On to Ljubljana.....

Today we headed to Ljubljana in Slovenia by way of Predjama Castle.  The short drive was complicated by getting slightly lost on our way out of Rovinj but we eventually found our way and to our first stop.  The Castle was originally built as early as the mid twelfth century into the side of the mountain as a sort of fortified Medieval house but was renovated here and there to its present form.  it is quite spectacular in the location and construction and has all the character you would expect of such a structure; secure water supply, dungeon, ports for shooting arrows out of (and later on small cannons) as well as for pouring various terrible substances down upon anyone who dare attack. From there another short drive to Ljubljana where we settled in, returned the rental car, did some laundry and had dinner out and a wander about the town. The town is very lively with many street performers attracting crowds, although not all fully appreciate the arts...... (see below).

Short Post - Now with pics....

Hello.  Internet connectivity continues to be an issue for us so just a short post tonight and we will catch up with pics, hopefully in Slovenia, where we anticipate a better connection.  Today we headed back past Rovinj to a park on the outskirts of town; it seems a very popular spot with many people about.  We swam again in the warm water and relaxed on the rocks. The cicadas here are very noisy in the heat and many together create quite the cacophony!  After a lazy afternoon we popped back to our flat and then out again for a special dinner in town.  We hiked up to the church at the top of the hill before selecting a harbour-side cafe for food. Later we wandered the narrow streets with all the other visitors and consumed delicious gelato for dessert.  On the way home in the dark we watched the intense star covered sky and Edward happened to see two meteors; perhaps a prelude to the Perseid shower expected in early August....

Pula and Bale

Today we headed South for a short road trip to Pula; home of one of the better preserved Roman Amphitheaters.  While not quite the Coliseum in Rome it is an impressive structure and still used today for many events (Leonard Cohen will be here in August). We then strolled through the many narrow street corridors nearby, impressed yet again by the fact that people still live and work in these very old buildings.  There are a few Roman relics in the form of gate structures, triumph arch, and what looks to be a temple building of sorts.  The many restaurants about the town specialize in local seafood dishes of all variety with the catch coming from trawlers docked right beside the old town we were walking about.  As with many other areas of our trip so far, there is construction and civic revitalization going on; in this case they appear to be finishing up on a street car project which will run around the harbour perimeter.  Lunch was a variety of snacks from the local bakeries and then off again north toward Rovinj where we pulled off in the Medieval town of Bale.  Having been rebuilt a number of times over hundreds of years, the church, like most towns in the region, is the centerpiece with roads and alleys jutting out in all directions; very quaint, picturesque, and quiet. Back on the road again to our bungalow through a storm which whipped up the sea about Rovinj, dropped some rain, and broke the heat.  After dinner we passed by a very fragrant, damp pine forest during a short walk to deliver left over deli meat to local kittens we discovered yesterday.

Roaming Rovinj....

Another short post today as the Internet isn't up to snuff at the moment.   A very hot day today.  We set off for town in the morning and wandered around the harbour area thankful for the breeze off the ocean.  The town is built up over an entire peninsula and is the typical mix n match street plan with buildings and narrow roads jutting off in all directions.  Terracotta roof tile dominates here and you get a feel of Italy while milling about.  We had a quick lunch and then more wandering about before heading back via a brief ocean dip to cool off.  Dinner in tonight and out later for another dip in the ocean under the twilight sky....

In Rovinj...

Not much tonight except to say we have arrived in Rovinj by way of the Plitvice Lakes World Heritage site (amazing clear blue water) and we have experienced new definitions of "hot". The drive toward Rovinj and it's skyline has peaked our interest and we are looking forward to wandering the old city streets.   I will write more about our adventures tomorrow, just did not want a lapse in blogging activity to worry any one. :-)

The owner of our accommodations did mention in an off hand sort of way that it might hit 39 on Monday. I guess we will have to park ourselves in the Adriatic with those umbrella hats for the day. Thank goodness for our A/C tonight where we are enjoying a coolish 26. 

On to Zagreb....

Where, unlike Budapest, they seem to know what air conditioning is and what curb let-downs are....

Would any trip of ours be complete without a commotion about the wheelchair and a train?  For this episode some background info.  We started contacting the Hungarian Rail company in January to discuss our travel plans from Budapest to Zagreb.  Every three to four weeks, another email sent, another acknowledgement, then nothing.  Finally about two weeks before we left we were assured they could get us on the train and we would be seated in the restaurant car but we would have to purchase the tickets in Budapest.  We arrived in Budapest, attended the international ticket office and after some confusion, purchased the required tickets; except the agent insisted we needed three seats in a compartment and one ticket without a reservation - OK, but we can still stay in the restaurant car?  Yes!

Today, they deposited us on the train in the restaurant car, 4 cars away from our compartment.  The train gets under way; then the fun starts.  The attendants in the restaurant car seem to have an issue with what we have been told; the conductor has an issue with what we have been told; lots of arguing between conductor, restaurant car staff, discussions with other patrons, etc. And me feigning all the while "I don't understand, I don't speak Hungarian".  They seem to want three of us to go to the compartment and laurel too (except she simply can't fit down the corridors, and if she could, would not fit in the compartment.  This all despite the fact the train is fairly full, the corridors are full and we are 4 cars away.  Then they want her to sit down a long corridor past the kitchen at the end of the car by herself pointing out the end of the train for 6 hours.  Finally a good natured English fellow arrives to purchase a drink and he speaks Hungarian.  More heated discussions and finally all is agreed we can stay.....  Much thanks to the kind fellow who was very good about the whole thing and seemed to think nothing of the commotion....  I guess this is normal?  The rest of the trip is uneventful except part way through we lost power in our car, again, just like in 2011 going to Prague, and didn't have any air conditioning, and it was 38+ degrees in the jolly tin can.  I managed to stay hydrated and sane with a steady supply of cold beer. The girls held up well through all of this and the 2K walk to the hotel in Zagreb; it had cooled down to a humid 35 in the evening..... G-nite!

 

 

Trade in.....

The other car was attracting too much attention so we traded it in on this much less conspicuous model....

A final day in Budapest

Thankfully today was quite a bit cooler with low cloud cover for much of the day.  In the morning we set off to the castle hill precinct on the "Buda" side of the Danube.  The main complex has a fractured history with many of the various palaces having been destroyed and rebuilt over much of its history.  The current complex boasts more of the grand buildings we have come to expect of this city and, as with everywhere else, more construction.  There is an ongoing archeological dig on part of the grounds and the plan seems to include eventually rebuilding some of the older palace destroyed previously.  Later we switched things up and took the transit to the other side of the city to one of the main parks.  On the way we passed by more impressive large building complexes and what seemed to be smaller detached "pocket palaces" which are now obviously small apartment blocks. We arrived at Hero's Square, an impressive monument to various figures important to the founding of Hungary.  We ventured into the park for a time to have a look around and to check out the thermal baths.  Considering our available time we decided against the complexities of navigating through a spa experience and wandered across to another odd castle complex housing a local tourist museum of sorts.  We headed back to the hotel for a break and then out for dinner later for Gyros from a local street vendor.  Planning tonight for our train trip to Zagreb and the car rental drive to Rovinj....