September 13, 1998
Celje to Ljubljana
A heavy rain passed through in the night and continued for much of the next day. The forecast was for possibly several days of foul weather, so we regretfully decided to scrap our planed ride up the Savinja and Logar valleys, both of which are quite remote and without indoor, rainy day diversions. Instead we decided to take the train back to the capitol and start out gain from there once the weather improved.
After breakfast we pedaled to the station, ticketed ourselves and the bikes for the next train to Ljubljana, and then set off for an hour waalking tour since the weather had let up a bit. The city center abuts the Savinja River, nd it was enjoyble to loop up one side and down the other, enjoying the perspective from the opposite bank.
Returning to the station, we settled down on the landing on the tracks to wait out the remaining 45 minutes until departure. We were entertained by the spectacle of a pair of German touring cyclists on the opposite quay arriving, soaked to the skin, as they peeled off and wrung out layers of clothing. Astonishingly though, after waiting nearly three hours for this train, we almost missed it. At 3 minutes to departure Rachael realized that the train was already in the station, on the next landing - we had been misinformed or misunderstood the ticket agent. We dashed with our fully loaded bikes down the stairs, under the tracks, and up the other side with barely enough time to load our bikes on to the departing train.
In Ljubljana we lunched at a burek stand by the station as we waited out another heavy downpour. Bureks are a very tasty, filling snack - a thin cheese or meat filled pastry, twisted into a pperclip like shape. Later, we wheeled through the showers to the same hotel we'd stayed in before, but found it full. Apparently an international convention is in town and taking up much of the available accomodation. Back in the rain, we moved on to the information center where we were lined up at the nearbly Park Hotel
We filled part of the afternoon by seeing a film (Hope Floats), and then walked through the museum district (everything was closed), took a quick peek inside the Serbin Orthodox church (a fascinting interior, plastered with frescoes in rich reds and blues, many with militant themes) and then worked our way back to the Napoli pizzeria for a delicious dinner - two wood smoked pizzas, a fine salad bar, and tiramisu.
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