germany - which is awful when you expect less. But the gas is much cheaper - 1,55€!
After rolling back to our apartment, I decided to take a plunge in the pool which was super cold. But I didn't bring my swimwear for nothing.Read more