That Time I Did a 28-Day European Bus Tour — Part 10 (Ljubljana and Lake Bled, Slovenia)
This article will cover Days 19–20 of the tour
Here is a link to Part 9 of my story, in case you haven’t read it:
So, on Day 19, we left Pag and drove through Croatia and then Slovenia on the way to its capital, Ljubljana, where we would stay for one night.
I never saw Dubrovnik, Zagreb or any other cities or towns in Croatia, but I can always put them on my itinerary if I revisit someday. I believe that Dubrovnik is a place that didn’t used to get a lot of tourism but it gets a lot these days, to the point that the locals have complained about overtourism. Although, that was before the pandemic (when I read about that) and I’m not sure if it’s caught up to pre-pandemic levels yet.
Croatia and Slovenia weren’t places I had given much thought to, prior to doing this trip but I would say that they’re worth visiting. On this part of the trip, I remember there being a lot of nice countryside, with lush green forests.
We would have arrived in Ljubljana probably early in the afternoon. If I recall, we did a tour of the city in the afternoon. I actually quite liked this city. It was much smaller and less touristy than most of the other cities we went to. You could walk the streets without feeling like there were too many people around you.
Here are a few pictures I took of Ljubljana:
I remember going to a restaurant with some of my fellow travellers that evening. I can’t remember exactly what I had for dinner that night (probably some sort of meat with sides of vegetables). But I do remember that horse was on the menu if I wanted it.
I didn’t order the horse, partly because one of my fellow Aussies was going on about how she bred horses or something. That woman was okay (in terms of her personality) but she did sometimes complain about things. And she didn’t get along with one of the other women in the group (also Aussie) but I didn’t get involved with that. Either way, I chose something else (I don’t have a hardline stance on which animals are and are not ethical to eat, which is another conversation).
Then I remember we had coffee afterwards. Except that I didn’t drink coffee back then, so I ordered a hot chocolate. What I actually received was a small glass of pure melted chocolate with a glass of water on the side. It was nice but very rich. Not what I had in mind but sometimes that happens when you’re travelling. I guess hot chocolate (as we know it in English-speaking countries) isn’t a thing everywhere.
I don’t remember what else we did that night. But either way, it was a good day. Of course it was, we were was on holiday, and a bad day on holiday is better than a good day at home (I think that saying is about Paris but there is some truth in it).
On Day 20, we got up, did our morning routines, had some breakfast and then got on the bus to leave. We then headed off to Lake Bled, Slovenia, which turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. It was beautiful, as you can see in the photos here. They gave us a couple of hours or so to wander around and experience it before getting back on the bus.
I also remember going to a café there and having “Bled cream cake” which was nice. It was basically their local speciality. However, I also remember the customer service at that place not being very good (I remember waving at the server and being ignored, even though there was hardly anyone else there) but I guess that’s how it works over there. You have to get up and go to the counter yourself.
Typically in Australia, the servers will look after you but they probably won’t engage you in conversation (your mileage may vary) and they won’t treat you like royalty like I believe they do in the USA (which I suspect they do because they want a generous tip from you). But in Europe (depending on where you are) sometimes the customer service isn’t that great and sometimes they seem to think that it’s a privilege for you to even be there (or at least, that’s how it can feel sometimes).
Anyway, I wandered around and experienced the place, then I met up with the group and we left for the Austrian Alps, which I will write about in my next article.
Based on the brief amount of time I spent in Slovenia, I really liked it and I would totally go back someday.
Thank you for reading. It may take me a few more weeks to get around to writing the last few articles regarding this trip, so please be patient.
To be continued…
