Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Slovenia

  • Ljubljana – Day Four (Flixbus from Ljubljana to Trueste)

    Ljubljana – Day Four (Flixbus from Ljubljana to Trueste)

    It was the morning of my birthday, so what better plan could I have than to travel on a bloody Flixbus? Four of us were taking the ninety minute journey to Trieste where we spending the evening before all flying back the following day.

    I’ve used Flixbus many times and I always dread it, as their policies seem odd to me. I boarded and then tried to take the seat they told me to sit in, which annoyed the lady next to me I think as it soon became apparent that the coach was nearly entirely empty. Steve, Susanna, Bev and I were scattered around the coach, their whole reservation strategy is just a nuisance. I don’t understand why it can’t be an optional thing like many other coach companies such as National Express.

    Bev and Susanna just boarded the coach without showing their tickets, as they’re like that. Steve and I thought we’d board properly, but Bev and Susanna soon rushed off to the ticket collector when they realised.

    There are USB power outlets on the back of some seats, but they didn’t work.

    Safely in Trieste where it was wet and rainy. The staff members on the Flixbus were polite, the driving seemed entirely acceptable and the coach was sort of clean. It was only a ninety minute journey, but for as long as Flixbus keep forcing seat reservations on people, I’m going to try and avoid travelling with them.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Ibis Styles)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Ibis Styles)

    We were all staying in Accor’s Ibis Styles for the three nights that we were in Ljubljana, a conveniently located hotel just a short walk away from the bus stop and railway station.

    The set-up here is a little different to the usual Ibis Styles arrangement, as they also have a hostel on the seventh floor which means more social areas are provided for the entire hotel. There is a rooftop bar, which I confess that we forgot to visit.

    We were all on different floors, but I think that the rooms looked the same. The bathroom set-up is very Ibis Styles… My room felt functional and bare, but it was clean and I had what I needed. Well, other than a welcome gift….

    The view from the hotel over to Ljubljana Castle.

    I had been fortunate to obtain a favourable rate that also included breakfast, although the others had booked room options without the breakfast. I didn’t intend to miss out though.

    I didn’t bother with the hot options as the cold options were plentiful, but there were some eggs and sausages as well.

    Bread, blue cheese, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, salami, croissant, bread and butter, all really rather lovely.

    I always find it handy when they do this. I went down between 07:00 and 08:00 to fit in with the others and it was always quiet.

    And my welcome drink, which I picked up on the final night. It’s not a beer that I’ve had before, but it was dark and interesting.

    As an aside, I liked the lights outside the room which clearly indicated to the cleaning staff who wanted the room cleaned. I opted to just collect the 100 Accor points every night by not having the room cleaned, as every little helps…

    I really rather liked this hotel, the staff were friendly, the room was clean, there were no internal or external noise, everything worked properly, there was a nice welcome drink and the breakfast was of a decent quality. I’d certainly stay here again if I come back to the city, which I likely will.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Baščaršija – Ljubljana Trubarjeva)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Baščaršija – Ljubljana Trubarjeva)

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    After the excitement of Lake Bled, Bev and I finally got back to Ljubljana and I suggested this restaurant as the one we had planned to go to had already closed.

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    It’s a Balkan themed restaurant and I liked the quirky layout inside. It was a larger restaurant than I had realised, so we didn’t have a problem getting a table.

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    It’s not the normal view when dining at a restaurant, but it all added to the atmosphere. Bev meandered around the restaurant taking photos of the decor and she was on good behaviour all evening, hardly complaining about anything.

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    Chicken schnitzel is one of my favourite dishes, so I went for that and it was keenly priced and looked suitably appetising. The chicken was tender, the coating was crispy and the chips were fluffy inside and firm on the exterior. I also got a pot of ajvar as I rather like that, it’s mainly based on roasted red peppers.

    The beer is the Osječko Nefiltrirano Točeno Pivo, a lager which was clean and refreshing, it’s as reasonable as I’ll find a lager to be. It was all decent value for money, I think the meal, beer and ajvar came to around £13.

    The service here was friendly and the venue felt properly rustic and authentic, with the food being hearty and full of flavour. This was our last dining experience in Ljubljana and it certainly didn’t let us down.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled Busgate – Bev and I Get Back)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled Busgate – Bev and I Get Back)

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    Following busgate and over three hours after we were meant to catch the bus back to Ljubljana, I’m pleased to write that we were successful.

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    Rather than stand at the bus stop waiting for the fifth bus, we went back to the cafe that we were in earlier and Bev acquired us some chicken strips with fries.

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    And a healthy and warming hot chocolate.

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    The lake was peaceful at night and the area was becoming ever quieter.

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    It’s not a very clear photo of Bled Castle, but it gives the impression of its beauty.

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    Even at this time, with relatively few buses left, the bus filled up and people were left behind. We were fortunate on this one and a local lad said I could stand next to him as he said he was getting on it regardless. Bev, as she’s fearless, told a group of four young ladies off for barging their way past her to get on. We were pretty near the front of the queue and so easily got on and it was a relief to be honest, as I wanted to get some food in Ljubljana before the restaurants closed. Unfortunately, the Indian we had planned to go to was closing by this point, but I had another restaurant plan.

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    Safely back, but not before I managed to get off the bus and realise it was the wrong stop and we had to get back on again. The driver of this bus was calm and collected, so there were no dramas, although everyone at the airport was refused boarding and there was a minor altercation there as well.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Arriva Bus Fiasco Part Two)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Arriva Bus Fiasco Part Two)

    I’ve already written about the fiasco so far with Arriva, which involved punched passengers, angry drivers and complete chaos. As I hadn’t expected any of this, I hadn’t videoed the physical assaults, but I did video this which gives an impression of the driver created confusion.

    This was the fourth bus that we missed and two of the drivers launched into tirades about Arriva management in Ljubljana, so I think it’s fair to say that this mess was really the fault of Arriva drivers. There was a younger guy I was talking to who lives at Lake Bled and he said that there just aren’t enough buses at the weekends and although he hadn’t seen a physical assault before, the chaos was not an unusual one. He said that when there is a backlog he just goes home and gets a later bus, there’s no point in waiting. Another local added that the drivers had given up caring as there was just nothing that they could do.

    So this sets the scene, the driver pulled way too far back and so the people who had been waiting for three hours missed another bus. In a later tirade, he blamed the passengers that were in his way so he couldn’t safely stop. I’m not sure that’s a very valid argument, but he did make that argument whilst shouting at a really upset passenger.

    Bev and I decided that we weren’t going to wait for any more buses and we went back for food and drinks in the cafe we were earlier. We went back two buses later and only just boarded that one. There was still jostling and anger, with more passengers being left behind.

    The poor passengers at the airport, which is en route, were all abandoned. There was another altercation there between the driver of the bus which we were on and a passenger, but the driver was really doing his best on that one and was calm, helpful and personable.

    I’ve emailed this to Arriva, to see if this was completely exceptional. Because, I’d otherwise suggest that it would be unsafe for families to try and catch the bus to Lake Bled at the weekends, having seen the assaults that were committed by angry and stressed passengers. If Arriva don’t have any more buses or drivers, it feels as if they should, as most other bus companies would do, have a staff member on hand to have a queueing system so that passengers could board fairly and then only experience a maximum of a thirty minute wait. Arriva left some passengers stranded here for four hours, which is by any measure appalling.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Arriva Bus Fiasco Part One)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Arriva Bus Fiasco Part One)

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    We had anticipated leaving Lake Bled with our pre-paid tickets so that we could get back to look in a couple of churches in Ljubljana before going for an evening meal. We assumed that there might be a bus that we could catch…..

    I’d add that I wasn’t initially planning to take many photos of this, so I was a little slow to capture the whole arrangement, although there’s a video in part two that gives a taste of things to come.

    There was a relatively orderly queue at the bus stop, but it became apparent that some people had already been waiting for two hours. There was excitement when the bus to Ljubljana pulled up, but in an act of what generally felt like incompetence, the bus driver pulled up mid-way along the bus stop and opened the doors.

    This led to the worst incident of bus rage that I’ve ever seen. A passenger hit another passenger and another was physically assaulted by being pushed. A rush of customers forced onto the bus and the driver lost control. Those waiting for two hours were visibly upset and none of those got on. Those that had just arrived were able to board, but the driver looked upset and confused, somehow as if he had managed not to realise that this was inevitable. There were numerous altercations with customers between themselves and some yelling at the driver. The driver started yelling back, closed the doors and drove off, although he didn’t have much choice by then as his bus was full.

    One group of what appeared to be Portuguese tourists shouted at a local saying “we’ve visitors, we get priority” and this poor local lady said “we get priority, I’ve got to get to work, you could get a taxi” and I’m afraid I do feel that locals should get priority here as public transport should serve their needs. The aggressive passengers won here, but I’m pleased to say that the local lady did just board.

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    The next driver was very sensible and he stopped at the obvious location to allow passengers to board. But, the previous driver had made his life impossible, there was fear from passengers that they wouldn’t be getting home and a child’s throat was grabbed by another passenger as a rush started. There were two quite serious altercations between passengers and this frankly shamed Arriva Buses as this was entirely their fault.

    At this stage, Susanna and Steve managed to board, but Bev and I didn’t. I’m quite relaxed about this, things happen for a reason, so we decided to wait for one more bus.

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    And this was the real problem bus.

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    The driver stopped there. Complete madness as now some people had been waiting for three hours and he boarded passengers who had just got there. But, in the next post I have a video of this, as it all became quite exciting.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Back Down the Hill)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Back Down the Hill)

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    After we had climbed up to Bled Castle, Steve found us another route back down to the lake that we thought we’d investigate instead of going back the way that we had come.

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    Back down we go, although the steps soon ran out and we hit raw countryside again.

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    It felt a privilege to be walking in such a lovely area and this is the view of the mountains, with the view over the lake being behind me.

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    Our first proper sight of the pilgrimage church, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, located on an island that visitors need to get a boat to.

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    The ladies trying to remember the skills they learned when attending a Hike Norfolk mapping course. There was a route down that was quite steep, but Susanna and I were quite scared of that, so we just carried on a more calm course.

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    Steve went ahead to find a suitable route that we were all happy with. I’m pleased to report that there were no trips, falls or injury related incidents on this little trek.

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    This really was a lovely walk and there were very people around here, although that’s likely as they weren’t natural hill walkers like we were and they were just meandering around the lakeside path that didn’t involve climbing.

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    I was busy looking at the lovely views.

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    My peace was shattered by Bev yelling “Susanna” at a ridiculous volume, it was like a banshee to be honest. They had managed to get muddled up between them and got lost. Steve and I didn’t say anything, we just watched from afar.

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    I’m pleased to report that Susanna was located and we were able to complete our walk. I’d note that it’s worth the diversion to go up to the castle and back down, it’s peaceful, quiet and there are fine views over the local area including the mountains and the lake.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Bled Castle / Blejski grad)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Bled Castle / Blejski grad)

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    We didn’t have time to go inside Bled Castle, but we thought that we’d walk the fifteen minutes up a huge hill (David Morgan would once again be pleased with me) to get to see the outside of it.

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    There it is, up there.

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    My bravery never ceases to amaze me.

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    Here the rest of the group comes, jogging up the mountain.

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    It wasn’t a technically difficult path to be fair, although there was quite a lot of it. As a natural hill walker, I rarely complained.

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    Having a little rest, waiting for the ladies, who were also doing a very recent pace up this mountain. We wondered how Richard would have got on and views differed on that.

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    Nearing the castle and the first recorded mention of a defensive structure being here is from 1101. This was when the German Emperor Henry II decided the Bishops of Brixen needed a little defensive structure to protect them, whilst also offering them lovely views over the lake. That feels like something of a win, the medieval bishops must have been pleased with this.

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    The castle arrangement looks pretty robust. For many centuries it was a symbol of ecclesiastical authority, but countries and territories changed around them. By the early twentieth century, this was very much a tourist attraction and the visitor numbers increased, so it was turned into a museum.

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    There are some lovely views from up here. I should mention as well that we’re in the Julian Alps here, which is very appropriate.

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    The moat and drawbridge, which as Steve pointed out didn’t seem hard to penetrate. Maybe things have been changed about a bit over the last few hundred years.

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    Imposing.

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    Susanna taking a photo of us….

    Then it was the walk back down, but I’ll cover this excitement in another post. The anticipation for my two loyal blog readers really must be almost unbearable…..

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Father Christmas’s Helpers)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Father Christmas’s Helpers)

    Bev and Susanna saw this and demanded that they go for a little ride on it, or whatever it was they were wittering on about.

    I mentioned to them that we were danger of looking like tourists.

    They didn’t seem concerned about that. Steve and I did our best to look like authentic locals, but I’m not sure we entirely achieved that with these two.

  • Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Cafe Park / Kavarna Park and the Original Bled Cream Cake)

    Ljubljana – Day Three (Lake Bled – Cafe Park / Kavarna Park and the Original Bled Cream Cake)

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    I hadn’t realised that Lake Bled was well known for a cake that was sold here, but when Steve mentioned this, it was inevitable that we would have to try such a thing when visiting the area.

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    We had to go to the home of the original.

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    Bev was disappointed that she had missed out on tickets to the Cliff Richard gig she was looking forward to. But at least we had beautiful alpine views to look across to instead over the lake.

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    Susanna announced that the cake looked a bit much for her. I announced it didn’t look too much for me.

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    The cake was a bit much, but apparently this hot chocolate wasn’t.

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    Food was delivered by this automated robot, it’s only the second time that I’ve seen these, the first was at Hard Rock Cafe in London.

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    Here they are on their little break.

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    I went to have a little look at the cakes being lined up at the counter. They’re made at the hotel over the road, with this cafe (Kavarna Park) being an extension to that arrangement.

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    It’s fair to say that they sell a lot of these and a couple more trays arrived from the hotel whilst we were there. The whole process felt regimented and a little like a conveyor belt, but at least the cakes are homemade and they don’t use preservatives and the like in them.

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    There are instructions on how to eat them.

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    And here it is, safely delivered to the table. The others had more food, but I’m not greedy and I wanted to focus on the cake. It did wobble as promised and I used the eating instructions provided. Now, I did like it as the top was firm and added texture, the custard had a pleasant taste and it was all agreeable. But, I’m not sure that it was a food of international quality like chicken bakes, but I enjoyed it.

    The beer was actually really rather good and I liked that the cafe had made an effort here. It’s a Chimay Grande Reserve and this was a punchy 9% ABV which tasted strong, with some toffee and it was certainly rich. It was also robust and went well with the cake.

    I liked the service here, although Bev was annoyed at something or other. We had a table which overlooked the lake and the venue was clean, tidy and comfortable. We weren’t rushed and the whole arrangement was relaxed and enjoyable. I’d have another cake if I returned to Lake Bled.