Monday, awoke with good intentions but things moved along slowly (the day already a warm at 7:30!). Headed of the the supermarket and then had bacon and eggs for breakfast with juice and coffee - yum. Got packed and headed out (saying goodbye to PET-1) and onto the metro to get to the other side of the river to check-in the packs and buy the extra leg of the train trip (Hobos-Ljubljana). Took ages to get the tickets, some people just stand there telling their life story while we wait patiently, anyway, coughed up the money (couldn’t get Ash a student price) and went out into the sunshine.
We had a couple of hours to wander the castle precinct and climbed up some stairs to get to the wall and then did a semi-circumnavigation before finding the entry gate. Meandered up to the Mathias Cathedral and stopped for a coffee and strudel before heading over to the ramparts. A group of kinder kids stopped at the same cafe and all got themselves a small ice cream cone. I think they thought we were a bit of an attraction - speaking English etc. Enjoyed the sit down for a few minutes and then walked over to a fantastic view of the Pest side across the river. Promised ourselves to have a coffee at the cafe in the ramparts next time we come. There was a small climb up a tower but not worth the money and we decided to not go into the church (also a fee). Did make a quick call home but the phone booth was in the sun and it was getting warm Reubs has finished for the semester and Matt has to wait for his exam. Walked on to the Castle and bumped into a changing of the guard - 4 soldiers and their sergeant all with shiny swords, and a bugler playing some march. We then realised it was time to head back and rushed the last little back down.
Got back to the station a bit hot but not too bothered and with 10-15 minutes to spare. Collected the bags and walked/climbed straight onto the train next to the baggage store on platform one. Found a 6 seat compartment for ourselves ad I raced back out to buy some fruit with the left over Forints I had. It was a pleasant train ride but we changed direction twice (like the locomotive un-coupled it self and went to the other end of the train and we started back the way we came) so couldn’t follow our path all that well on the map. Had some nice rye bread, brie, salami and tomato sandwiches and enjoyed the quiet of the train (not a lot of people bustling about). I did a bit of reading, Ash tinkered with his new antique watch and Wendy did a bit of dozing. It was a warm day but we did pass through some rain which cooled things down a bit. Stopped at Hodos for Hungarian and Slovenian passport control and the ticket collector. Through lots of farming country (corn, wheat and potatoes) and hay making. every home we saw up against the railway tracks had a garden (has tempted me to think about developing my green thumb when we get home).
Once into Slovenia started seeing high mountains in the distance and quaint villages with churches on the hilltops. Met a young Slovenian guy (who joined us in our compartment - the train filled up as it headed closer to the capital) who’s doing orthopedic study at Uni and got a few good tips from him (spoke very good English). Arrived in Ljubljana about half an hour late so that made it 10:00 pm. Found an ATM and got some Euros to pay for the hostel celica. The building used to be a jail and the cells have all been converted to bedrooms from 2-4 people and there’s a dorm upstairs. It’s all modern and laid out by interior designers/artists so it should be an interesting place. Ljubljana is a lot slower than Budapest and much smaller, walked for 10 minutes to get to the hostel and checked in. Our ‘cell’ was much smaller than the 2 bedroom apartment we had the night before. Two single beds with a narrow gap between and Ash got the bunk bed which went across the room above the door (there’s a barred cell door and a wooden door outside that). Very tight and just enough room to get rid of pack a small table under the window and a fan! (reminded me of the Castlemaine jail and how warm that was) The place was still doof, doofing, so I had a shower and then went for a beer with Ash while Wendy ht the sack. Crashed around midnight. Ahhh, sleep, come and take me away...
We had a couple of hours to wander the castle precinct and climbed up some stairs to get to the wall and then did a semi-circumnavigation before finding the entry gate. Meandered up to the Mathias Cathedral and stopped for a coffee and strudel before heading over to the ramparts. A group of kinder kids stopped at the same cafe and all got themselves a small ice cream cone. I think they thought we were a bit of an attraction - speaking English etc. Enjoyed the sit down for a few minutes and then walked over to a fantastic view of the Pest side across the river. Promised ourselves to have a coffee at the cafe in the ramparts next time we come. There was a small climb up a tower but not worth the money and we decided to not go into the church (also a fee). Did make a quick call home but the phone booth was in the sun and it was getting warm Reubs has finished for the semester and Matt has to wait for his exam. Walked on to the Castle and bumped into a changing of the guard - 4 soldiers and their sergeant all with shiny swords, and a bugler playing some march. We then realised it was time to head back and rushed the last little back down.
Got back to the station a bit hot but not too bothered and with 10-15 minutes to spare. Collected the bags and walked/climbed straight onto the train next to the baggage store on platform one. Found a 6 seat compartment for ourselves ad I raced back out to buy some fruit with the left over Forints I had. It was a pleasant train ride but we changed direction twice (like the locomotive un-coupled it self and went to the other end of the train and we started back the way we came) so couldn’t follow our path all that well on the map. Had some nice rye bread, brie, salami and tomato sandwiches and enjoyed the quiet of the train (not a lot of people bustling about). I did a bit of reading, Ash tinkered with his new antique watch and Wendy did a bit of dozing. It was a warm day but we did pass through some rain which cooled things down a bit. Stopped at Hodos for Hungarian and Slovenian passport control and the ticket collector. Through lots of farming country (corn, wheat and potatoes) and hay making. every home we saw up against the railway tracks had a garden (has tempted me to think about developing my green thumb when we get home).
Once into Slovenia started seeing high mountains in the distance and quaint villages with churches on the hilltops. Met a young Slovenian guy (who joined us in our compartment - the train filled up as it headed closer to the capital) who’s doing orthopedic study at Uni and got a few good tips from him (spoke very good English). Arrived in Ljubljana about half an hour late so that made it 10:00 pm. Found an ATM and got some Euros to pay for the hostel celica. The building used to be a jail and the cells have all been converted to bedrooms from 2-4 people and there’s a dorm upstairs. It’s all modern and laid out by interior designers/artists so it should be an interesting place. Ljubljana is a lot slower than Budapest and much smaller, walked for 10 minutes to get to the hostel and checked in. Our ‘cell’ was much smaller than the 2 bedroom apartment we had the night before. Two single beds with a narrow gap between and Ash got the bunk bed which went across the room above the door (there’s a barred cell door and a wooden door outside that). Very tight and just enough room to get rid of pack a small table under the window and a fan! (reminded me of the Castlemaine jail and how warm that was) The place was still doof, doofing, so I had a shower and then went for a beer with Ash while Wendy ht the sack. Crashed around midnight. Ahhh, sleep, come and take me away...
No comments:
Post a Comment