Last day in the land of Slovenia

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

Last day in the land of Slovenia. It's been hectic at times, but that's always part of the fun. I've made lots of friends who I hopefully will stay in contact with. I always have the best intentions with my collections of email addresses, but nothing ever seems to pan out. Perhaps I'm a bad person. I say my goodbyes to my gracious hosts before having a little nap before my 2:30am train. I cut it pretty close and have to do a little bit of running to augment my otherwise not-fast-enough stroll to the station. I can see it at the platform when I get there and run down the tunnel to catch it in time. Phew. I don't know how I would have gotten out of that mess if I missed the train. Maybe some more hitchhiking. Then it dawns on me that maybe I shouldn't have been so excited to make this train. I don't really want to leave, plus the seats are crammed with an assortment of bodies and luggage. Sigh.... I wedge myself in and curl up as best I can. Arriving in Venice now feels a bit routine. I get off at Mestre, take the bus to the airport and wait. I'm tired. The plane is late. There is extra security because I am flying through the USA. The flight is fine, I like flying. The cabin is not full, so there is some room to stretch out. I always specify a vegetarian meal when I can. I like when they bring my 'special' meal because it makes me feel 'special'. Now that we're back across the Atlantic, I suppose this is the end of the journey and the end of the blog. There is the usual long wait times to be processed through US immigration even though I will be spending all of 20 minutes in the country. This is just how it work. Next time I'll splurge on the direct flight to avoid this silliness. Now that I'm back on home turf, I feel like I can relax. However, there are other matters to attend to back in the real world. Back on the hunt for a real job. Finding a new place to live. Arg, I wish I could just be a nomad. But I have made it back in one piece. I'm sure my family and friends will be excited to see me. I owe so much to the land of Slovenia for all of the adventure it has shown me. I sincerely appreciate all of the help I have had along the way in making this trip happen.

It's raining in Laibach

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

Ok, so the weather decided to rear it's ugly head and cancel my intended trip to Croatia. Fine. It was not on my list of things to do anyway. But the rain is a downer no matter where you are, and has rendered today unusable. Board games and Chinese food are the order of the day. It's a shame to be wasting my remaining days in Slovenia like this, but the weather is outside of my control. I do not want to walk around in the rain.

Last night was the final night of Trnfest, and to be honest, I was dissappointed. The main attraction, Laibach is maybe the most well-known Slovenian band outside of Slovenia. Their name is even the German name for Ljubljana. Cool name, super lame band. I was anticipating some mosh pit freaking out and dancing, but.. no luck. The best song was played during the credits after the set. What kind of band plays credits after their show? This band really takes themselves too seriously.

Oh well.

The rest of the evening was really fun though. Ample friendly people to hang out with and more than enough music to dance around to. There was an Alice in Chains cover band playing, which I found to be an odd choice for the closing night, but they were great. I'm not even a huge Alice in Chains fan, but these guys rocked it.

I met a girl by the name of Iva who I met the following morning after not having the most restful of sleeps. I hope I was coherent and didn't look like death, but I guess that will up to the readers of Delo to decide. I'm not sure when the interview will be printed, if at all.

I am beat. Luckily I have generous friends who own a comfortable couch. It's raining some more again today.

Small country sarcasm

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"I got super rained on yesterday. Bleh, it had to happen sometime. I left my friend's place to go to Trnfest and got caught in the thick of it. But it's my own fault. The sky was giving enough warning signs. Tonight's events take place inside, so are unaffected. There are still lots of people. The next night is a Canadian punk band, so fingers crossed for no rain again.

I think my friends may be going to Croatia this weekend. I have avoided car travel as much as possible, but it is hard to turn down a free ride. It will also complete the set for visiting all of Slovenia's immediate neighbors. That seems like something the tourism office would be ok with. I am interested to hear what they have to say about my exploits over the past few weeks.

I love the 'small country sarcasm' that is built into the people here. They think it's great and also funny that I have been here for so long. They say I could see Slovenia in a day if I tried. I always get a chuckle out of them as they list off things I should see and I keep saying that I've already been there.

Everybody waits for the little walk/don't walk signal at traffic lights, even if the street is empty. It's cute. Little things like that make me smile.

I met some nice people who let me sleep at their place last night. It's the real Adam way to purposely not book a bed as to push fate in the direction I want. I don't need much, and can rely on the kindness of strangers. I'm probably supposed to be spending more money, right? What's the point of tourism if the tourists don't buy anything. Sorry, Slovenia, you already got all of my money, I've got bills to pay back on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, too.

I have so many emails exchanged back and forth with Slovenian people I have met so far. And not just a 'hello, nice to meet you, bye' kinda thing. Genuine interest in my trip and helpful suggestions on what to see. And people inviting me to stay at their place when I just met them. It's amazing how friendly these people are. I don't know what makes them that way. I think it goes back to the small country thing I was talking about before. A kind of built-in modesty, Canada is like this as well. I think we are not so different. But this is the kind of thing that I wanted to see and document more than the physical sights. The people are the important part to me."

Nights in Ljubljana Old Town

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"It's nice to have a relaxing sleep and a good breakfast. I purposely make things hard on myself when I travel, I usually need a vacation from my vacation when I get back to home base. I saw my friend Dejan and his girlfriend today in Medvode outside the city. He seems to get what I'm going for. Travel does not have to involve built up areas and continental breakfasts. The new generation doesn't always want that. Oh well, form your own opinion on this.

I was in Kranj today. It reminds me of when you go to a website and it says 'sorry, this page is under construction, please check back soon!' Too bad, maybe next year. The tourism office was closed, and the rain was about to come crashing down. I did a couple of circuits around the empty old town and then hopped on the train back to the center of the Slovenia universe, Ljubljana.

There is a hustle and bustle downtown. Stages are being set up all around and I can smell meat being bbq'd. I buy a beer from a stand and sit in one of my 'free Internet spots' by the river. I wish the camera on this thing could capture nighttime shots, but it's hopeless. Anyway, this is part of a 'Nights in Ljubljana Old Town' festival, now 22 years running. I think I picked the right month to come here. There is something going on every day if you are up for it. I take in some free music and drink another 2€ beer. It's pleasant, but I could use a companion. I have friends here, but nobody is around tonight. I walk home to where I'm staying to rest up for a trip to Croatia tomorrow morning. Why not, free ride.

I feel like I'll be missing out on something here in Ljubljana, but i'll be back for the final day of Trnfest on Sunday. I've even got people to go with."

Chemical engineering graduates wanted?

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"That was quite a good time. I read back a bit of this stuff to myself and enjoyed it all over again. Even the frustrating parts were fun, or at least interesting. That's where the 'real' travel happens. I'm glad I was asked to keep track of this trip in writing, I would never have thought to do it on my own. Since the train wasn't until 2:28, Jocelyn and I called up our friend from the bar and she told us to come to Trnfest. I hadn't actually been yet, and we missed whatever was happening that night, but the place was still packed with people, and there is an impressive looking stage set up. I can't wait to see what it's like tonight. Also, just as we get there, our friend is out front waiting for a cab, she apologizes and asks me to call her tomorrow so she can make up for it. Fine with me.

I'm going to take it easy today now that I don't have to deal with the self-imposed stress of travelling with someone else. Maybe I'm just a born loser.

And really, all of my objectives have been accomplished. I think I have seen more of Slovenia than any other tourist here. Maybe even more than some Slovenians. It is a good feeling, and this is a fun place (people still can't believe that I'm spending a month here). Ljubljana will be my home for the next few days. Maybe I'll just try to find a job here to avoid the 10 hour flight home. Is this country in need of chemical engineering graduates?"

Gaining perspective

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt Challenge (more pictures and comments)

"At home Jocelyn always gives me a hard time about tipping, so it's nice to show her that the whole world doesn't operate that way. I get a little sense of redemption when I show her by trying to tip a waitress, only to have her run over to us to say I gave her 20 extra cents by accident. Sweet.

This guesthouse family is super nice (I suppose it is their job), but we feel welcome. This day is the most relaxing so far. Sleep in. Walking to Otočec castle is pleasant through the forest. It is a hotel now, but it still is nice to look at. I keep poking Jocelyn to give hitchiking a try, but she is discouraged from the start, so we just walk to the nearest town. Even here people speak perfect English. I am pretty impressed. I prefer a little language struggle in my travelling, makes it seem a little more authentic. But man, is it ever easy to get around here. We eat maybe the best pizza I have ever had, and chase it down with a bottle of Cviček.

On the walk back, I try to prove that hitching a ride is not impossible. An old man stops and picks us up. Told you so, Jocelyn. But for all the glory of proving myself right, we end up driving way past where we were supposed to go. Oops. But we are on free time now and there's a sign for a bar in view. We go in, I order in Slovenian. Eventually I run out of words, but of course she speaks English and has just been humouring me. Nice that I gave it a try anyway, I think people appreciate it. We aren't far from where we have to go. Saunter back to the guesthouse pick up our bags. Jocelyn is now more inclined to give the thumb a try even though out last ride didn't work so well. We get a ride into Novo Mesto no problem and make the train to Ljubljana. I'm excited to show off the city, I've been back here enough times now to have my bearings. We check into a crappy hostel to give Jocelyn a different flavour of travel. No hot water, hassle about staying past check out. The place sucks, but you've gotta stay at the poor places too if you're gonna have any perspective.

We wander around, grab some food, drink some pivo. Meet a cool waitress who seems to be moonlighting as a tour guide and turns us on to some cool things going on in the next few days and invites me along with her. Exchange numbers. I give her a sticker for my band. I brought a stack of them to carpetbomb the country with. All this Slovenian travel is going to provide fuel for some new songs. Check it out at www.myspace.com/reykjavictim and see what I come up with. Some of these town names are pretty musical.

So I guess I have some things on my plate for the next days. We go get some more beer in Metelkova with my friend Ema when she gets off work. She's a cool cat, I'm glad she's on my team. Provides a little insider information about this place.

We drink until 4am. It's hard for us to wrap our brains around being able to buy beer from a bar, and then just walk away with it. Silly Canada doesn't quite have it's act together in this department.

Next day we go to the Challenge Future office for a little interview with the prize winner. I think I give them what they need. We take photos and get some t-shirts. The place is a pain to get to. We don't have a transit card (and don't want to buy one) but the bus driver just groans and lets us on anyway. Free ride. It goes in the right direction, but we still have to walk a bit. It's nice to have this goal for the day, makes me feel important.

Back to the city center for free again. Walk up to the castle, wander around the river. It's really a nice city. I give Jocelyn all the that I have, afterall, I am an expert on Slovenia now.

Back to hostel Celica to rest out legs. This is my home base. I like to think that I'm getting special treatment by using the Internet and storing our bags in the luggage room, as if I have wooed the reception girls with my endless charm. But in reality they are probably this nice to everyone; that or they just can't remember if I'm actually a guest tonight or not.

This is the last night for Jocelyn. I think I put together a good trip for her (us). I had a good time. She'll catch the night train to Venice and then get on a plane tomorrow.

And then there was one."

Delays in green travel

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"Where we last left off, everything was going according to plan. Cancel that. Next is a slippery slope of delays and missed deadlines. However, this is a little more my usual pace. See what happens when I try to plan ahead? The train to Divača is 20 minutes late, not a problem in itself, but the 'walking trail' to the Skočjan caves is.... loosely marked and the signs perpetually say 15 min away. Prepare to walk 45min if you go. A tad frustrating, but the walk is actually nice, and if we had no agenda, would be relaxing. So we don't get there in time for the 1pm tour and have to wait for the 2pm one. Our train from Divača station is at 4:16, and the tour lasts 1.5 hours, ok, still doable. The tour is great. The caves are amazing. If you have to choose between Postojna and here, choose here. It's a litle more rugged, but way grander. Make note of the former stairs and tour route carved into the cave walls, it makes you feel like a baby in comparison. Really great, UNESCO agrees. I'm not even really a cave guy. As with the Postojna caves, my iPhone pictures are... useless; no point in even trying capture it.

So we get out, the tour has taken almost 2 hours, try to run back the top, I'm quicker than Jocelyn and getting there realize we're not going to make the train at this rate. I run ahead and order a cab. When I go back to get her, she is gone. Bathroom maybe? No, restaurant? No. So I've already lost my friend. I can only assume she took the path to the train station and abandon the cab and resign myself to the surely fruitless trek to the station.

There she is. We miss the train. There are no more to Nova Gorica in time to catch the one to Bled. Ok, find a bus. I try to persuade Jocelyn to hitchhike, but it's a no-go. The bus arrives in Nova Gorica early, but sadly not at the train station.

We go as fast as possible but miss the last train to Bled. This is only 7:30pm right now, mind you. But the trains are all done and there are no busses and we are stranded. Oh Slovenia, why must you shut down so early on a Friday? Some friendly people at the station have a laugh with us about our situation, and recommend that we sleep at the train station and take the train the next morning. Done. It would't be the first time. So, a night to kill, and an uncomfortable place to sleep, if there ever was a time to get drunk, this is it. There is a lot of stuff going on despite how small the town is. We watch a free outdoor concert. I forget the name of the band, but they were good enough for us. Slovenia seems to be full of things like this at this time of year. We make enough friends and drink enough beers to make the night a success, eat a drunken Kebab (as far as I can tell, the most popular food in the country), buy cigarettes at the ridiculous casino full of italians and pass out at the train station. We were hoping to see the wonderful scenery on the way to Bled, it was part of the plan by taking the train. We just both curled up and slept the entire way, woke up luckily in time, and with tired eyes saw beautiful lake bled at 7am from the train station.

It's a nice walk to the town, but we are so tired. We also have a day of biking planned. The hotel is the best one that I've never stayed at. The staff takes pity on us and we have a laugh. It's really not so bad, we've all slept in worse places than a train station. There are bikes waiting for us, and a breakfast in the table which we were kindly invited to. I ask if we can wait for someone to check out so that we can use a room for a little while to get showered up and start the day off right. Riding a good bike makes such a difference. After a nap and a red bull, and with a bag full of fruit and drinks, we explore the region. I think I had been a little optimistic in my plan to bike to lake Bohinj. It is certainly doable, but we are feeling like trash today. It's all mountains. Biking is hard, we are out of shape. We do our best. It's still a nice place to see. There is a reason why it is such a popular tourist town. Look up photos, or better yet, just go for yourself.

We decide to take more care in getting to the hotel on time tonight. It's easy, stop in Ljubljana for 35 minutes gives Jocelyn a taste of the city. The only real taste we get it of the Chinese restaurant near the station. I order our food in Mandarin and blow the staff away. I don't know how many Chinese speaking white guys they get in there normally; I assume zero based on their reaction. I love it, I think I'll be moving to China soon. Taxi from Novo Mesto, and we get to the Vovko guesthouse. Finally a place to rest."

Postojnska jama

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt Challenge (more pictures and comments)

"Waiting at the Postojna train station fresh from the caves. We made a point to get up early and beat the crowd, a good call because on our way out the lines looked ridiculous. The Postojna cave system is set up for a quick get-in-get-out visit, which is exactly what we were after. There us still a lot of walking to do once we get to stop number two on this cave-related leg of the trip. The little cave train makes the tour so easy, albiet a little gimmicky and hurried. We get off and there are signs corresponding to which language your tour guide will be. Very organized, little confusion, an all-business tour-lady who has I'm sure said the same thing 1000 times. I like it. I never even knew about these 'curtain' stalactites, ribbons of twisted-looking formations that, yes, look like curtains. And here I was thinking I was smart knowing the difference between stalactite and stalagmite. It's not unbearably cold. I'm still in shorts and sandals, but of course, for me the only other option is pantless and barefoot. It is not a problem and the floor, although wet, is not the least bit slippery. We see the tank of 'human fish' salamanders, I want one. Fun fact, bats don't live here because the temperature is too cold, they need about 15 degrees to be happy. We should have left our backpacks at the hotel, because we walked right by it on the way to the train station. But honestly the cave tour is more a relaxing pace than I normally walk so it is not a problem at all. We snagged some fruit and hardboiled eggs from the breakfast at Hotel Sport (where we had a discounted stay, the 'media rate'... ooh la la) for our lunch in the Skocjan caves park. We are right on time. Train to Divača."

Jocelyn is here!

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt Challenge (more pictures and comments)

"Just look at me now. Laying in a hotel room in Piran, on the Slovenian coast. The trip to Venice went as well as can be expected. The train ride was bearable, but it didn't leave me with many sleep hours banked. The party is now two of us. Jocelyn made it across the Atlantic. Originally, my good friend Isaac was going to join me, but he had to work... Blah blah blah. Funny thing is, because he couldn't go, I am now taking his girlfriend instead. But don't worry, I'm not in danger of ruining any friendships here. Went to San Marco, pushed through the crowds at the Rialto bridge, photo op, photo op, bought a train station slice of pizza (if only so Jocelyn could say she had a real pizza from Italy) and then got ourselves out of there. It took us a while to get to Piran, the sun was barely in the sky but we found a place to stay (too nice). I have almost a moral aversion to nice hotels. All you do is sleep there! What else do you need but a bed. But with two people, it makes it almost the same price as a hostel so whatever, here we are. I realize i haven't even seen a television in a few weeks.

I received an email from Challenge Future earlier with an invite to have coffee in Bled. It makes me feel like a bit of a celebrity, from now on I will tell people that my band is famous in Slovenia. Speaking of Challenge Future, I don't think I have mentioned them yet, but they are really the reason I am here. If you didn't arrive at this blog from their site, you should visit (http://www.challengefuture.org/) I believe they are starting up a new season of competitions, hopefully another Stormit one so I can win another trip back here. You can see my proposal on the site if you want to see what I have planned. The only clean shirt I have is the one I got from the office in Ljubljana the other day (wearing it now, so the cleanliness is debatable). I will have to make time to go on and thank them properly when I am back in the capital. By that time I hope I have at least done some laundry, otherwise I'll be asking for a week's supply of C:F t-shirts.

I am now soaking up some sun and free Internet outside of the Cafe Teater in Piran. There is a good view of the water and the seawall. It is nice here, another town recommended to me by Slovenian people. The only thing on today's agenda is swimming, sunbathing and eventually making it to Koper and catching a train to Postojna. Caves tomorrow. I'm getting excited just looking at my bundle of travel vouchers and train tickets. Prepare yourself for the prize-winning adventure. I doubt I even scheduled enough time to sleep, let alone write a blog. Čao!"

White lie

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt Challenge (more pictures and comments)

"The hostel Celica is my home base even though I've only actually slept here one night. It is relaxed and nobody is bothering me to buy something. I write to you now from a hammock in the courtyard, with my belongings stashed away in the luggage room. It's not really my thing, but this hostel really does it's best to get people to mingle with each other. I grow tired pretty quickly from the ensuing 'who has been to more places' conversation. Besides, I'm here to meet Slovenians, if I wanted to meet Irish people, I know where there's a whole island full of them. Nevertheless, it's not the most fun being a loser. Plus I have instant street cred by pretending I'm an actual travel writer, the most coveted job in hostel land. It's a white lie.

Still in a hangover haze from drinking too many beers and smoking too many cigarettes with the kids in Metelkova. I can't bring myself to take pictures of the place, people live here. But I certainly recommend it. It's nice to escape the meat-market of clubs and bars and let the freak flag fly. It's liberating. Makes me feel young. Also, seems the right venue to pick up drugs if beer isn't enough for you.

The whirlwind best of Slovenia tour begins soon. It's going to be a change for me. Tickets and vouchers, everything booked and paid for. I've really gotta hand it to the tourism guys for setting this all up. Is this how most people travel? It could either be incredibly relaxing or incredibly constricting. We shall see! Really, Jocelyn is the big winner here. Pop in for a week guided Slovenia tour, lucky gal.

The train leaves for Venice at 2:28am. Pretty hard to call it an overnight train, but at least I don't have to find anywhere to stay tonight. I'm dreading going back there. Get in get out, take a photo with Jocelyn. Not buy a single overpriced pizza.

This city Ljubljana, however, is great. Luckily all the Slovenian trains come through here, so I'll be back for sure. Hell, I still have 2 more weeks in this country.

This hammock has worked it's magic, so long hangover."

Open theatre

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"Ah, now we're talking. I know that there's lots of tourists in Ljubljana right now, but who cares, it's worth it. I walked over to this Metelkova street which i've heard so much about and find the hostel Celica. It's pretty booked up, and I don't want to spend 26 euro on a more premium bed so I have a drink at the bar instead. I recently learned that tipping is appropriate here in Slovenia (oops), but only on the order of rounding your bill up to the next euro, and only then if you want to. I tip the bartender the 0.3€ from my change, and she offers to let me stay at her place tonight. Who knows what I would get for a full euro.

There is a festival happening in Ljubljana right now, and part of it involves showing movies outside in the courtyard of the castle. It was 'The Hurt Locker' and it's pretty cool to be able to smoke and have a beer while at a 'theatre'. On the way back down to the city, I forgot that there are no lights on the pathway, so I just have to rely on gravity to get me back."

Stop in Celje

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"So it's raining in Slovenia, at least in this part of it and I'm partially annoyed partially concerned about wandering around and getting soaked. But after leaving the Ptuj city center (not exactly my kind of music at this festival thing) I meet a helpful woman on her way to ljubljana, the trains are different on the weekends, so we are both at a loss as to how we are getting to our respective places, but at least we're both going in the same direction. She is cool. And once again, my list of things to see and do is expanding. I decide to risk the rain and get off in Celje anyway. As I get off, the clouds part and away I go to where I believe the hostel is. This MCC hostel is maybe the cleanest nicest hostel I've seen. It's new as of June, so that might explain things, and there is even a band on a Slovenian tour playing on the ground floor. I don't know how much government support this place received, but it is certainly a winner in my book. There's even free bike rental.

The next morning is nice out, and after a coffee and checking out I ride up to the lake. It's a short ride, and the bike paths all look brand new. According to my Slovene friends, Celje is where the rich people live.... I guess rich people like bicycle lanes too.

And now I'm the only person here. And I'm talking to the girl at the cafe, who is filling me in on all the interstibg Slovenia stuff from the recent years.

On the train now.

Nearby is the town of Laško, where as far as I can tell, all of the beer in Slovenia is made. I should have stopped, but I wanted to get to Ljubljana again to satisfy my 'city' side. Maybe later."

The oldest Slovenian town

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"After hanging out with my young Slovenian tour guides in Murska Sobota, I have some new plans. Apparently there is a really cool venue in Ljubljana to see some of the many live bands, I forget what it is called, but if I look it up I'm sure I will recognize the name. Also, the tourism people told me about a hostel called Celica, which is a converted prison. It is sort of an artist enclave, so I definitely have to make time to stay there for a night. My friends knew about this place as well, so that is a good sign. One of the kids, Rok, was wearing a tshirt from 'Metal Camp', a Slovenia metal and rock music festival held every year. It is in June, so I missed it this year, but apparently it is huge and you can bring a tent to camp there. I saw the list of bands on the back of his shirt, and there was no shortage of awesome artists. So maybe next year I will have to come back.

On my list of things to do for this trip, I have added the town of Piran. This is on the coast, and will be the first stop for Jocelyn and I before we start the meat of our adventure. It will be a relaxing place for her to overcome the jet lag.

As for right now, I am sitting at the edge of the river Drava in Ptuj. This is a pretty little town with a nice old downtown (apparently the oldest in Slovenia). The Ptuj castle overlooks the city and the river, inside is a museum (only 2.5 euro for student admission). There is lots of furniture and old tapestries, and a pretty interesting section on tracking the lineage of the castle's residents. My hotel is across the pedestrian bridge (if you know me, then you know I love pedestrian anything). The hostel I orginally found online was booked solid, full of Italians and polish people... Something to do with holidays in those countries.

It was more lively than I expected at night time, with bars all full of people and music filling the streets. And this morning there was tents and tables being set up for... Fisherman's festival? I don't know what it is about, but the tents all say 'Laško', so how bad could it be? Haha. It starts at 3pm, so I will make sure too check it out. It will be hard to avoid anyway.

We'll see what happens. I have no place to stay tonight, and I think all the hotels are full. If this festival is good, I might just stay anyway. I can always sleep under a tree, or maybe some nice person will take me home. Or maybe I will hop on the train to the next town down the tracks. It rained last night, so I think the sky will be all out of water. This always makes things that much more managable."

More Slovenian neighbours

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"Alright, and so concludes my quick jaunt out of the country to see the neighbors of Slovenia. I wish I had longer to spend, but I've got to get a handle on the Slovene life before Jocelyn gets here so I can pretend I'm her local tour guide.

Vienna was nice, and in the day I spent walking around, I think I saw the right buildings and absorbed a little bit of the scene. The train ride in was simple enough even though the south train station is currently demolished and we arrived at an alternate one. A short trip on the S-bahn and the U-bahn and I was at the hostel. I alwayd like to comment on a city's metro system and contrast it with toronto's. In this case, with posted arrival times for trains, simple ticket machines, even the older Vienna system is miles ahead of poor Toronto. Also, the honour system ticket purchasing is a nice touch if you decide to spend your last euro on a beer instead of your ride hone.

Next on the rapid tour is Bratislava, Slovakia. Just a 7.70 euro and 1.5 hour bus ride away. It seemed cool, but I had to get out of there asap because I had just found out about a festival in Budapest and wanted to make it there for the first day. Other than the staff at the hostel (who were nice, mind you) my only interaction with a slovakian person went like this
shop lady: 'djshhso fiscsiahf skxudkakd skifbsjuffb *pause* chicken sandwich?'
Me: 'uhhh, sure, ok I'll take it'

Bus ride to Budapest is only a 2.5 hours away. And this was certainly the highlight of the trip so far. A walk from the hostel to the HÉV station, and 1200 forints later, I am at the Sziget festival. Apparetly one of the biggest in Europe. I would say it's the European equivalent of lollapalooza. It is on a island in the Danube outside of the city, and it a 5 day super fest with camping and music all day long. There weren't even any acts that I was dying to see, but it was still a great time. Dj Shadow, Peaches, The Hives, Bad Religion. And a smattering of Hungarian bands. All good fun. I befriended some drunk teenagers (or, they befriended me) they seemed to love my 'canadianness' and the rest of the night was full of inferjections whenever someone needed to show another Canadian fact that they know, and the constant reminder 'we are not gypsies, don't worry.' cool kids all 'round, but they'd didn't seem to be doing too well in the female department. Oh well. I took out way to many forints at the ATM because I didn't know the exchange rate, so I was being a high roller. Buying these kids beers (which they thought was amazing, and asserted again that they were not gypsies). They showed me a well-known Hungarian punk band (I forget/can't pronounce the name), which rounded out the night nicely.

It was late getting back, and I still have all these forints. Weak.

By now I've taken all the main routes which people enter Slovenia from the EU. It's more connected than I first thought. It was nice to see the Slovenia railway symbol on the train waiting at Deli station in Budapest. It also turned out to be cheaper to buy a return ticket to Slovenia than a one-way, so I now should find someone to give this free ticket to.  I chose Murska Sobota because i would arrive here with the sun still a little in the sky, but also because I have it underlined on my tourist map from the STB people. I am staying at the hostel shown on the STB website, and I am really the only tourist. I meet a guy, Leon, who has just started in the Slovenia army and is renting a room here at the so he can attend training during the week. He is from here originally, and so I go out with him and his friends. They tell me that there is a meteor shower tonight, we go to the park and chat, drink Strongbow, smoke cigarettes, and catch the occasional shooting star. Eventually we go for a walk so they can show me some landmarks as well as the regular nightime cast of characters of Murska Sobota. In a town of 16000, it is not diffcult to know who the regulars are.

There was supposed to be breakfast downstairs, but I think I stayed up too late and slept in past the time. My own fault. So I promised I would update more frequently... there is no Internet here, so it will have to wait. I think it is time for a walk to see things in the daytime light."

Discovering Vienna

Adam McRae, the winner of StormIt challenge (more pictures and comments)

"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."