I've forgiven Slovenia for the youth hostel. Both Ljubljana and Bled were so beautiful that I can't hold it against the country.
In Ljubljana,we walked across all the great bridges -- the Dragon Bridge, the Butcher's Bridge, the triple bridge. We went to the baroque cathedral.
We took the funicular up to the castle and saw the Alps far in the distance. Dinner was all game all the time -- venison and wild boar with cherry sauce and truffle polenta for Phil, and for me a pasta dish with venison. Chased it down with beer-flavored schnapps, a very local speciality, which I would not necessarily recommend.
And yesterday we drove to Bled, which despite its violent name is a quiet and lovely resort town in the Julian Alps. It features an island in a lake on which there is a baroque church (yes, another baroque church! The place is lousy with them). We decided to row out ourselves. Though the boat owner had to go with us for the first quarter mile to keep us from drowning ourselves or others, Phil got the hang of it eventually.
Ended the day with another wonderful meal (sausages and pork with mushrooms), which we tried to counterbalance by walking around the lake (6 kilometers). I don't think it worked. Especially when you consider that we had a really big piece of cake when we were done.
We arrived in Budapest this evening and found our hotel, a real bargain right in the center. Sadly, parking costs just about as much as the room. Yet another fabulous dinner and a compensatory stroll around the city after dark. Tomorrow, the baths. Be afraid...
Enjoy your blog. We loved Budapest. We stayed at the ArtHotel in Pest. We found the bicycle riders very aggressive and had to keep a careful eye while walking along the river. We did not have good weather but still did lots of good sightseeing. We took the train back to Vienna. Such good food everywhere!
ReplyDelete