After an eventful morning in Salzburg, I had a long and complex train ride to Slovenia. To get to my hostel, I had to take a train, then a bus, a second train, a third train, and then a taxi. Phew!

I had some nice viewpoints along the way, and a donut for breakfast.

But I became hungry halfway into my 5+ hour journey. Luckily, as I boarded my second train, I accidentally hopped into the first class car. As I made my way toward the second class seats, I had to walk through the (very nice) dining car. So I thought, why not feed two birds with one scone? (I am the first bird, obviously.)

I ordered a cappuccino and a Turlaner wine soup. I’m not sure exactly what was in the soup besides cream and white wine, but it was soooo tasty!

I had to gobble it all down because I was only on this train for one stop, so my journey lasted only 26 minutes.

The last train was like the Hogwarts Express, in that there were little compartments with doors that you had to squeeze into and face the people opposite yourself. Always a little nerve-wracking! Most compartments were somewhat full, so I dropped my things down in one and caught the tail-end of some friendly English conversation happening as I left to find a restroom.

In the next car, I found several empty compartments. Huzzah! I planned to bring my things into one of these, but when I returned to my original spot, the three people there were all chatting so nicely, and clearly didn’t know each other, so I forced myself to stay and be social.

Good thing I did! They were a lady from Berlin, a young man from Amsterdam, and a girl from France/ transplanted to Brussels. We all chatted about our travels and about the various pros and cons of our home cities.

As I made my way to leave the train, the group stopped me and told me I didn’t have to transfer. Turned out the French girl was also headed to Bled, a small town in Slovenia famous for its lake.

When we left the train together, it turned out we were also staying in the same hostel! How funny! We shared a taxi, checked in together, and then I awkwardly snuck into her room to ask if she wanted to adventure together the next morning. We exchanged contact info and that was that!

I was especially tired this evening because I hadn’t slept well the night before. I was planning to head to bed right away, just before 8pm, but I could hear quite the ruckus coming from what I assumed was a nearby common area. Again, pushing myself to be social, I wandered toward the noise and discovered a tiny kitchen, dining table, and L-shaped couch filled with about thirty people. It was crazy!

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that there were no seats, and then a girl yelled to me, “It’s quite crowded in here!”

“Yeah!” I shouted back with a smile.

I did a small loop of the space and considered retreating to bed, but socialism won out! (I kid, I kid, but you know what I mean, hahaha.) I pointed to a boy in the corner of the couch who had a bit of space on either side of him and asked if I could sit in one of these spaces. He scooted over, and that’s where I stayed for the next two hours!

I mostly chatted with him (an Australian boy), a Norwegian gal and guy (they didn’t know each other), a Finnish boy (named Ellis), and a Scottish girl (she was a hoot). It was so much fun! We chatted about our travels, but it also diverted into talking about F1 racing, me giving Australian travel tips to the Australian boy, and us comparing various hostels in the area. I’m glad I decided against solitude.

Shortly after heading to bed, I heard the roar of chatter and laughter suddenly cease. Turns out the common space is closed 10pm-8am. Makes sense!

I woke up quite early, around 5am, unfortunately. I tried to go back to sleep and then eventually turned to blogging and other phone chores. At 8:30, I got some breakfast (an apple tart) from the nearby grocery store.

I was feeling some blisters coming on the back of my heels, so I’d worn band-aids the previous couple of days, but I picked up some medical tape from the grocery store, and it seems to be holding up well! Not super nice to remove at the end of the day, but better than blisters, for sure.

Around nine, I met Gabrielle, and we were off on a long walk to Vintgar Gorge!

We met a boy from Seattle along the way! Quite funny. I haven’t met many Americans yet. He was from Ballard.

The walk was along a nice, quiet road lined with fields, cows, and mountain horizons. It was the perfect temperature in the morning.

The gorge itself was really lovely, and I’m glad I met Gabrielle, because I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise!

The path snaked along the rock walls on a series of raised platforms and bridges. The mist from the rushing water and occasional dam or falls was crisp and cool.

There was also a really nice bridge crossing overhead toward the end of the gorge.

I played around with one of the warning signs, which obviously said “no funny poses.”

And in the end, we were treated with a waterfall rainbow!

Our exit from the park took us up through another pathway, where we saw lots of these funny beetles that Gabrielle said were quite common in France. Who knew?

Once we exited the Triglav National Park, we were back amongst dandelion fields and winding paths. I wanted sooooo badly to rent a bike, but I didn’t want to leave Gabrielle.

We settled down for a snack, which was described as a blueberry “dumpling.” A very strange texture! Soft, chewy, doughy, kind of yogurt-y. Gabrielle didn’t like it much because she doesn’t like yogurt, but I thought it was quite fun! Apparently the #1 flavor is buckwheat and walnut. They seem to really like buckwheat and walnuts in Slovenia!

When we made it back to the lake, we found an adorable shop full of pieces designed and made by the owner and his wife. I picked up several postcards and a keychain, and Gabrielle got a fun necklace for her boyfriend.

For lunch, we tried some Slovenian dishes we’d never heard of. I had some pumpkin soup with a side of “bread dumpling,” and Gabrielle had “buckwheat fritters” with a side of mushroom soup. The fritters had a similar boiled-doughy texture to the dumpling we’d had earlier, and the “bread dumpling” was almost like a chewy, sliced bread pudding. It came with a side of cranberry sauce, and it was all so yummy! I really wanted dessert, but I was just way too full.

Moving a little slower with full stomachs and in the heat of the day, we made our way up to Bled Castle, perched on a cliff. The castle wasn’t particularly marvelous up close, but it made for a great view point! Gabrielle decided to sit and sketch for a while.

The artist from the little shop had given us a tip on where to find another great view behind the castle, and that was even more lovely! The water seemed so turquoise and opaque from this height. So solid.

Then we made our way back down and continued our journey around the lake.

Lake Bled is famous for the little island in its center which is home to many steps and a pretty church. There were boats ferrying to and from the island all day, and I really wanted to rent one, but there were never any available when we approached the rental docks.

Baby ducks and tiny flowers made me feel better!

We really got all the angles on the little island, including a view from up above as we attempted to find a high-up café, but it was closed already for the evening.

Back by the lake, I found some small paintings, and when I leaned they were only four euros, each, I decide to buy two, since I couldn’t decide between the colors! Gabrielle also chose one, and then the painter told me to sit so he could write “a message” on the back. Quite the message! He painted all three of us! And then he did it again for Gabrielle!

So sweet! Thanks, Bobi!

We were told the walk around would take about an hour and a half, but in the end, it took us nearly five hours. Either we were very slow or we stopped a lot! Hahaha. Soooo exhausting.

Several trees around the lake had been overtaken by ivy and bushes, like this one! Became a strange mutant-looking bush.

Gabrielle thought it was funny that I thought these bushes were funny, haha.

We finished our walk (finally!) with a Bled cream cake, which we’d been seeing on posters all day. It was so nice! With a side of Moscato.

At this point, Gabrielle went back to the hostel, and I went up to see the cathedral.

The common area was much less lively this evening, so I didn’t feel bad for turning in early, especially because I was feeling a sore throat coming on!!! Ugh!!!

When I woke in the morning, it was clear I was sick. So sad. So frustrating. I did some laundry and accidentally fed some of my dollars to someone else’s dryer (ugh again!), and then I took my sick self to the bus station.

All in all, Gabrielle and I walked nearly SIXTEEN miles in one day. So tiring! No wonder I was wishing for a bike all day long! And now I’m wishing for a massage, haha.

Until next time,

Najboljše želje!

-Lizzy-wa