I've spent the last few days here in Ljubljana, Slovenia at an AirBnB apartment and I couldn't be happier as to my host Vesna and the apartment's location. The apartment is located about a 10 minute walk from the bus/train station, a 5 minute walk to the coffee bars and restaurants and a 25 minute walk to downtown Ljubljana..
Vesna is wonderful. She was a flight attendant for many years with Adria Airlines (the national airline of Slovenia), and since retiring, now teaches Croatian. She was originally from Croatia but has lived in Slovenia for 40 years. She is very kind and ensures that I am fed well mostly with ingredients taken straight from her garden (even though feeding me was not part of the AirBNB agreement :). It's been fun to spend time learning about the history of this area and talking with someone who has a different political perspective with regards to events in Crimea and other global hot-spots.
Ljubljana is wonderful city, reminding me of Copenhagen (without the bicycles). A river flows through the center of town and there are many restaurants and bars on both sides. On my first evening here I walked up to the castle, which is on a hill overlooking the city, and enjoyed the wonderful views. You can walk in and around the castle for free which is unlike many castles I've visited. The only negative of the evening was my curry chicken meal at an Indian restaurant - it was truly horrible (even the beer!). The chicken was thigh meat rather than breast meat (and probably other parts - it was hard to tell), the sauce was thin and lacking of flavor, and the rice was poorly cooked. It was nasty. I know I am probably spoiled after eating at the wonderful Indian restaurants in the UK, but even my meals at the Indian restaurants in my prairie hometown of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada were 100 times better.
The first night I arrived in Ljubljana was the night of the final game for the European basketball championship with the teams being Slovenia and Serbia. As I walking home from my nasty meal, the bars were packed as the game was just starting. There was also a large TV screen in the center square with a corresponding large crowd watching the game. It was a bit of a surreal setting with the game on the big screen and the castle lit up on the hill behind it. I did not stay in the square to watch the game, but did watch it on the TV at the apartment. It was a great game but, man was it rough - those Serbs did not mess around when a Slovine player attempted to drive the lane! After the game, I could hear all the cheers from the bars as well as many, many gunshots. People here definitely love their basketball (and obviously guns)
The next two days were pretty much nothing but a constant downpour of rain. I did venture out the second day (getting soaked), and managed to find a great little pub that had local beer on tap. After 3 different IPA's (including a cask 10%), I hit on more bar on the way home and then called it a night.
Today is a big day. More later.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Zadar Croatia to Ljubljana Slovenia
I am falling way behind on my writing, so the next few posts will be short.
The drive from Zadar to Ljubljana was very nice. The road, the A1, is a fairly new highway, with 2 lanes in each direction. The scenery was wonderful and you also go through a number of tunnels, 2 of which are over 3.5 miles long.
I had a two options for the route: one was all freeway via Zegreb and the other was mostly freeway, but the remaining 45 miles was backgrounds via Nova Mesto. The second route was shorter, both in distance and time, so that was the route I took.
The Nova Mesto route was gorgeous and the town itself was very beautiful. I have no problems going through the border crossing when I entered Slovenia. The line-up was only about 10 cars and there was only about a 15 minute wait to cross. It's interesting that the crossing has two separate border agents only a few feet apart, and you need to hand your passport to each of them. I'm not sure what the purpose of both agents are, but both only briefly looked at my passport and then waved me through with the only difference being that the second one stamped it.
Arriving into Ljubljana was a little stressful as I did not have directions and no phone service so, when in need, find a MacDonald's as I know they always provide free wifi. I managed to find one next to the biggest shopping center in the city and contacted my host. While waiting to hear back from her, I went into the mall and looked around. It was a very nice area.
To make a long story short, I contacted my host who gave me directions to her place which fortunately was only a couple of miles from my current location. I found the place, a very nice apartment, and I'm staying in her son's room. After I settled in, we sat on her balcony drinking beer and discussing politics. More on this later.
The drive from Zadar to Ljubljana was very nice. The road, the A1, is a fairly new highway, with 2 lanes in each direction. The scenery was wonderful and you also go through a number of tunnels, 2 of which are over 3.5 miles long.
I had a two options for the route: one was all freeway via Zegreb and the other was mostly freeway, but the remaining 45 miles was backgrounds via Nova Mesto. The second route was shorter, both in distance and time, so that was the route I took.
The Nova Mesto route was gorgeous and the town itself was very beautiful. I have no problems going through the border crossing when I entered Slovenia. The line-up was only about 10 cars and there was only about a 15 minute wait to cross. It's interesting that the crossing has two separate border agents only a few feet apart, and you need to hand your passport to each of them. I'm not sure what the purpose of both agents are, but both only briefly looked at my passport and then waved me through with the only difference being that the second one stamped it.
Arriving into Ljubljana was a little stressful as I did not have directions and no phone service so, when in need, find a MacDonald's as I know they always provide free wifi. I managed to find one next to the biggest shopping center in the city and contacted my host. While waiting to hear back from her, I went into the mall and looked around. It was a very nice area.
To make a long story short, I contacted my host who gave me directions to her place which fortunately was only a couple of miles from my current location. I found the place, a very nice apartment, and I'm staying in her son's room. After I settled in, we sat on her balcony drinking beer and discussing politics. More on this later.
Day 4 in Zadar - pick up car and prepare for Slovenia
Yesterday was a mixture of good and bad. I will start with the good with that being my achievement of taking the bus to the airport and then successfully returning with my rental car only getting lost and having to ask for directions a single time! When I planned the trip, I decided I did not want/need a rental car for my first few days in Zadar as I arrived late in the evening and I did not want to attempt to drive and also find my way to the apartment in the dark. However, it was significantly cheaper to rent the car from the airport so I decided to take the bus to the airport on my final day here in Zadar.
The 25 minute walk to the bus station actually went rather smoothly other than me missing one turn and having to ask for directions. Fortunately almost everyone here in Croatia speaks at least a little English so I managed to find a kind (and very attractive) shopkeeper who managed to steer me in the right direction. The process to buy the ticket and find the correct bus also went smoothly as the the ticket seller spoke English and the platform was specifically marked with the word "Airport" listed in 4 languages plus a picture of an airplane. However, unlike the other buses, the Airport bus is a city-line bus and as a result was only at the station for about one minute so if you do take it, you need to be near where it arrives as it does not wait. The bus trip itself took about 15 minutes as there were no stops between the bus station and the airport. I had a bite to eat at the McDonalds near the bus station before my trip, and I was little surprised to see ashtrays on the outdoor tables. I guess it makes sense given the number of people who smoke here, but I found it a little surprising nonetheless.
The car rental process went very smoothly as well as the drive back to the apartment. However, as I was nearing the apartment, I received two calls from a Croatian number, which made me think "Damn -what did I leave at the airport?". When I arrived at the apartment, I called the number and it turned it was Martina (the woman I rented the apartment from) who asked if I had checked out. I explained that I thought I was here one more day and that I was standing outside the apartment. Martina came out and showed me where I was scheduled to leave that day. To make a long story short, I was able to stay one more night. Martina and I chatted for awhile - she is very sweet as are most of the people I've met here.
Lesson learned: when you are booking stays at multiple locations, make sure that your departure date from your prior location overlaps the arrival date at your next location.
After straightening out the accommodation issue, my only other other times venturing out of the apartment was to drive to the Petrol station to pick up a Slovenian Vignette (which is a sticker you need to place on your windshield required by Slovenia to drive on their roads) and then walk down to Old Town to get a cup of coffee. As I mentioned previously, if you order a coffee in Croatia, you get a very small espresso and a glass of water. I asked the bartender the night why this is, and she could not give me an explanation for the water other than "that is just the way it's done". I actually like the water as the espresso is so tiny, sipping the water allows you to enjoy your coffee a little longer. Unfortunately, this time there was no water - I think the waitress knew I was a tourist and thus just expected an espresso. On the 25 minute walk back, I did get caught in a downpour, but fortunately I was close to the apartment so I was able to run back and only slightly soaked.
I did mention that there was bad news. The encountered the bad news occurred when reading my work email later in the evening. It turns out that one of my major clients is losing one of their major clients, which possibly means less work for me from this client. I am very good friends with the owner of this company, so I'm a little bummed at not only the possible loss of work for me, but also what it means for his company and his staff. On the other hand, it does mean I need to get off my ass and really start working hard at building my company. Hopefully this is the kick in the pants that makes it happen.
Today is the drive to Slovenia with a stop at Plitvice Lakes National Park. Hopefully my documents are in order and my Vignette is properly displayed. Off to Slovenia!
The 25 minute walk to the bus station actually went rather smoothly other than me missing one turn and having to ask for directions. Fortunately almost everyone here in Croatia speaks at least a little English so I managed to find a kind (and very attractive) shopkeeper who managed to steer me in the right direction. The process to buy the ticket and find the correct bus also went smoothly as the the ticket seller spoke English and the platform was specifically marked with the word "Airport" listed in 4 languages plus a picture of an airplane. However, unlike the other buses, the Airport bus is a city-line bus and as a result was only at the station for about one minute so if you do take it, you need to be near where it arrives as it does not wait. The bus trip itself took about 15 minutes as there were no stops between the bus station and the airport. I had a bite to eat at the McDonalds near the bus station before my trip, and I was little surprised to see ashtrays on the outdoor tables. I guess it makes sense given the number of people who smoke here, but I found it a little surprising nonetheless.
The car rental process went very smoothly as well as the drive back to the apartment. However, as I was nearing the apartment, I received two calls from a Croatian number, which made me think "Damn -what did I leave at the airport?". When I arrived at the apartment, I called the number and it turned it was Martina (the woman I rented the apartment from) who asked if I had checked out. I explained that I thought I was here one more day and that I was standing outside the apartment. Martina came out and showed me where I was scheduled to leave that day. To make a long story short, I was able to stay one more night. Martina and I chatted for awhile - she is very sweet as are most of the people I've met here.
Lesson learned: when you are booking stays at multiple locations, make sure that your departure date from your prior location overlaps the arrival date at your next location.
After straightening out the accommodation issue, my only other other times venturing out of the apartment was to drive to the Petrol station to pick up a Slovenian Vignette (which is a sticker you need to place on your windshield required by Slovenia to drive on their roads) and then walk down to Old Town to get a cup of coffee. As I mentioned previously, if you order a coffee in Croatia, you get a very small espresso and a glass of water. I asked the bartender the night why this is, and she could not give me an explanation for the water other than "that is just the way it's done". I actually like the water as the espresso is so tiny, sipping the water allows you to enjoy your coffee a little longer. Unfortunately, this time there was no water - I think the waitress knew I was a tourist and thus just expected an espresso. On the 25 minute walk back, I did get caught in a downpour, but fortunately I was close to the apartment so I was able to run back and only slightly soaked.
I did mention that there was bad news. The encountered the bad news occurred when reading my work email later in the evening. It turns out that one of my major clients is losing one of their major clients, which possibly means less work for me from this client. I am very good friends with the owner of this company, so I'm a little bummed at not only the possible loss of work for me, but also what it means for his company and his staff. On the other hand, it does mean I need to get off my ass and really start working hard at building my company. Hopefully this is the kick in the pants that makes it happen.
Today is the drive to Slovenia with a stop at Plitvice Lakes National Park. Hopefully my documents are in order and my Vignette is properly displayed. Off to Slovenia!
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Country #1 - Iceland
I can now cross Iceland off the list of countries I've officially "visited" (see my prior post for my definition of "visited") as I had a couple of pints of Guinness as well as a pint of Gull at the Irish Pub in the town of Keflavik Iceland. Keflavik is a sleepy little fishing village located about 10km from the main airport and about a 30 minute drive to Reykjavik.
My flight from San Francisco to Keflavik was uneventful, but I do now have a better understanding of the term "budget airline" thanks to my WOW Airline flight. The lesson began during the check-in process when there some sort of issue with how to tag the baggage. I did the WOW internet check-in (which I recommend) which theoretically streamlined the check-in process allowing me to use the "internet check-in/baggage drop" rather than having to wait in the full check-in line. However, due to the aforementioned baggage tagging issue, and WOW having more staff servicing the full check-in line than the internet check-in line, both lines moved at the same pace - which was slow.
The flight itself was uneventful but the plane did lack some of the create comforts I've come to expect on long-haul flights such as video monitors on the back each seat, wifi, food and beverage service, etc. And the seats were uncomfortable! Also, if my memory serves me correctly, there was only one beverage/snack run, which I missed, meaning I no water for the 8-hour flight. I know this is a first-world problem, but still it made the unpleasant flight even more so.
Life got a little more stressful once I landed in Keflavik. Customs and immigration was a breeze (especially compared to the US), however my bank card would not work, and I could not reach the hotel for the shuttle on my phone. I spoke with a couple of airport service personelle and their solution was to buy a Icelandic SIM card for my phone. Given the cost of everything in Iceland, and the fact that the last think I wanted to do was to crack open my phone and install a SIM card, I sought out alternatives - one of which was to use the one help call to my wife I've allotted myself. I did manage to reach Stacy but she too was unable to contact the hotel. I did consider spending the night at the airport as it was already 3PM and I flew out at 6AM the new day, but I managed to finally reach the hotel via Expedia's message system and they sent a shuttle. It turns out that I think the phone number issue was due solely to me not adding a plus sign, which they had included in their original message, when I dialed the number. Two lessons learned: 1) add a plus sign when the number you are provided contains a plus sign, and 2) call your bank and let them know your travel plans so they can unblock your card during that time period.
The shuttle drive was super nice and the hotel (Hotel Jazz) was great. It wasn't much on the outside, but it was very modern on the inside, with a music theme. The hotel did give me a call at midnight, via my TV and with my consent, to wake me up to see the Northern lights. It was a neat experience being with a group of hotel guests at midnight, out in the chilly Icelandic air, seeing the lights. I've seen them better in Canada, but it was still a great experience.
Keflavik itself is a sleep little fishing village which I assume will continue to grow due to it's proximity to the airport. I walked the town, including the cliffs near the town, enjoying the few hours I was able to spend there. Unfortunately the town's main attractions were closed (boat building museum and a cave), but I think I managed to see everything else. It's a cute town, but I probably would not spend more than a night there without a car.
I did not sleep well and was tired when a woke up after my 3:30 AM alarm when off. However, the hotel breakfast was great, check-in was smooth (however I still can't figure out how to properly attach those baggage tags), and the flight was short and uneventful.
Off to Scotland!
My flight from San Francisco to Keflavik was uneventful, but I do now have a better understanding of the term "budget airline" thanks to my WOW Airline flight. The lesson began during the check-in process when there some sort of issue with how to tag the baggage. I did the WOW internet check-in (which I recommend) which theoretically streamlined the check-in process allowing me to use the "internet check-in/baggage drop" rather than having to wait in the full check-in line. However, due to the aforementioned baggage tagging issue, and WOW having more staff servicing the full check-in line than the internet check-in line, both lines moved at the same pace - which was slow.
The flight itself was uneventful but the plane did lack some of the create comforts I've come to expect on long-haul flights such as video monitors on the back each seat, wifi, food and beverage service, etc. And the seats were uncomfortable! Also, if my memory serves me correctly, there was only one beverage/snack run, which I missed, meaning I no water for the 8-hour flight. I know this is a first-world problem, but still it made the unpleasant flight even more so.
Life got a little more stressful once I landed in Keflavik. Customs and immigration was a breeze (especially compared to the US), however my bank card would not work, and I could not reach the hotel for the shuttle on my phone. I spoke with a couple of airport service personelle and their solution was to buy a Icelandic SIM card for my phone. Given the cost of everything in Iceland, and the fact that the last think I wanted to do was to crack open my phone and install a SIM card, I sought out alternatives - one of which was to use the one help call to my wife I've allotted myself. I did manage to reach Stacy but she too was unable to contact the hotel. I did consider spending the night at the airport as it was already 3PM and I flew out at 6AM the new day, but I managed to finally reach the hotel via Expedia's message system and they sent a shuttle. It turns out that I think the phone number issue was due solely to me not adding a plus sign, which they had included in their original message, when I dialed the number. Two lessons learned: 1) add a plus sign when the number you are provided contains a plus sign, and 2) call your bank and let them know your travel plans so they can unblock your card during that time period.
The shuttle drive was super nice and the hotel (Hotel Jazz) was great. It wasn't much on the outside, but it was very modern on the inside, with a music theme. The hotel did give me a call at midnight, via my TV and with my consent, to wake me up to see the Northern lights. It was a neat experience being with a group of hotel guests at midnight, out in the chilly Icelandic air, seeing the lights. I've seen them better in Canada, but it was still a great experience.
Keflavik itself is a sleep little fishing village which I assume will continue to grow due to it's proximity to the airport. I walked the town, including the cliffs near the town, enjoying the few hours I was able to spend there. Unfortunately the town's main attractions were closed (boat building museum and a cave), but I think I managed to see everything else. It's a cute town, but I probably would not spend more than a night there without a car.
I did not sleep well and was tired when a woke up after my 3:30 AM alarm when off. However, the hotel breakfast was great, check-in was smooth (however I still can't figure out how to properly attach those baggage tags), and the flight was short and uneventful.
Off to Scotland!
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Croatia Trip
My 6 week working vacation is officially underway! The countries I will be visiting include Iceland, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Hungary (with potentially brief visits to Italy, Bosnia, and Slovakia). Just to clarify, my requirements for "visiting" a country are very simple: 1) an alcoholic beverage of some sort must be consumed in that country (preferably a pint of Guinness) and 2) the beverage must be consumed at a bar outside of an airport. Unfortunately, although my journey home takes me through Oslo, my layover is too short to satisfy requirement #2) so I had to strike Norway off my list.
I'm sure you're asking yourself why this collection of countries and why a 42 day trip? Let me give you some background. To begin with, it all revolves around my step-daughter Claire (as she would happily admit most things usually do) attending her first semester at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Being accepted into a word-class college overseas is something she's worked extremely hard at achieving so my wife Stacy and I were more than happy to travel to Scotland to see her off. Unfortunately I booked my flight a few months after Stacy booked hers so we were unable to travel together with the result being Stacy flying to Edinburgh via Amsterdam and me flying to Edinburgh via Iceland (with a one night layover in Keflavik Iceland). While researching Keflavik, I happened to notice that it had an Irish pub, so trying to make the best out of this depressing situation of travelling without my spouse, I knew I could drown my sorrows in this pub with the sole benefit of being able to cross Iceland off my list of countries I've visited.
After the night in Iceland, I'll be flying to Edinburgh, then taking the train to Dundee where I'll be reunited with Stacy and Claire as well as our good friend John who lives in Newcastle. We will then have a few days together in Dundee/St. Andrews before Claire heads off to school and Stacy and I head down to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the night in Edinburgh will be our last together for 5 weeks as the next day as Stacy travels back to Sacramento and I'm off on my Central European adventure.
Of course, this begs the questions as to why we're travelling our separate ways. The reason is that Stacy recently started a new job and has no vacation time, whereas I have recently gone out on my own and have the ability to work remotely. Since I was already in Europe, and travelling within Europe is dirt-cheap (thank you Ryan Air!) I decided to pick a place that was inexpensive to fly to and a place I've never been to before. So, hello Zadar Croatia and thank you Ryan Air for that $95 flight! My original plan was to stay a couple of extra weeks, but Stacy enthusiastically encouraged me to stay longer (hmm... maybe a little too enthusiastically) so two weeks became 3, 3 became 4 and then eventually 5 with the result being Slovenia, Montenegro, and Hungary added to the mix of counties I've will be visiting. And given that Italy and Bosnia were only a sight detour out of my planned driving route, I hopefully will be "visiting" Italy and Bosnia as well.
So the trip is now officially underway as I'm about to check in for my Wow airline flight from San Francisco to Keflavik. Hopefully my next post will be in Keflavik.
I'm sure you're asking yourself why this collection of countries and why a 42 day trip? Let me give you some background. To begin with, it all revolves around my step-daughter Claire (as she would happily admit most things usually do) attending her first semester at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Being accepted into a word-class college overseas is something she's worked extremely hard at achieving so my wife Stacy and I were more than happy to travel to Scotland to see her off. Unfortunately I booked my flight a few months after Stacy booked hers so we were unable to travel together with the result being Stacy flying to Edinburgh via Amsterdam and me flying to Edinburgh via Iceland (with a one night layover in Keflavik Iceland). While researching Keflavik, I happened to notice that it had an Irish pub, so trying to make the best out of this depressing situation of travelling without my spouse, I knew I could drown my sorrows in this pub with the sole benefit of being able to cross Iceland off my list of countries I've visited.
After the night in Iceland, I'll be flying to Edinburgh, then taking the train to Dundee where I'll be reunited with Stacy and Claire as well as our good friend John who lives in Newcastle. We will then have a few days together in Dundee/St. Andrews before Claire heads off to school and Stacy and I head down to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the night in Edinburgh will be our last together for 5 weeks as the next day as Stacy travels back to Sacramento and I'm off on my Central European adventure.
Of course, this begs the questions as to why we're travelling our separate ways. The reason is that Stacy recently started a new job and has no vacation time, whereas I have recently gone out on my own and have the ability to work remotely. Since I was already in Europe, and travelling within Europe is dirt-cheap (thank you Ryan Air!) I decided to pick a place that was inexpensive to fly to and a place I've never been to before. So, hello Zadar Croatia and thank you Ryan Air for that $95 flight! My original plan was to stay a couple of extra weeks, but Stacy enthusiastically encouraged me to stay longer (hmm... maybe a little too enthusiastically) so two weeks became 3, 3 became 4 and then eventually 5 with the result being Slovenia, Montenegro, and Hungary added to the mix of counties I've will be visiting. And given that Italy and Bosnia were only a sight detour out of my planned driving route, I hopefully will be "visiting" Italy and Bosnia as well.
So the trip is now officially underway as I'm about to check in for my Wow airline flight from San Francisco to Keflavik. Hopefully my next post will be in Keflavik.
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