Following on the theme of writing my blog from very cool places, we are currently sat at the top of an art deco building in Ljubjlana, Slovenia, which has a cafe on a viewing terrace. From here I can see the whole of the capital, although it is very small, with the hill top castle dominating the view. I will come back to describing this quaint little place at the end of this entry.
We spent a couple of great days exploring Cluj in Romania. It really is a lovely city. We visited the Catholic and Orthodox churches in the centre- the Orthodox one was packed with people lining up to take Communion and holding flowers to offer to the church. We found out later that it was 'Little Mary's Day', a semi-national holiday but no-one could explain why there was this one plus a bigger 'Virgin Mary's Day'. Anyway, we took a walk up a hill to look at the view of the city- older buildings alongside grey Communist blocks. After a chilled day we went to Jonny's company's office in Cluj to pick up some of his colleagues for dinner. They took us to an old hidden courtyard that had been converted into a lovely bar and restaurant. Jonny's colleague Andras told me that the courtyard and surrounding buildings, like many in Cluj, were offered back to the rightful owners who had been expelled or fled during Communist times and if they didn't want it/couldn't afford it, the buildings were sold on.
The next day, Karl had a day off so he drove us out to Turda salt mines near Cluj. We descended down a very long, smelly, damp tunnel and came upon an enormous cavern which had been mined bit by bit over a couple of centuries for salt. The area is so huge that there is a ferris wheel, crazy golf and a lake you can take a pedalo out onto! The air is meant to be very good for breathing problems and illnesses so we got our fill and found our way out.
We moved on to Turda Gorge where we found a little spot in the beautiful hills, for a BBQ. We'd bought meat, coals and fire lighters from a supermarket and I stepped back expecting the boys to want to do the 'man thing' and make fire! They were absolutely useless and I ended up having to build the fire and cook the meat. After we'd finished our food and come face to face with some pretty large, wild looking dogs, we started walking through the gorge. The scenery was beautiful with little rickety bridges criss-crossing the river through the rocks and the walking wasn't too hard- which I liked!
The next morning we got up early to catch a train to Budapest. The early train was cancelled so we had to kill 4 hours before the next one. The train was long but comfortable and we arrived in Budapest to get absolutely conned by a taxi driver :-( ! Our hostel was very cool (Multipass Hostel- highly recommended) and our room was Lawrence of Arabia themed as each room had a film theme. We didn't have long in Budapest so we headed straight out to the Gellert baths- natural hot spa waters. The interior was impressive and nice to relax in the hot waters but it was very expensive and quite touristy. After that we had what we were told was 'the best Goulash in Budapest'- it was very good. Unfortunately the weather was awful in Budapest so I think we will return one day to see it in a better light. Nevertheless, we headed to the Terror Museum first thing the next day. It is an absolutely brilliant museum in a building that housed both the interrogation rooms and prison of the Arrow Cross group- Hungary's version of the Nazi party which I had never heard of- and the Hungarian Communist party. A very interesting, if harrowing, place. We also managed to pack in the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, the palace in Buda, the Fisherman's Bastion and a night tour on the Danube. You'll note that I didn't get to go to the Great Synagogue (due to the weather and time mostly) so that's definitely a reason to come back!! We rounded our stay off with a visit to a Ruin Bar, a huge abandoned building that had been turned into a maze of bars inside. There was graffiti everywhere, half a car, furniture attached to the ceiling....it's best to look at Jonny's photos but it was very cool!
The connecting train to Bratislava, Slovakia was pretty quick and easy from Budapest and we arrived in the small capital in the afternoon. We headed straight out on a free walking tour of the city. The tour took us round the old centre and the newer areas. The old centre included the old city walls which were constructed to keep invaders out and some pretty cobbled streets. The most interesting part for me was when the guide explained the modern history- the movement from Austro-Hungarian rule to a united Czechoslovakia after WW1, to a German Protectorate during WW2 and then back into a Communist Czechoslovakia until 1989, when the Velvet Revolution brought down the Iron Curtain there. It wasn't until 1993 that Slovakia peacefully broke away and became their own country. The guide explained, interestingly, that some of the older Slovakians are nostalgic about the Communist era. It had never occurred to me that when a state system that gives every person a job and a home falls, the older people who have no belongings, no savings, no pensions and no capacity to earn money, are left with absolutely nothing. Their nostalgia made a little more sense then!
That night we headed for a traditional meal of garlic soup served in a bread bowl and potato dumplings (like Gnocchi) with sauerkraut and bacon. We stumbled upon a beer festival on the way back to the hostel and sampled some Slovakian brews. I hadn't been feeling great with a bad cold and stomach since Romania so I chilled the next morning while Jonny trekked up to the citadel.
The next day we took the train to Ljubljana....not as simple as it should be. It is about 4 hours driving between Bratislava and the Slovenian capital but the connections are not that great. We had to get a train into Vienna and then out to Ljubljana- all in all about a 10 hour journey. The train journey was well worth it though- one day we will return to Austria and stay in the countryside. The alpine hills with little hill top churches is beautiful. We got settled into our hostel on arrival and headed straight out for some Slovenian food. Ljubljana is my favourite place so far- it is all built around a river and has pretty little stone bridges linking the old and newer (13th versus 15th century) city. We did another free walking tour today and saw the beautiful architecture, market squares and churches. Again, the guide filled us in on the modern history. Slovenia again was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and after WW1 was split between Italy and Yugoslavia, a union between the South Slavic countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. During the Yugoslavian days they were led by Tito who was Communist but the guide said it was a much more liberal form of Communism employed here. When Tito died the union started to fall apart, splitting down lines of religion and ethnicity. Slovenia voted to leave Yugoslavia in 1991 which prompted a 10 day war, but as there were very few Serbs in the Northern part of the union, Slovenia was allowed to leave and the war travelled South. We will learn a lot more about that as we travel down further into former Yugoslavia I hope.
Anyway, my friend Jen is joining us tomorrow for a couple of weeks to travel through Slovenia and Croatia. The plan is to go to Lake Bled for a few days before we cross another border.......
We spent a couple of great days exploring Cluj in Romania. It really is a lovely city. We visited the Catholic and Orthodox churches in the centre- the Orthodox one was packed with people lining up to take Communion and holding flowers to offer to the church. We found out later that it was 'Little Mary's Day', a semi-national holiday but no-one could explain why there was this one plus a bigger 'Virgin Mary's Day'. Anyway, we took a walk up a hill to look at the view of the city- older buildings alongside grey Communist blocks. After a chilled day we went to Jonny's company's office in Cluj to pick up some of his colleagues for dinner. They took us to an old hidden courtyard that had been converted into a lovely bar and restaurant. Jonny's colleague Andras told me that the courtyard and surrounding buildings, like many in Cluj, were offered back to the rightful owners who had been expelled or fled during Communist times and if they didn't want it/couldn't afford it, the buildings were sold on.
The next day, Karl had a day off so he drove us out to Turda salt mines near Cluj. We descended down a very long, smelly, damp tunnel and came upon an enormous cavern which had been mined bit by bit over a couple of centuries for salt. The area is so huge that there is a ferris wheel, crazy golf and a lake you can take a pedalo out onto! The air is meant to be very good for breathing problems and illnesses so we got our fill and found our way out.
We moved on to Turda Gorge where we found a little spot in the beautiful hills, for a BBQ. We'd bought meat, coals and fire lighters from a supermarket and I stepped back expecting the boys to want to do the 'man thing' and make fire! They were absolutely useless and I ended up having to build the fire and cook the meat. After we'd finished our food and come face to face with some pretty large, wild looking dogs, we started walking through the gorge. The scenery was beautiful with little rickety bridges criss-crossing the river through the rocks and the walking wasn't too hard- which I liked!
The next morning we got up early to catch a train to Budapest. The early train was cancelled so we had to kill 4 hours before the next one. The train was long but comfortable and we arrived in Budapest to get absolutely conned by a taxi driver :-( ! Our hostel was very cool (Multipass Hostel- highly recommended) and our room was Lawrence of Arabia themed as each room had a film theme. We didn't have long in Budapest so we headed straight out to the Gellert baths- natural hot spa waters. The interior was impressive and nice to relax in the hot waters but it was very expensive and quite touristy. After that we had what we were told was 'the best Goulash in Budapest'- it was very good. Unfortunately the weather was awful in Budapest so I think we will return one day to see it in a better light. Nevertheless, we headed to the Terror Museum first thing the next day. It is an absolutely brilliant museum in a building that housed both the interrogation rooms and prison of the Arrow Cross group- Hungary's version of the Nazi party which I had never heard of- and the Hungarian Communist party. A very interesting, if harrowing, place. We also managed to pack in the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, the palace in Buda, the Fisherman's Bastion and a night tour on the Danube. You'll note that I didn't get to go to the Great Synagogue (due to the weather and time mostly) so that's definitely a reason to come back!! We rounded our stay off with a visit to a Ruin Bar, a huge abandoned building that had been turned into a maze of bars inside. There was graffiti everywhere, half a car, furniture attached to the ceiling....it's best to look at Jonny's photos but it was very cool!
The connecting train to Bratislava, Slovakia was pretty quick and easy from Budapest and we arrived in the small capital in the afternoon. We headed straight out on a free walking tour of the city. The tour took us round the old centre and the newer areas. The old centre included the old city walls which were constructed to keep invaders out and some pretty cobbled streets. The most interesting part for me was when the guide explained the modern history- the movement from Austro-Hungarian rule to a united Czechoslovakia after WW1, to a German Protectorate during WW2 and then back into a Communist Czechoslovakia until 1989, when the Velvet Revolution brought down the Iron Curtain there. It wasn't until 1993 that Slovakia peacefully broke away and became their own country. The guide explained, interestingly, that some of the older Slovakians are nostalgic about the Communist era. It had never occurred to me that when a state system that gives every person a job and a home falls, the older people who have no belongings, no savings, no pensions and no capacity to earn money, are left with absolutely nothing. Their nostalgia made a little more sense then!
That night we headed for a traditional meal of garlic soup served in a bread bowl and potato dumplings (like Gnocchi) with sauerkraut and bacon. We stumbled upon a beer festival on the way back to the hostel and sampled some Slovakian brews. I hadn't been feeling great with a bad cold and stomach since Romania so I chilled the next morning while Jonny trekked up to the citadel.
The next day we took the train to Ljubljana....not as simple as it should be. It is about 4 hours driving between Bratislava and the Slovenian capital but the connections are not that great. We had to get a train into Vienna and then out to Ljubljana- all in all about a 10 hour journey. The train journey was well worth it though- one day we will return to Austria and stay in the countryside. The alpine hills with little hill top churches is beautiful. We got settled into our hostel on arrival and headed straight out for some Slovenian food. Ljubljana is my favourite place so far- it is all built around a river and has pretty little stone bridges linking the old and newer (13th versus 15th century) city. We did another free walking tour today and saw the beautiful architecture, market squares and churches. Again, the guide filled us in on the modern history. Slovenia again was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and after WW1 was split between Italy and Yugoslavia, a union between the South Slavic countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. During the Yugoslavian days they were led by Tito who was Communist but the guide said it was a much more liberal form of Communism employed here. When Tito died the union started to fall apart, splitting down lines of religion and ethnicity. Slovenia voted to leave Yugoslavia in 1991 which prompted a 10 day war, but as there were very few Serbs in the Northern part of the union, Slovenia was allowed to leave and the war travelled South. We will learn a lot more about that as we travel down further into former Yugoslavia I hope.
Anyway, my friend Jen is joining us tomorrow for a couple of weeks to travel through Slovenia and Croatia. The plan is to go to Lake Bled for a few days before we cross another border.......
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