Zagreb to Ljubljana -Day 3

Zagreb to Ljubljana -Day 3
On the bus slight late as we misplaced Ann's camera. It had been left under the chair I was sitting in in the lobby of the hotel, but I wasn't aware it was there. Luckily, no harm done.
Half an hour to the border to Slovenia and half an hour wait for border control. Since Croatia is not yet part of the EU, we had to go through the process to get new stamps in the passports. We drove past Ljubljana to get to Bled Castle and Lake. This is a very small country, maybe smaller than New Jersey or Maryland. The land changed to rolling hills and some mountains with valleys between. The weather is gray and intermittent rain, but the mist in the peaks was very pretty, as were the towns between. The lake is a remnant of the ice age from a receding glacier. There is huge outcrop overlooking the lake with a Castle dating to 1011. We drove as high as we could to the entrance, but still had a bunch of hill to climb. We went through the drawbridge gate and had more to climb. Inside, there was a wonderful view of the lake and a small island in it. The castle had a demonstration of printing (with a copy of the first Slovene printed book) and iron working and some old excavations of old jewelry and weapons.
Then to lunch on the shore of the lake. We stopped at a Slovenian restaurant. It was asparagus week and Ann had an asparagus frittata which was quite good. Yes, she even ate eggs!!! I ordered the kasha with mushrooms which was like a kasha rissota. and the waiter nodded approvingly, saying "Very Slovenian". It really was quite good.
After lunch we took a boat to the island to see the old church, dating to the 1600s. The boat was rowed by one of the ancient rowers; the profession passed down from father to son for generations. Think ugly gondolas. More pictures of the mountains and fog. At least it didn't rain while we were on the water or outside(it poured during lunch!).
Back to Ljubljana to check into our hotel. This is a small town, even for a capital. Walking tour tomorrow.


Stephen J. Rockower, MD
President, MedChi 2016-2017
The Maryland State Medical Society

Sent from my iPad