Physical challenges on the stairways to paradise…

Yesterday’s outing to the Kubach Cave was sort of a test for me. I’ve always been a pretty healthy person, albeit fatter than I ought to be. That is, of course, because I’m not as “herbal” as I ought to be… (with many apologies to Livingston Taylor). I like good food and I drink a lot of beer and wine, as well as the odd cocktail. I probably should stop doing that, since I’m in my 50s, but I’ve got no reason to hang around here… So I might as well enjoy myself while I can.

Here’s James Taylor’s brother, Livingston, singing the song of my people…

Still, it’s not that easy for me to climb up and down stairs anymore. I’m actually pretty lucky, though. I’ve so far been blessed with very robust physical health. I have some friends who have needed knee replacements or other complicated orthopedic interventions. I don’t have any problems with my knees (yet). I do have lower back aches that can sometimes make walking a literal pain, but it’s not so bad that I don’t eventually loosen up.

I was a little worried about yesterday’s caving experience, but it turned out fine. Other than a little minor soreness in my thighs today, I feel mostly okay. I did do a lot of “huffing and puffing”, as my old riding teacher used to say, but I recovered fairly quickly. So now I know that two upcoming physical challenges that I will almost definitely face are well within my reach.

The first challenge I know I will face will be the Cesky Krumlov Castle Tower in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia. I climbed this tower on my birthday in June 2008. One week from this coming Tuesday, we will be back in Cesky Krumlov for a couple of nights. If the weather is good, maybe I’ll work up the gumption to climb the tower again and get some fall views of the beautiful town. During our first visit in June 2008, we happened to arrive in time for the Five Petalled Rose Festival. Everybody was dressed in medieval garb! I thought I had stumbled into a theme park. This time, that festival won’t be going on, but I already know it’s a picturesque town. I was sad we had to leave last time we were there. This time, we’ll get a couple of nights to enjoy the ambiance. And maybe my old body can still handle all those steps at the tower…

*Only 162 steps… that’s less than yesterday’s challenge!*

Since we’ll have a little more time in 2023, maybe we’ll have the chance to visit the castle itself, although if the weather is nice, I can see myself wanting to just walk around the town. It really is very charming, and I have a feeling it’s a place a lot of American tourists miss. We only found out about it because we stayed in Passau, Germany for my birthday in 2008 and the innkeeper at our hotel told us about it. We had a wonderful day there, and in nearby Cesky Budejovice. Now I’m kind of wishing I could have booked one more night!

We will also be going to Brno and Prague on our next trip, and I suspect there could be climbing challenges in both of those cities. I’ve never been to Brno, but I have read and heard that one of the best activities in that area is caving. There’s a good chance we’ll visit one or two of the 1100 caverns and gorges in the Brno area– especially since only five cave systems are open to the public.

And Prague no doubt has towers to climb… church towers at the very least. I may be in the mood for a visit to a beer spa by then. Prague now has several beer spas. So do other towns in the Czech Republic! Bill and I are really big fans. On the other hand, after our experience at the beer pool in Austria, plain old “beer spas” kind of pale in comparison. Looks like they’ve gotten really pricey now, too.

Prague does have the famous Astronomical Clock Tower, of course… but I see you can take an elevator! Maybe by the time we get to Prague, I’ll be screaming for an elevator! We only have two nights in Prague, anyway. I’m hoping to find us some new art for the house.

The next physical challenge I know I’ll be facing will come when we visit Yerevan, Armenia in November. I know I’ll face the Cascade Steps… and that I used to be able to do them without too much trouble. In fact, there was a time when I climbed up and down them on a daily basis. But then I discovered the escalators and figured out the public transportation system and quit punishing myself with the steps. It’s a shame, really. I have never been a very athletic person, but I have always been pretty strong physically. I just don’t enjoy how I feel when I’m exerting myself. I do, however, like the rush of endorphins. Must be the adrenaline junkie gene that the men on my dad’s side of the family seem to have.

*How I remember them in 1995… Special thanks to my Peace Corps friend Elaine, whose photo I ripped off from Facebook (mine are all in storage).* 🙁

*What they looked like in 2019! Special thanks to Gerd Eichmann on Wikipedia, who authorized use of this unedited photo. շնորհակալություն!* (*Armenian for thank you!*)

The Cascade Steps in Yerevan go up 387 feet, but you can take your time ascending. Or, you can go to the left of the steps and find the seven escalators that will take you up, so you can see the views without getting winded or sore. I suspect the air quality in Yerevan is better than it was in 1995, so I am hoping for some great views of Mount Ararat– if we have decent weather, that is. But we’ll be there a little over a week, so perhaps we’ll have some good luck. I’m sure I’ll climb the steps at least once during our visit.

Over the years, Bill and I have done some pretty great physically active trips. Usually, when we were doing them, I thought I might die. But, as you can see, I never did.

There was the visit to El Yunque in Puerto Rico, where I fell and landed on my ass on a rock. It took months for the tailbone pain to go away. But we had a really great day!

*We did a lot of work to get to this crowded waterfall in El Yunque in 2010.*

There was the walk from hell from Lake Bled, Slovenia to Vintgar Gorge, during which we neglected to bring water or wear sunscreen. Then, once we got there, we hiked the gorge. It was another great, but exhausting, day. And yes, I made Bill get us a taxi for the ride home.

There was also the time we walked from the port on the Isle of Capri in Italy to the town. It was a long walk uphill. I had a cold, and many Italians were good naturedly laughing at us as we sighed, huffed, puffed, and groaned… We did make it, and we ate lunch served by a guy who looked a lot like Matt Lucas on Little Britain.

I remember climbing up the mountain to visit Highline 179 in Austria and the castle ruins on either side. Later that day, we visited the aforementioned beer pool in Tarrenz, Austria, which perfectly soothed my muscles.

We visited the All Saints Waterfalls (Allerheiligen Wasserfälle) in Baden-Württemberg a few years ago, and that involved some pretty stout climbing… as did our visit to Slap Savica in Bohinj, Slovenia. And I could pontificate all day about our two thrilling, but physically exhausting, trips to the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia!

Bwahahahaha… I guess as long as I keep walking and climbing things, I won’t get quite this big.

We’ve also climbed a whole bunch of church towers in multiple European cities… way too many to list here. And not once has the embarrassing situation in above video ever happened to me. On the other hand, the last time we were in Bruges, I made a point of avoiding that particular tower.

Anyway… I’m just glad we managed to successfully visit the Kubach Cave yesterday and I’m not too worse off for wear today. It gives me hope that my body isn’t too far gone for some of these adventures. I realize that there may come a time when I can’t do this kind of stuff anymore, so I’m going to keep using my body before I lose it. And I will continue to thank God for having really strong and healthy genes. Some of my friends and former classmates haven’t been so lucky.

Bill is off to Bavaria again today, so I guess I’ll spend the next few days planning our upcoming trip. I can hardly wait, because I definitely need a change of scenery… and this blog could use some fresh content. I continue to be shocked that this is my life… and that I’ve managed to have all of the wonderful experiences I’ve already had with Bill. No wonder he makes me smile so pretty. 🙂

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Austria is locking down… will Germany be next?

The local news in Germany has been all abuzz about the COVID-19 situation in Austria. Fed up and frustrated by the ever increasing numbers of people falling ill with the coronavirus, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced that Austria would be locking down for at least ten days. The lockdown will apply to everyone, vaccinated or not, and it means that Austrians will be asked to work from home and non-essential shops will close. Schools will remain open for children who require face-to-face learning. The measure will apply until December 12, and then the COVID situation will be reassessed at that point to determine if there should be another ten days of lockdown.

As I read the news yesterday, I realized how lucky Bill and I are that we managed to take our recent vacation and get through all of the countries unscathed. Croatia and Slovenia are considered “high risk” areas– higher risk than Austria was– but we didn’t interact with many people at all during our time there. I think the risk is mainly because fewer people are vaccinated, but the reality is, there aren’t that many people congregating in Slovenia or Croatia at this time of year and social distancing is actually super easy. That may change as winter approaches and people want to ski, at least in Slovenia.

Austria, on the other hand, was like 2019. During our trip, it wasn’t considered a “high risk” area. Masks were only required in grocery stores, on public transportation, and in healthcare facilities. I won’t lie. It was really nice. And, in fact, Salzburg and, to a lesser extent, Wels, were sort of “alive” with people, which was a morale booster. I’m not sure if the lax masking is the reason why this surge is happening. Germany is a lot stricter about masks, but people are still getting sick here, and the hospitals are full. Personally, I don’t think the masks are going to be what saves us. What needs to happen is mass immunity, and that will come as people get vaccinated and boosted, and others manage to recover from the illness. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people may get very sick and/or die in the process. The only way to avoid the risk is by staying away from other people.

Austria has also taken the unusual step of requiring everyone to get vaccinated by February 2022. Frankly, I don’t think that’s a bad decision. It’s certainly groundbreaking. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t agree with forcing people to do things, particularly when it involves healthcare. However, communicable diseases are different. With my background in public health, I already know that there are some public health situations that require detaining people who put others at risk. On my main blog, I have written about how I think COVID-19 could eventually become an illness like tuberculosis. If you get TB and you refuse to get treated, you can and will be detained so that you don’t threaten other people. Many of us are really sick and tired of COVID-19, and the way it’s disrupting normal living. It’s also costing the world’s economies a lot in lost business, and like it or not, money matters. I don’t think people should be surprised if the rules become more draconian in an effort to get rid of the scourge.

Bavarian state premier, Markus Söder, who is a champion of the dreaded FFP2 masks for everyone, everywhere, has already declared a “de facto lockdown for the unvaccinated”. All of the Christmas markets have been cancelled, and all bars and clubs will be closed for the next three weeks. In areas where “weekly incidence rates top 1,000 per 100,000 people – restaurants, hotels, sport and culture will also close.” I believe the rules in Germany recently changed, as Angela Merkel plans to leave office. Now, they’re letting the states decide, rather than the federal government. I think I might enjoy the incoming government. I read that they’re also considering making recreational cannabis use legal. I never thought I’d see the day. I have limited experience with pot, having only tried it in The Netherlands a few years ago. But I did enjoy the experience…

I will not be the least bit surprised if other countries take a similar approach against the virus. It really sucks that this is happening, since Christmas is approaching. I do have some hope, though, because this year, at least there are vaccines. Some medications are also being developed to treat COVID-19– legitimate ones, rather than hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin. Historically speaking, pandemics always end at some point. So I continue to hold out hope that this one will end eventually… COVID-19 is a terrible illness, but it’s probably not even the worst humankind has faced, and nowadays, we have a lot more and better technology, which will continue to evolve out of necessity.

But yes… I sure am glad Bill and I managed to take our trip, enjoy ourselves, and emerge unscathed. We were very lucky. If there’s one thing COVID-19 has done for me, it’s make me a lot more appreciative of being able to travel.

Bill has been in Warsaw, Poland all this week, sadly missing our 19th anniversary at home. He brought home a few things for me last night. It would have been nice if I could have gone with him, but the COVID situation makes it dangerous. In fact, we were supposed to see James Taylor in Frankfurt in February, but he had to postpone his stop in Frankfurt until next November. With any luck, we’ll still be here and alive in November 2022. We’re supposed to see Keb’ Mo’ in May of 2022… but the tickets I bought were for a show that was supposed to happen on November 16, 2020– our 18th anniversary. So far, it’s been postponed three times. So we’ll see if we manage to see James in November 2022. I hope so. We have second row seats.

I was thinking maybe we’d go somewhere to celebrate our anniversary, now that Bill’s home… but I think we’re going to be locked down again very soon. So maybe we’ll just stay home and fuck or something. Just kidding… it’s more likely that we’ll turn on music, light a fire, and drink wine.

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Ten things I learned on my Aus-cro-slo-aus trip…

I always like to cap off my travel series with a top ten list of things I learned while traveling. Even when I’ve been to places repeatedly, I usually do learn something new on every trip. That was especially true as we visited Croatia overnight for the first time. We had visited there once before, but only for a couple of hours as we took a “joyride” while visiting Trieste, Italy. So, I’ll dispense with the useless palaver, and commence with my list. Here goes.

10. The word “slap” means waterfall, both in Croatian and Slovenian.

As we know, “slap” means something entirely different in English. But when you see it on signs in Croatia and Slovenia, it means you might be in for a beautiful view of something special.

9. Croatia is very friendly to English speakers.

I couldn’t help but notice that Croatia really seems to have embraced visitors who speak English. A lot of Europeans know English, because it’s a very practical language to learn. If one speaks English, he or she can communicate with Americans, Brits, and Aussies, just to name a few. But I was still surprised that so many people in Croatia spoke English so fluently, and many of the signs were also in English.

8. The off season in Croatia and Slovenia means very few crowds, but also a lot of closed businesses.

The Lake Bohinj area was especially empty of tourists, although to be fair, we were there in early November, rather than late October. November 1 seems to be the cut off day for things to close up for the winter.

7. But even though places were closed, the fall colors were fantastic, and there were still some things to do.

We still managed to see and do some things, even if it was harder to find open shops and restaurants. And the trip was so worth it, if only to see the incredible fall colors along with so many lakes and waterfalls.

6. Salzburg is still hopping, even though it’s November.

Of course this isn’t a surprise, but the fact that Salzburg was still in full swing was great, especially after spending time in places where it was so quiet. We managed to do a little shopping and enjoy a very fine meal in a restaurant. I could definitely spend more time in Salzburg, and Austria as a whole.

*An interesting and array of sights on our vacation!*

5. Wels, Austria is known for its catfish.

I don’t really enjoy eating catfish, but this was something I didn’t know before we visited Wels. In fact, I didn’t even know Wels existed before we took our trip.

4. Sometimes it’s interesting to visit lesser known cities.

I’m truly glad we visited Wels. It’s probably not high on most people’s travel itineraries, but I found it a pleasant place to spend a couple of nights. I wouldn’t mind going back. I’m also glad we visited different places. I’m rather proud that I came up with a plan to visit Plitvice Lakes and Lake Bohinj. And I’m glad I listened to Slovenians in Lake Bled who recommended Lake Bohinj.

3. I need a genuine kit bag for all my stuff.

I typically carry a digital camera, a phone, and my iPad when I tour places. I could have used a better bag, especially when we were hiking. If anything, I could have used a place to put my layers as I stripped them off. I got hot at Plitvice Lakes and ended up having to carry my sweater and hoodie. I also need to bring snacks.

2. The word “jezera” means “lake” in Croatian. And the word “ključ” means “key” in Croatian.

I only learned the word for “key” because the lovely couple at the house we rented used it several times.

And finally, 1. Planning ahead is difficult, especially in the age of COVID-19, but it’s always a good idea to try…

I wish we could have visited the Krka National Park during our time in Croatia, even though it would have been physically challenging. But now we have a reason to go back. I hope we’ll have the opportunity. It’s good that we came back when we did, as COVID-19 has become even more concerning in the past week. I still don’t regret our trip. We had a really great time, in spite of my occasional crankiness and griping.

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Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part twelve

Friday morning, it was time to pack up and leave Slovenia. We were bound for Salzburg, Austria, a town we’ve now stayed in three times, but have only ever visited twice. We usually stop there for an overnight when we go to Slovenia. This time, I decided to book two nights so we could enjoy Salzburg’s marvelous downtown area. By Friday, I was ready to move on, even though there were a lot of things we didn’t have the chance to do in Lake Bohinj.

For instance, we didn’t ride the cable car that goes up Vogel mountain, where there is a ski resort. I expect the ski resort will be doing a lot of business soon. And there were some walks we could have taken, and restaurants we could have tried. I’m actually surprised Lake Bohinj isn’t more of a year round destination, but I’m sure the locals appreciate the break from the tourists. I grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia, so I know what it’s like to deal with tourists in the summer.

The morning of our departure, I got a message from the host at our next accommodations, an apartment that doubles as a music studio. I found this property on Booking.com and was intrigued by it. The guy who owns it is a musician and music producer. Since I’m also a musician of sorts, I thought it would be a fun place to stay. In any case, he needed copies of our passports and COVID-19 vaccine certificates. Bill took photos of the documents and emailed them. Then, we went to our last breakfast at Villa Stare.

The proprietor met us. He’d already set a table for us with a fabulous spread. It turned out we were the only guests, and his breakfast attendant was not there because she had to go see the dentist. He cooked us scrambled eggs, and we enjoyed fruit, breads, coffee, and cold cuts. I was impressed by how beautiful the table looked.

We told our Slovenian host what a good time we had and how beautiful his country is. I hope we can visit Lake Bohinj. It’s such a pretty area… and I really enjoyed being there when it was so quiet, even though we missed out on some of the more touristy activities because they were either closed, or the weather didn’t cooperate. I would definitely go back if the opportunity arises again. Below are some photos from our journey from Slovenia to Austria.

I got a kick out of this Austrian tutorial on how to wash your hands.

Our drive to Austria was uneventful. There were no blood sugar meltdowns. The most exciting thing was crossing the border and Bill remarking that he could barely understand the Austrian border official’s accent. We got to Salzburg about an hour before check in began, so we found the property where we were staying for two nights. The host, Ray, was there. He was easily recognized. The cleaning lady was finishing up cleaning the house, but Ray said the house would be ready in a few minutes. We said it was no problem, since we were going downtown for lunch.

Ray turned out to be a very attentive and helpful host. I liked how he set up checking in and out at his rental. There’s a lockbox on the gate, and he sends the code and other instructions before guests arrive. That way, guests can just let themselves in without having to wait for him to show up. It’s also probably a little bit safer, in the COVID-19 era. Ray’s place is very close to downtown Salzburg, maybe about ten minutes away. We found a parking garage that had typically tiny parking spaces. Kudos to Bill for managing to park our Volvo without a scratch. It wasn’t easy, even with parking assist.

We quickly found an Italian trattoria called La Campana da Enzo. It was kind of a hole in the wall place– tiny, with no frills furnishings, and art for sale on the walls. I kind of wish I’d bought a painting there. I have been wanting to buy some art for our house. But, we just had a rather no frills lunch. Tortellini with a tomato cream sauce for me, and spaghetti with artichokes for Bill, paired with red wine and sparkling water, were our orders of the day. I guess the restaurant had trouble with locals using their toilets in the hall of the building, because to access them, you have to get a key.

The staff at this restaurant were very kind and friendly, even though we arrived just before they take their afternoon pause. There was one other guy in there, and he was telling the trilingual waiter in German about places he’d lived in Germany and France. And he also said the restaurant should offer pizza. But the waiter said that the restaurant was too small for pizza. I found myself nodding, since I’m sure a proper pizza over would make the place unbearably hot. I suddenly realized that’s probably why our old friend Gino in Nagold doesn’t do pizza. His place used to be a bakery, and it’s tiny.

The staff had their lunches while we finished up our pasta dishes. Then, the well spoken and friendly waiter kicked us out, since the restaurant closes during the afternoon. We didn’t mind, since it was now time to check out our new digs. I think the bill was about 30 euros. Cheap!

We had a dedicated parking spot, which was nice.

I suppose we could have gone back to the city for dinner, but we’re old farts now and like to relax at home in the evenings. So we watched The Sound of Music, which I had purchased on iTunes ages ago. I know Austrians probably think it’s a cheesy movie, but I love it. And it was pretty cool to go to Salzburg and see that some of the businesses in the shots of Salzburg in the 1965 film are still there in 2021.

There are a couple of restaurants near Ray’s place, but we were pretty full from lunch and had plenty of snacks. So after we watched Julie Andrews and friends, we watched Dreamgirls. Saturday was to be our fun day in Salzburg. More on that in part thirteen.

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Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part eleven

Thursday morning at breakfast, Bill and I were amused by a French family who was staying at the hotel. It was an attractive mom and dad, younger than we are. They were English speakers, since that was how they communicated with the breakfast lady. After they got their breakfast, the dad and the eldest son had an animated discussion… but what was especially funny was that they were arguing about American politics. Dad played a video of Barack Obama, then described Donald Trump as a “monster”. I didn’t understand most of what they said, since I don’t speak French, but I could definitely follow the gist. It sounded like maybe the son admired Trump, while dad sees him the way Bill and I do. I giggled at the fact that we were Americans, overhearing a raucous discussion in French about American politics, while we were sitting in a breakfast room in Slovenia!

The weather was still kind of tempestuous, so we took our time before we set out again. I thought maybe we’d visit Bled Castle, but we ended up having lunch at a cute restaurant called Restavracija Central Bled in Lake Bled. I had noticed the place on our previous passes through the town. It’s open every day and doesn’t take a pause, which is always a plus. The waiter at the Central House spoke perfect English and was very friendly. I had ribs. Bill had the “Trufflelicious Burger”, which of course was not for me, because I don’t like truffles. He loved it, though, and we both loved the hand cut fried potatoes that came with our dishes. Afterwards, we split a piece of Lake Bled’s famous Cream Cake. I liked the interior of this place, too. It’s very cozy, even if the bench I was sitting on was so high up that my legs dangled.

The potatoes were so good… Bill liked the cole slaw.

The restaurant was very convenient to the huge public parking lot in Bled. It was also inexpensive. I don’t know how we missed it the first time we visited. I also don’t know how we missed the huge parking lot! It’s right next to an ice arena and gym.

Then I took more photos, because Slovenia’s rugged beauty is so amazing.

I guess if I had to describe our time in Slovenia, I would call it “restful”. We rested a lot, mainly because of the weather. But sometimes, it’s not a bad thing to just enjoy the beauty of a place and do a lot of talking. Bill and I talked a lot, and just enjoyed each other’s company, as well as experiencing the magical surroundings we were in, both in Croatia and Slovenia. This time of year, it’s very quiet in Slovenia… but, as you can see, the natural beauty of the landscape lingers. I’m glad we went if only to get these photos.

I also tried really hard to capture some photos of dramatic waterfalls by the road to Lake Bohinj. There was one big waterfall that was super hard to catch on camera because it was right next to the road. I sure tried hard, though.

By this point in the trip, I was getting kind of tired of traveling and was missing my dogs. I was especially worried about Arran, because he’s getting old and looked a bit crestfallen when we dropped them off. But I didn’t have to worry. They were doing fine.

Stay tuned for part twelve.

Champagne Bucket trips

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part ten

Tuesday afternoon, we decided to go to Lake Bled to see if we could find some lunch. There were some places open, but we were flummoxed because at that point, we hadn’t found the large public parking lot in Bled. I’m not sorry we went, though, because I got more beautiful photos. And then, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes from Ukanc at Lake Bohinj, where our rental house was, we found lunch at Gostilnica Štrudl, a cute little eatery in the touristy town of Bohinjska Bistrica. This restaurant offers local specialties– real “stick to your ribs” food, with lots of beans, cabbage, sausages, and potatoes. We coupled lunch with a couple of excellent locally made craft beers. I loved the dark beer. Should have brought some home! It also has apartments for rent, and sells locally produced gins, jams, and liqueurs. Below are some photos from our Tuesday outing.

*A climbing wall for wouldbe mountaineers. We saw a class being taught there as we left on Friday.*

I was glad to be able to get a few sunny shots of Lake Bled, even though we were passing in the car. We later found the public parking lot for Bled, so we came back on Thursday.

And then we found lunch, which stuck with us for the rest of the day. If only I’d had this lunch before we left Croatia!

There appeared to be several open restaurants in the Bohinjska Bistrica area. That’s also where the Aquapark Bohinj is. We decided not to visit there, mainly because of some poor reviews and concerns about sickness (the reviews mentioned that it wasn’t very clean). But, if we’d wanted to, we also could have gone bowling. We decided to go back to the house and finish watching The Crown instead, as the weather was getting crummy.

Unfortunately, Wednesday, we didn’t do much of anything because of high winds and rain. We did take a short drive, though, and I got some more photos. And we also found where the entrance to Mostnica Gorge is, as well as a few more eateries. One didn’t open until 4:00pm, and the other didn’t open until 1:00pm, so we ate leftover pizza and drank local wines.

Fortunately, even in inclement weather, Slovenia is so beautiful… it’s hard to be bored there. There’s always something to see, even if the weather makes being active more difficult. And the lack of crowds, especially during COVID-19 times is especially appealing.

Stay tuned for part eleven!

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Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part nine

Tuesday morning, we woke up, got dressed, and went to the breakfast room. There was another couple there; they were German. The lady who ran breakfast asked if we wanted coffee drinks, as opposed to coffee or tea from the station. Bill had regular coffee, while I had a cappuccino. There was a buffet set up, complete with fried and scrambled eggs and a mixture of sausages and bacon. There was also the usual cheeses, fruits, vegetables, smoked salmon, breads and cereals, as well as strudel, sugared croissants, and a chocolate hazelnut creation that resembled liver pate, but thankfully didn’t taste like it.

It was a little drizzly outside when we first came inside, but the sun shyly peaked out from behind the clouds. By the time we were finished with breakfast, I could see some of the huge mountains that were obscured by fog when we arrived on Monday. I knew we were close to Slap Savica– a waterfall that was advertised in the local brochures. I read some interesting reviews of the waterfall. Some people panned it, calling it an unsatisfying tourist trap. Most of the people who complained about it were folks who had visited in the summer and had to contend with crowds. Either way, I knew it would be climb, since every review mentioned the steps. It turns out there are over 500 of them. I’m so glad I didn’t read that until we took our hike!

The drive to the waterfall is very beautiful, especially in the fall. I kept gasping at the dramatic rushing brook and the canopy of trees with red and gold leaves. The road finally ended at a parking area with a couple of restaurants. Most of the reviews noted that parking costs money, but there was no one there to collect money for parking on the day of our visit. That may be because the restaurants were closed. I was definitely impressed by the natural beauty at the base of the walk to the waterfall. Below are some photos I took as we were looking around, trying to determine where to go to access the falls. At the time, there was only one other couple there. I think I would have been happy just hanging out there all day!

We were so lucky to go to the falls on Tuesday. It was the best day for undertaking a hike of any kind. There was rain for most of the rest of our time in Slovenia. But, as you can see, we managed to get some sunny photos, too. Bill spotted the sign directing us to the little shack where we would buy our 3 euro tickets to the falls. Away we went, expecting a twenty minute hike. It took us a lot longer than that, but fortunately there weren’t many people there. We practically had the place to ourselves.

A tiny sliver of Lake Bohinj is visible…

The ground was wet and the steps were steep. I took my time going up the mountain because, as I have repeatedly pointed out, I’m not exactly fit and trim. I just kept telling myself that with each step, we got closer. I promised myself I would make it to the top.

Sure enough, we made it to the little shack near the falls.

Once again, as we climbed up the mountain, I was very grateful to be visiting Lake Bohinj in the off season. Oftentimes, when I visit a place like Slap Savica, I feel pressure to keep up with others. When we visited, I counted maybe ten people on the way up and down. We had the falls to ourselves for about fifteen minutes before the next couple showed up. And it wasn’t hot outside, so I wasn’t sweating profusely at the top. Bonus… we didn’t pay for parking!

Here’s some video footage of the water…

I kept repeating to Bill how stunningly beautiful this place was… it was just gorgeous. I was grateful to still be able to climb up a mountain to see such beauty. I know not everyone things Slap Savica is all that… and lots of people don’t like having to pay to see it, especially when there’s a crowd. Personally, I’m glad we went. I wish the weather had afforded us the chance to hike in some of the other areas. For instance, I would have loved to have seen Mostnica Gorge, which is supposedly even more beautiful than nearby Vintgar Gorge is. Vintgar Gorge closed for the season on October 31st, but we visited it in 2016, anyway. Mostnica Gorge doesn’t close, although you have to pay to park at a lot near where the trail begins. But there was too much rain the rest of the week. Articles I read about Mostnica Gorge indicated that it gets pretty slippery when the weather is bad. But if we ever get back to Lake Bohinj, we will definitely make a point of hiking more, even if my bones, muscles, and joints protest. Below is a video someone made about Mostnica Gorge. Looks like it’s definitely worth the trip!

Yes… we will definitely try to visit here next time, if we have a next time.

I want to add more to this post, but my Internet is being super wonky today and keeps bumping me when I try to add more photos. So stay tuned for part ten.

Eastern Europe

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part eight

As we got closer to the Slovenian border, the skies grew cloudier and rain threatened. We slowed down to a crawl at the border, as border agents stamped our passports and Slovenian officials wanted to know where we were going, and if we were vaccinated. Earlier that day, when Bill and I had stopped at a Croatian rest stop, I had suggested that we eat lunch. I knew it was early for Bill, but I also knew that Bill has a terrible habit of not stopping for lunch until I become a raving lunatic. In fact, I had even laughed at him and teased him about his habit of waiting until 2:00pm to stop, and that’s when a lot of places stop lunch service.

There was a time, long ago, when I used to regularly skip meals on purpose. It was when I was a lot younger, more resilient, and body image conscious. I’d get kind of bitchy in those days, too, but I could physically handle it better than I can today. I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older, when I get hungry, I really need to eat. If I don’t eat, I get very cranky and ill tempered. Then, after a period of severe bitchiness, I start to get fearful and confused. It’s uncomfortable for me, and very unpleasant for anyone who has to be around me.

Sure enough, as we crept into Slovenia and were stuck in a single lane, my mood took a steep dive. The skies darkened even more and it started to drizzle, as Europe had changed to standard time the day before. Bill decided to drive into the city of Novo Mesto to see if we could find a restaurant. Of course, it happened to be All Saints Day, which is a holiday in many European countries, particularly the ones that are heavily Catholic, which Slovenia is. The exit he randomly chose took us past a large pharmaceutical factory and into a city center that appeared to be undergoing massive reconstruction. Wherever we were, we didn’t find any open restaurants there.

Bill pulled off at another exit, went into a gas station and came out with a Coke, a candy bar, and an ice cream bar. Sure enough, it was almost 2:00pm. I was really pissed, and let him know… but then sighed and ate the ice cream bar, which brought my blood sugar up high enough so I was no longer frothing at the mouth.

The rain got harder as we turned northwest and headed toward Lake Bled. We were familiar with the road, having traveled it in May 2016. This time, it was dark, cloudy, and wet. I smirked as we passed a campy looking place called Dinopark Bled, which was freshly closed for the season and offered a dinosaur park for kids. They also had a restaurant. I don’t know what they served there… Brontosaurus Burgers? Who knows?

Soon, we were headed into Bled itself, which was as pretty as I remembered it, even with the clouds and rain. We passed the hotel, Vila Bled, where we stayed in May 2016. It had once served as Tito’s presidential palace. Now, it’s a four star hotel that is decidedly old school. I found myself wishing we could pull off and check in there, since I was still hungry and crabby, though not quite as much as I was before I ate ice cream for lunch. I know I should probably carry food with me. I did do that on the way out of Slovenia.

Then we turned toward Lake Bohinj, an area we had missed during our first visit to Slovenia. Despite my irritable mood, I could not help but marvel at how incredibly gorgeous the area was. I thought Lake Bled was beautiful. Bled is charming and gracious, and well appointed with shops, hotels, and restaurants, even in the off season.

But Lake Bohinj and its environs are wild, rugged, splendid… everywhere I looked, there were striking fall colors on the black Julian Alps, and waterfalls EVERYWHERE. They seemed to spurt out all over the place. I couldn’t help thinking to myself that as incredibly awe inspiring as Switzerland is, it has nothing on Slovenia, or the Triglav National Park, which is Slovenia’s only national park. Slovenia is also much cheaper than Switzerland is, and you don’t have to buy a vignette for the whole year to use its high speed highways. Vignettes in Slovenia can be purchased for a week at a time.

We got closer to Lake Bohinj, which is very different than Lake Bled is. For one thing, it’s much larger. It doesn’t have a walkway that surrounds it, nor is it surrounded by hotels or restaurants, although the area near it is plenty touristy. The lake itself is majestic, quiet, and incredibly gorgeous. It’s a paradise for hikers, rock climbers, mountaineers, kayakers, canoeists, or anyone else who just loves wildlife and wild surroundings. And in November, it’s practically deserted. There are few restaurants open, so we almost got the sense of having the whole place to ourselves.

We booked four nights at a house called Villa Stare, which was affiliated with a small hotel in an area called Ukanc. When we arrived, it wasn’t clear where we should go. We found our way into what turned out to be where the reception and breakfast room was. We did book breakfast there every morning, which turned out to be a wise decision, since there weren’t any open stores or bakeries near the house, although there were a couple of small grocery stores in town.

The proprietor greeted us and welcomed us into the manor, which sort of screamed 1986… yet it was large, comfortable, and warm. It looked like it was once home to a family with children, as there were little painted designs on the windows in the kids’ rooms and the master bathroom. The master bathroom, by the way, was something else. It had a balcony, and a wall of windows that looked into the woods. There was a large jetted tub that was big enough for two. It looked a bit old– 80s or early 90s era, and I only say this because my parents had one in the 80s, as did the house we rented when we lived in Georgia. The marble shower had six jets on the walls that would spray water from the sides. There were his and hers sinks and a bidet, too.

The master bedroom was humongous, with a huge bed, built in cabinets, a walk in closet, and a large balcony, which faced the lake, about two hundred meters away. The property was surrounded by huge, imposing mountains, covered in trees of different colors, and marked with waterfalls. I counted three from the kids’ rooms, which also had a shared balcony.

The downstairs had a sitting room with a fireplace, a living room area with a TV, a guest toilet, and a fully equipped kitchen. There was also a terrace. We didn’t really use the kitchen, because there was a rather threatening notice there threatening charges if we didn’t clean well enough. Remembering our painful experience with our ex landlady near Stuttgart, we decided not to risk it. Same went for the fireplace, but we really didn’t need it anyway, since the house stayed warm with regular heating. We hung out in the bedroom more than anywhere else.

*Yikes! I guess someone left the oven a mess and scratched the stove top.*

The proprietor gave us a list of restaurants, although a lot of them were closed, including a pizzeria that had just closed for the off season the day prior to our arrival. When I mentioned wanting wine, he said he’d bring us four bottles and we could pay for the ones we drank. We drank and enjoyed all four, bringing one back with us to Germany. They were all good choices. Bill later found a pizzeria a little bit further into town and that was enough to soothe the savage beast until the next morning.

In spite of my comments about the mauve 80s vibe in the house, we really enjoyed our stay there. It’s a beautiful home, and we were very comfortable, even if it did feel like we were somewhat in a time warp. But then, we had a similar experience staying at Vila Bled in 2016, so there you go.

Stay tuned for part nine.

Uncategorized

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part four

Before I get started with part four of this series, I want to record something funny that happened this morning when I walked the dogs. Unfortunately, both of my boys seem to have picked up kennel cough during their recent stay at their Hundepension. Kennel cough is annoying and very contagious, but it’s kind of like catching a cold. In most cases, it goes away on its own.

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to risk giving it to another dog, and all of the articles I’ve read suggest letting the dog rest. For that reason, we took a shorter route today, which brought us through the Dorfplatz in Breckenheim. I saw two men in the Dorfplatz talking. One of them had a dog with him. Naturally, the dog noticed mine, so I crossed the street so they wouldn’t meet.

The guy with the dog walked away, and the other man came up to me. He was well dressed, speaking German, and seemed friendly. Then I noticed that he had a mic in his hand with radio call letters and what looked like a station number. It looked like the guy came from a local radio station. I quickly surmised that he was approaching me for a “man on the street segment” for the local news.

The guy continued speaking to me, so I suddenly blurted out, “Sorry, I’m American.”

The guy immediately stopped, switched to English and stammered, “Oh… the Germans wouldn’t… they wouldn’t… ” Then, after a flustered pause, he said with a smile, “Have a nice day.”

I chuckled to myself as I continued walking home. On any other day, I would have missed that guy, because we don’t usually walk through the Dorfplatz. But because of kennel cough, we went a different way… Once again, I fooled the locals. Edited to add…. Looks like the dude was there to ask people what they think about the new village toilet.

Now, back to our travels…

On Thursday, October 28th, we checked out of Hotel Ploberger and made our way to Croatia. I was kind of excited about the trip, since I had only been in Croatia once before, and that had been on an impromptu joyride from Trieste, Italy, back in 2016. I had heard nothing but great things about Croatia and I super excited to see the Plitvice Lakes. I had a nice rental house booked that looked really promising. Off we went, traveling through Austria’s beautiful Alps, then continuing briefly through Slovenia, and on to Croatia. We were slowed down at the border of Slovenia and Croatia. The border guard in Slovenia stamped us out of the country, and then we had to show our passports to the Croatian guard.

Not long after we passed through the Croatian border, we stopped at a truck stop, where we proceeded to have an excellent lunch. It was surprisingly good. If only we’d encountered something similar in Bavaria. 😉

Because of the delay at the border, I sent a quick amendment to our arrival at Peter’s Holiday Home in Korenica, near the Plitvice Lakes. We were an hour later than we expected to be. The drive was easy, as Croatia has great highways, even though there are tons of toll booths on the high speed roads. Below are some photos from our journey to our destination, which I found on Booking.com.

We finally arrived at Peter’s Holiday Home in the late afternoon. A kind elderly couple who lived across the street greeted us, as did another lady who lived in the house next to theirs. The husband spoke some English, while his wife didn’t. She showed us around the house and lit a fire for us. I could see we were well set up for our four night stay. Korenica is located very close to the border with Bosnia. If not for COVID-19, Bill and I might have visited there. But COVID has made everything more annoying and complicated. I have heard Bosnia is an interesting and beautiful country. Hopefully, someday we can visit.

We noticed a lot of apartments and homes for rent near the Plitvice Lakes. There are also lots of restaurants in the area, though a lot of them were closed. We learned that November 1 is truly the beginning of the off season, so our arrival in late October was just on the edge of when a few places were still open. For instance, we could have visited the Barac Caves, but just barely. They closed for the season on November 1, which was the day we left. Ordinarily, I would have liked to visit the caves, but I kind of felt weird about going so late in the season. Also… COVID. I also noticed a lot of outdoor activities, like horseback riding and kayaking available. I’m sure in the summer, that area is hopping. In fact, the caretakers, who said they’ve lived in Korenica since 1968, confirmed that it gets super busy in the summer. That made me glad to be there when we were. On the other hand, if you’re visiting in season, you will have PLENTY to do.

Anyway, Bill went to the nearby grocery stores, called Konzum, of all things, and picked up some food and local wines for us. We were both kind of tired from the day’s long drive, which was long, even from Austria.

Stay tuned for part five.

trip planning

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part one

So much natural beauty… almost all to ourselves…

I may live to regret titling this particular trip series as I have. At the moment, I’m having trouble coming up with a snappy name for my latest vacation blog series. It might be because my brain is still scrambled by the whirlwind of four countries Bill and I have traversed since October 26th. It could also be because the time has changed. Additionally, I’m still a bit peeved about today’s lunch, which I’ll probably bitch about on my other blog, since I like to keep the travel blog somewhat “PG-rated”.

People who regularly follow this blog may know that Bill and I finally took our 2021 vacation. It was not a small undertaking to plan this trip, or even decide where to go. Gone are the days when we could just choose a destination on a whim. These days, we have to pay attention to COVID-19 rules and regulations, which seem to change daily, as well as infection trends. I feel like I’m back at South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, working for the Bureau of Epidemiology, where it was once my job to translate the results of chronic disease trend statistics into laymen’s terms. Thanks to my current career as an “overeducated housewife”, those days are long behind me… or, at least I don’t get paid to do them anymore.

As of about an hour ago, our vacation ended, as we walked into our house and I caught a whiff of the rotting avocado and mozzarella cheese in the refrigerator. At first, I was afraid someone forgot to flush the toilet before we left town! The dogs will be picked up in a couple of hours; hopefully, they are both fine. I sure have missed them… I really mean that, even though taking them with us on trips isn’t exactly easy to do, especially now that we have big Noyzi, and Arran has become a cranky old codger.

So how did I choose a trip to Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia, then back to Austria? At first, it wasn’t in the plans. Originally, I had been looking at going to The Netherlands. I kept getting enticing ads on Facebook, particularly for a very upscale looking property in Zeeland. I must admit that the prospect of enjoying some legal weed was also somewhat appealing. But then I started thinking about how much I’d like to go to France and Belgium, too. I started trying to design an itinerary that would allow us to get the most bang for our bucks and the time Bill got off from work. I kept getting bogged down in and frustrated by minutiae, as I realized that the places I wanted to go weren’t all that convenient to each other. Accommodations were also kind of pricey. And then, I had a sudden flashback to 2015, when our return to Europe was still new and exciting…

Several years ago, when COVID-19 was a mere nightmarish fantasy in the back of a mad scientist’s or Hollywood screenplay writer’s most warped mind, I saw an enticing video on YouTube made by a user who called herself heyannalise. She made entertaining clips about traveling in Europe. Back in May 2015, she made one about her visit to the Krka National Park in Croatia. I was enchanted by the scenery in her video, which I am sharing below…

No… this is not where we went. I tried to get us tickets to the Krka National Park, but was unsuccessful. You have to buy them at least a day in advance, and all of the tickets were sold out for when we were in Croatia and had time to go… We will try to come back for an experience like Annalise had.

Somehow, even though I was enthralled by Annalise’s video, Bill and I never got around to visiting Croatia, even though we’ve now been in Europe for ages… I kept meaning to go, and we did once take a “joyride” to Pula, Croatia while we were visiting Trieste, Italy in May 2016. But we never managed to actually book a real trip there that involved staying overnight. Time moved on from 2015, and I pushed thoughts of Croatia to the back burner, even though my Croatian friend, Boris, who organizes trips to Croatia, kept wanting me to go and blog about the experience. The timing just never seemed to work out for us, or there was somewhere else I wanted to see that was more pressing or convenient.

As I was planning our most recent trip, thinking about France, Belgium, and The Netherlands, I couldn’t help noticing a nagging thought in the back of my head, reminding me how much I had been wanting to visit Croatia to see waterfalls and lakes. Since I managed to nag Bill into taking a lot of days off work, I realized that we finally had enough time to really enjoy ourselves and see a lot, and that meant it made sense to finally take the plunge and go to Croatia. I also knew I could break up the trip into manageable and affordable blocks, and that was a real plus. My days of wanting to drive eight hours straight to cram in life experiences are long done, and I don’t need much encouragement to overspend on fancy hotels. I also have no desire to fly during the age of COVID-19 unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.

By the time I was ready to go to Croatia, I had forgotten where Annalise had actually gone. I went on Google and started searching… and somehow, instead of Krka National Park, I wound up finding the Plitvice Lakes. Now… there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with going to Croatia just to see the Plitvice Lakes. They are stunning and mesmerizing, and you will definitely get plenty of exercise and fill your camera with exquisite photos of magical scenery. But we were down there for four nights, and Krka National Park is only about a 90 minute drive from where we stayed. It would have been nice to combine the two experiences, although now we have a good reason to visit Croatia again and do a LOT more exploring. It really is a beautiful and easy to travel country, especially for English speakers. And… we haven’t been to the coast yet, to see all the towns that tourists flock to during the summer months. We have a good reason to go back to Croatia, now.

Anyway, once I’d decided on Croatia, it was time to plan for a visit somewhere else within proximity. I recalled that while we were visiting Trieste in 2016, we also visited Lake Bled in Slovenia. I remember being totally enchanted by beautiful Lake Bled and the other areas in Slovenia we visited on that trip. I also specifically remembered Slovenians telling Bill and me that we should visit Lake Bohinj, as it was even better than Bled is, and less touristy. Realizing that Bohinj was maybe 4 or 5 hours from the Plitvice Lakes area, I determined that it would be a great second stop on our trip. We could spend another four nights there.

The cities where we chose our visits in Austria were mostly down to being practical. We decided to stop in Wels, Austria on the way down to Croatia because it was about halfway to where our final destination would be, and Bill and I didn’t want to stay in Linz or Passau, which are cities we’ve both already visited. Ditto to our stop in Salzburg. Every time we’ve gone to Slovenia– we also went to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia last year to pick up Noyzi— we’ve stopped in Salzburg, because it’s convenient. It’s also a great town to visit, although on our other two trips, we’ve only spent a night there and neglected to properly enjoy the city.

This is the very delicious ham and asparagus meal that I ate in Salzburg in May 2012…

We did take a day trip to Salzburg in May 2012, when we did our very first military hop, and we got to see the city on that trip. But we visited Salzburg from Munich instead of staying there overnight, and that sharply limited our ability to see a lot. I also remember getting caught in a sudden late spring thunderstorm that day, so we ended up ducking back into the restaurant where we had lunch (ham and asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce), and drinking lots of beer and Schnapps! I remember the proprietor was quite pleased with us giving him more business. I think that restaurant has since closed down, which is a pity. We sure enjoyed going there.

Ever since that day trip in 2012, I had been wanting to go back to Salzburg. Russian buskers had made me cry there, and I saw some beautiful Friesian horses… But every time we’ve stayed in Salzburg overnight, we’ve been rushing to or from somewhere else, so this time, I decided we’d spend two nights.

With all of the cities chosen, I went looking for places to stay. Wels, Austria, it turns out, is a very pleasant and attractive city, but it’s not particularly exciting or noteworthy. I noticed they had catfish there. There are museums to see, and the downtown area is nice. But I didn’t find any cute places to rent. Consequently, we ended up booking Hotel Ploberger for two nights, which is supposedly the best hotel in town. I was amused by their very aggressive sales tactics, right on their own Web site. For the other three stops, I booked homes privately managed by hosts I found on Booking.com. Not only was that safer in terms of COVID-19, it was also more convenient. Lake Bohinj and the Plitvice Lakes areas are both chock full of apartments and homes to rent. I would say there are more private residences for renting than hotel rooms, although they do exist. And in Salzburg, I chose to rent a place owned by a musician/music producer. That was mainly because I am myself a musician. I will write a lot more about all of the properties as the series gets underway… and as we were gone for twelve nights, it’s bound to be a long one.

We had a fantastic time on our trip, and I look forward to detailing the blow by blow, even if Bill and I are the only ones who read it. So, now that the introduction is done, on with my blog series on the trip down to Aus-Cro-Slo-Aus. Hope you enjoy the ride.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Slovenia

Physical challenges on the stairways to paradise…

Austria is locking down… will Germany be next?

Ten things I learned on my Aus-cro-slo-aus trip…

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part twelve

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part eleven

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part ten

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part nine

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part eight

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part four

Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part one