Ljubljana (Eric)

I thought Zagreb was amazing, but this city is like Zagreb with a zen-like make-over. It is a peaceful collection of fascinating food places, restaurants, and interesting stores -- I know, I know... there really is no such thing in my mind most of the time, but they sell stuff that is not the normal tourist crap that is sold in many of the places we have visited over the years.

We spent the morning walking around the city and taking pictures (we will try to post some later) of the interesting architecture, beautiful river, and mountains that surround Ljubljana. We also got a bird's eye view of the city as we ventured up to Castle Ljubljana -- quite an interesting mix of old and new world. They have taken a medieval castle and turned it into a combination museum and cultural center, but it is also used for an events location, including weddings and concerts. The views from the highest spire are simply breathtaking, and even Jenny despite her fear of heights was able to enjoy herself. We ate lunch in the castle courtyard, and I was expecting the terrible food you would normally find in a tourist site like this, but this food was actually good by any standards. Jenny and I decided to walk down instead of taking the tram ride we took up because the weather has been delightful here. I am happy to report no one broke any bones.

Well, I am typing this in a youth hostel while doing laundry, and several other people are chomping at the bit to get this computer so that is all for now. Take care everyone.

sLOVEnia!

Wow - as much as we loved Zagreb, and were in awe of Dubrovnik, we really, really, love Slovenia!  Currently, we are in the capital city, Ljubljana, and it is just amazing.  The town center is a bit more concentrated than Zagreb, so the pedestrain zone is lined with interesting architecture and tons of cafes.  The cafes along this area serve a variety of cuisines, so we were able to enjoy an ice tea at a Japanese tea house.  There is even a sushi bar, which we think we will try for dinner.  In Croatia, it was challenging, although possible, to find a restaurant that didn't have the same menu of pizza, spaghetti, or fried fish.  Here, as in Croatia, most people speak English, so we haven't had much trouble communicating.  Rigth now, we are doing laundry, so we have some time to blog.
Yesterday was what I affectionately (sarcasm) refer to as an "Amazing Race" day.  We traveled 11 hours to get from Dubrovnik (flight to Zagreb, then train) to Ljubljana, schlepping luggage up and down stairs in the hot, hot sun.  There were some adventures with various buses, and always up hill walks to get to where we needed to get in the heatwave ("It's NEVER this hot in June!")  We pack as light as possible, fitting everything into large backpacks, but I still curse every ounce when we're in the middle of one of these days.  (Did I really need that extra pair of socks?) :)
At the train station, we met a lovely Croatian lady, 27 years old, who spoke perfect English.  We had a great conversation with her, and it reminded me of what I love most about traveling, meeting other people and hearing their stories.  On the train, we met a yound man from Russia and enjoyed talking with him as well.
When we arrived last night, it was after 9pm and we were exhausted, so we checked into our hotel, walked to a corner stand that sells kebop (similar to a gyro but made with a bread that resembles thin panini-type bread and different sauces) and then crashed out.  We enjoyed a leisurely morning, and then set off to explore Ljubljana.  We spent the majority of the day at the castle, which I think Eric is writing about right now.  We loved it - the views were amazing.  I forgot to mention the Ljub is surrounded by very large mountains, some still covered with snow.  Some of these are part of the Julian Alps.   We also had lunch at the castle, and tried local Slovinian cuisine.  I had an interesting vegetable soup, which was made with lots of different types of mushrooms and had a very earthy, yet sweet flavor.  Eric had some chicken and potatoes which were delicious.  We walked down from the castle through a pretty forest and ended up at the tea house.  And that's been our day!  Hope you are all doing great!

Croatia Pictures

The Magic of Friendship

One of our greatest joys in life is the relationships we have with family and friends. When we had the opportunity to meet up with two dear friends, Melissa and Alex, in England, we jumped at the chance.  Alex is from England, and to be able to see the area he grew up in through his eyes was simply amazing.  We had the best time with them!  As Eric says, we got to meet old friends in a new place.  What we didn't expect was to make new friends on this adventure.  Chris and Rebecca, Alex's friends, graciously invited us to stay in their home in London.  They are a lot of fun and we enjoyed relaxing in their beautiful garden.  Eric took the picture of the foxes while peering into their neighbor's backyard.  To put it nicely, the neighbor's yard is overgrown, and a family of foxes has moved in.  These are two of the cubs that are romping around that yard.  We want to give a great big thank you to Melissa and Alex for our incredible time in Quernmore, and to Chris and Rebecca for opening up their home to us and befriending us along the way.  We will hold onto memories of watching YouTube videos of fell racing and cheese chasing with fondness.  Looking forward to another time in the future when the six of us can hang out together again.. perhaps in New Zealand??? :)

Losing Track of Time in Dubrovnik

This is Jenny, trying to blog from my phone on a spotty wi-fi connection. We actually spent some time uploading pictures on a computer, but then couldn't connect to the Internet! Sorry, no pictures for now. :( Dubrovnik is breath-taking, fun, relaxing. We are staying on a little bay called Lapad and it is beautiful! The water is crystal clear. There are fish that swim up to us, but dart away when we try to touch them. We spend our days on the beach, using the calm sea to keep cool in the heat. Dubrovnik is very hot right now, but it's pleasant in the shade. In the evenings, we go for walks along the coast and then take a bus into Old Town. I cannot put into words how awe-struck I am by Old Town. In some ways it reminds me of El Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico, except the entire town is inside walls. These walls were actually indestructible during the war in the 90's. The town itself sustained a lot of damage, but not the walls. Last night, we joined the locals in cheering Croatia on in the Eurocup. Sadly, Croatia lost, but it was fun to share this experience with the locals. Our experience has been that the Croatians are very friendly, they are proud if their heritage and their history, and they stand by their football team. A few if the locals that we've spoken with have been surprised that we are Americans, because they don't get a lot of American tourists. In fact, in Zagreb, we were asked if we were in Croatia for work. But so far, we've loved it here and would come again! This morning, we took a kayak tour around the walls of Old Town, around an island and to a large cave, where we swam in the beautiful water. It was a lot of fun and a different way to view the area. We hope to post those pictures one of these days. Hope everyone is doing well!

Dubrovnik (Eric)

This is from my phone, so it is going to be brief. There are places in this world that Jenny and I have been where we talk about being able to bottle the feeling of serenity we get from spending time there and save it for those stressful moments during the school year. If I could bottle the feeling from this amazing place, it would be more addictive than any drug. Words do not do this coastal town justice. We will try to post pictures at some point, but I invite you to do a google search of the name Dubrovnik and see before then. I am going to post this for now. Take care everyone.