Slovenia!!

This weekend, I traveled with others to Lake Bled in Slovenia. We thought that getting to Slovenia would be relatively simple as it looked like no train changes would be necessary. However, our trip to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, involved a train followed by a bus followed by another train due to construction. Transportation in a foreign country, especially in Hungary, is complicated because communicating can be a challenge. On the train, the Hungarian ticket collector was very helpful by telling us when we needed to transfer. I have observed similar instances in Budapest since I’ve been here. For example, the nose pad of my glasses broke off last weekend. I brought them to my Hungarian language instructor, Kati, so I could figure out where I’d get them fixed. Instead of just telling me where I might go, she offered to bring me there. I appreciate Hungarian kindness very much!

Continuing my account of this weekend’s trip, the bus was not air conditioned, and the ride was very rough as we sped down Hungary’s curved country roads. In general, Hungarians seem to drive faster and more abruptly. Also, one of the speakers was making a crackling noise the whole time. The man who’s head was under the speaker was getting so irritated that he ended up jabbing it with a pair of small scissors and pulling out the insides. The crackling noise definitely stopped. The whole situation was pretty hilarious.

We arrived in Ljubljana around 21:45 on Thursday evening and didn’t locate where we could buy tickets until after it had closed at 22:00. So, we decided to eat Bureks, traditional Slovenian street food. We were all very hungry after the nine hour train ride. We ended up buying tickets on the train. Two Slovenian guys spoke great English and helped us figure out how to get tickets and at which stop we’d need to get off. Once we arrived in Bled at 1:30 in the morning, we finally got hold of a taxi driver (the last number we could find). The taxi driver asked us what we would have done had he not been available to drive us. Our answer? We would have had to sleep in the train station because our hostel was a good distance from the train station.

We arrived at the hostel around 1:43 and were very ready for bed. Damien, the owner of the hostel greeted us warmly even so late at night. The hospitality of Central Europeans was apparent once more.

The next morning, we enjoyed a good breakfast and were driven by Damien into Bled. We walked around the lake on the perfect, sunny, seventy-degree day. The walk took a good couple hours. We all took multiple pictures of the same sights (i.e. the castle and church) from slightly different angles.

We later walked up to the castle and rowed a boat to the church. While rowing back, we spotted what we believed to be the Slovenian crew team practicing on Lake Bled.

Everywhere we went, people were very helpful and spoke English, for the most part. I had to fight back the urge to respond with “thank you” or “yes” in Hungarian. Although it started to pour after we rowed back in, our day in Bled was a success. In the evening, we went back to the hostel and took advantage of the six euro three-course meal we were offered by our hostel. The food was delicious!

The next morning, Stephanie and I tried to ride bikes through the streets of the cute town our hostel was in, but it began to rain. We ended up at a local coffee shop called Bistro Noc. It was good to experience a little local culture at local prices. Around noon, four of us went horseback riding through the mountains. The ride was a little more advanced than I expected. We trotted quite a few times, went through streams, and rode up and down plenty of steep inclines.

At 17:00, we took a train back to Ljubljana. Stephanie, Sarah, and I decided to explore Ljubljana a little. Here, I decided that Slovenia was definitely one of the most beautiful countries I had ever been to. On our train ride back to Budapest, I could not get enough of the beautiful countryside. The wealth of the country could also be seen by the shops in the city’s center, the way people dressed, and in the prices of everything.

In Professor Smidt’s class this past week, we were told to write down countries we viewed as part of Central Europe and as part of Eastern Europe. Geographically and culturally, I have decided that Slovenia should be classified as Central Europe for aforementioned reasons. After finishing assigned reading for this next weekend, it seems like Slovenia, being on the western edge of formerly communist countries, was less affected by the devastation wars had on many other ex-communist countries. Slovenia has a high-income developed economy and has the second highest GDP per capita of new EU countries. Perhaps, being less affected by wars is why their economy is fairly strong.

Well despite my wonderful trip to Slovenia, I am happy to be back to the fo

rint and beautiful Budapest!

OOH!! And I finally got peanut butter!!!! Hungary just hasn't gotten that memo yet.

p.s. I hope to put more pictures on Picasa soon!!