At the Crossroads

I spent July 4th in a small regional capital in Slovenia, Postojna - located half way between the coast and Ljubliana, Slovenia's capital. I expected to have two days here, one to see the heralded caves located a mere km north of the town and a second to venture an additional 10km or so to see the Predjama castle I had hyped in my previous post. Well, to my disappointment, and also to my relief, I'm heading out one night early to Ljubliana content with having had a pretty amazing cave experience, but no castle. Though much cheaper than the coast, or the capital to come, this town has absolutely no character to it, as warned by the guide. I thought two peaceful days out here would be nice retreat from the sun so close to the mountains and such, but the castle seems impossible - either walk, not such a good option seeing as it poured most of yesterday, or hitchhike, less appealing for now, in time it may change as the site becomes more appealing - to get to. So I guess if I had the will, there would have been a way - but the dearth of things to do in the town have forced my hand. No problem though, Im off to Ljubliana which having seen on my previous trip to europe, really enjoyed. At that time I was only able to enjoy a brief day trip in the rain, but think I will devote up to 3 nights there, as I remember it to be such a peaceful place to spend time. Im sick of moving around so much - I think I have been in 8 different beds in the last 15 days - so hoping to ease the speed at which I see places, sit a bit to enjoy what is there for longer than a day to really get a better understanding of what the place is like. This switch in philosophy was somewhat inspired by a fellow american I met in Piran, some 32 year old guy just laid off from a job in America who was spending one to two weeks in five or six cities. Seemed a far better way to do it, so their seems to be a compromise at hand given my ambitious travel plans and my hope to not exhaust myself by mid summer. Pacing is essential.

That said, the caves here are really special. Not sure whether I was simply ignorning the potential all these years, but wow, what a cool afternoon it was walking through the Jama - cave in Slovenian - yesterday, even with the tour group of 50 or so heads which traveled along with me - you can not meander along on your own, stuck in a group. Anyway, wish I had pics to share, but even then they forbid you from taking them down there so I have a few stealthy shots, but none came out too well, or so at first blush this is what I think. As for the request for pics, I hope to address this and by address this I mean purchase the necessary cord, when I get to the capital today - Istria wasnt the place to find such a thing.

Now, for what most of you have been waiting for: food. Its pretty much been a nightmare trying to find balance between cost, what is healthy, and what I eat. The balkans are not known for having much chicken and or turkey, which has made protein a difficult thing to find. Ive been eating a town of cheese, even tried one of those disgusting yogurt drinks (cherry) but could not finish it. Last night I was fortunate to stumble upon a kebab place which had chicken, and surmise that this will be my best bet moving forward. The distances I have walked in hopes of finding something which comforts me has been enormous, and think that a diet of banana, bread, peanuts, and "cut pizza" may not be sustainable. Lets just say I havent become desperate yet, but in time, who knows..

Well, time to head to the train station. Happy Independence day to those at home, I literally didnt realize it until the day was over, but oh well.