"I get my things together for the impending 6-hour train ride to Vienna. In my homeland 6 hours on a train brings you shy of any provincial borders, but here it takes you to a different country. Travelling alone has it's benefits, and I also am looking forward to being well educated in all things Slovenia before my friend arrives in a week. Seems a shame to be leaving the country so soon, but I promised myself I would make the most of my short time in Europe. The train usually doesn't let ne down, and this journey brought me the beautiful Sanya, on her way to Celje. A pretty girl is always the best way for me to learn about a culture. So we talked about Slovenia... about Tito, about joining the EU, about how ice cream now costs twice as much since the adoption of the Euro... Standard stuff. So now I have a Slovene friend. Perhaps I will pay her a visit on my way back.
All I have now to keep me occupied is a book that I don't want to read and a pile of brochures from the tourist office. All I really want to do is wander around, but maybe writing this blog will be a catalyst for excitment. As long as it doesn't involve too much money, I will be ok. So here I am, Adam McRae - Contest Winner. I will try to report on my travels. I hope they know what they are getting into.... this will likely be full of passages about sitting on a bench smoking cigarettes and reading a book. Or getting drunk on a street corner before I've figured out where I will be sleeping that night. Is this what they are after? I figure if I keep it honest, there's sure to be some underlying value to it no matter what picture I'm painting.
I think back to Venice, my point of arrival. It really is 100% tourist. I mean, the city is beautiful and all, but really what are you getting out of it? For sure someone has a better camera than you, they'll post their pictures online and that will be that. There is some value in seeing it firsthand, but it really feels like a sham when there isn't anything new coming out of the place, you're really just confirming all the things you learned in history class. It is a neat place to see, but you are not going to meet a real italian there. This is why coming to Ljubljana was a nice contrast. It is the city tourist draw for Slovenia, but it is also it's functioning cultural and commercial center. It's nice that you can have the chance of running into a real person on their way to work instead of a tourist trying to find a place to have a beer. Maybe that's just me though. I'm looking forward to getting back there at the end of my trip to satisfy my urban side... I am a city guy, afterall.
My tools consist of one small backpack, my marked up tourist map, and most important, this iPhone. Wi-fi is always somewhere to be found (a short walk around usually leads to some unsuspecting "default" or "linksys" or some such unsecured wireless network). Isn't technology great?
My meeting in Ljubljana with the Slovenian Tourist Board folks was pleasant. We sat down and figured out what to do with me for the next few weeks. I think it has been mostly settled. I will travel around on my own before Jocelyn gets here on the 18th, while the plans for my grand 3-day Eco-tour are put together at the office. I mentioned that I liked the layout and design of the slovenia.info website, and they seemed quite happy to hear it. So, There you go, if you are reading this on a different website and would like to learn about Slovenia tourism, www.Slovenia.info is the place to go. Hotels,maps, events, etc. are all there, plus the site does look quite nice anyhow.
All I've got to do is make it back to Ljubljana on the 17th to pick up my stuff. I will do this en route to Venice. I think things will work out well. I am getting more and more excited to get into my action-packed, super-best-of-Slovenia tour. It was suggested that I add a day on the Slovenia coast before Jocelyn and we start in Postonja. I think this is a good idea as well, plus it is on the way back from Venice. Expect to be updates by me every so often. You'll be able too track where I'm at and what trouble I am getting myself into."
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