Hello all,

Mark and I have been traveling in Slovenia. This country is just south of
Austria. The culture is a mix between Mediterranean and Eastern European. We
have been eating pizza, hotdogs, fruit, salads, cheese, salami, and of
course gelato(ice cream). The most interesting food items has been a pizza
with a pan fried egg on top.

We have visited the capital, Ljubljana, which is a beautiful city. The city
has a new and an old part of town. There is a river running through the
middle of town with flowers and vender stalls and cafes on both sides of the
river and stone bridges going over the river. The old part of the city is
full of narrow winding cobble stone streets with quaint little shops and
cafes. It has all the details of a beautiful Eastern Europe city, there is even a castle on a hill overlooking the town.

We have also visited Bled, which is a 1000 year old mountain town. This town
is sprawled around a lake and nestled between the Julian alps. It is
absolutely beautiful. There are so many fun ways to explore Bled either
by hiking through the forest, around the lake or up to a castle on a
mountain cliff. You can row a boat to a castle built on an island in
middle of the lake, or swim in the crystal clear blue lake. We did almost
all of the above activities and we just relaxed in our hotel balcony with
the lake breeze and view of our grass beach.

The affordable hotels are not in the center of town, so we chose to do a tough 1.5 mile hikes up some rolling hills to our hostel with our way too heavy 30 pound packs. However, the 1.5 mile hike was worth it to have a hotel on the far side of the lake nestled against the mountain. Plus about every hour there was a tiny tourist train that would take you around the lake to your hostel. Mark and I just love to hike and the more challenging the better, so we have walked an average of 6 to 8 miles a day touring these beautiful sites. Overall, Slovenia has been a great relaxing introduction to Eastern Europe. Tomorrow we are off to Croatia.

I must go my time is running out and you have probably figured out by now some of my spelling errors that the Z and Y key are switched on these Eastern European key boards. Another example of how the world is not always the same as in the USA. I love traveling for even just to experience these tiny cultural differences in a Keyboard. I will update you later, hope all is well with everyone.

Love
Sarah and Mark Journal Entry Slovenia Posted On: 6/23/2005