Our mission for the afternoon was to find a place to swim - easier said than done. The Italian coast from Trieste to Slovenia is all harbour and not very pretty - this must be where Trieste gets its bad name from. What was even more bizarre is that the little bits of coast where you could reach the water were absolutely jam packed with people. It was crazy out there. Thus we weren't even going to stop to try and park and swim there.

Phone went live/dead right on the border.

Once we were back on the Slovenian side we drove to Piran where the coast is much nicer and much less packed. We had a nice swim there before finding some accomodation at the local marine biology institute. For dinner we went into the town where we had a lovely dinner on the main plazza - you just can't beat mediteranean towns for atmosphere on a summer evening.

The location of this small town is just amazing - on a small peninsula. From Central Switzerland it's about a two an a half hour flight with a Cessna 182 - a wonderful one across the Alps.
A walk through the narrow alleys with the old buildings is very nice. If you walk up the hill you have a nice view over the town. In the center of Piran there's a square called Tartini with a monument of this famous person. Giuseppe Tartini is a famous 'son' of this town. He was a composer and violinist, born in 1692.

We flew with single-engine airplanes to Portoroz. So it depends on the weather if you can go or not. Because of that we couldn't book a hotel in advance. It was hard to find a hotel at this time but the stuff at the airport of Portoroz was very friendly and organized this hotel. The location is absolutely fantastic. It's in the middle of the town and lots of restaurants are nearby the hotel. The room was en-suite. It was clean and ample. The breakfast wasn't bad but not fantastic either. Specially was the room for breakfast, it was on the top of the building and we had a fantastic view over Piran and the sea.

Remember, clicking the + sign on the map to the left will zoom in so you can see where I am!

Whew! I just heard the words I wanted to hear. “No Problem. I have a car, have food, I have a place, we can go wherever you want, just call me from the train station”. This was what Senad just told me on the phone when I called him and told him I was coming to Postojna (Post-oh-knee-ah) tomorrow. But I digress.

Friday, I spent another day in Ljubljana. I took a walking tour, sometimes in the pouring cold rain. I and a Swedish businessman (in a three-piece suit) were the only clients. I think our guide wished that no one had showed up so she wouldn't have to do it. She was quite interesting though. Born in Slovenia, part of Yugoslavia at the time, she was of the opinion that the dictator Tito, was the only man who could unite the Baltic states and make everyone feel like brothers. This is the first time I heard a Slovenian mention they preferred the old Yugoslavia to the independent Slovenia.

We then had a coffee and waited for the rain to let up.

It didn't. At least for very long. I then spent the next 2 hours trying to find the bus stop, where the number 13 bus could take me back to Andrej's house. On this day, I also learned how to text message on my phone. God, I feel old.

Again that night, I hoofed it the half mile or so to the neighborhood restaurant, but this time bad luck. Private party. Full. Go away.

The guy at hotel across the street, told me there was another restaurant two miles back the other way. As I was walking back, not knowing if I would just stop at Andrej's or keep going to the other restaurant, the bus came by, so I got on, and I was there in no time. This place was a little better than the first. A cozy pub like atmosphere with a wood fired pizza oven. The tavern keeper seemed excited to be able to practice English, and suggested some sort of cheese pastry dish, that was “a little bit sweet, but very tasty”. Indeed it was.

The next morning, Andrej took me to the bus station. I wanted to take the local bus, but he insisted that another one of his guests (Number 85 I presume) was arriving at the same time on the train from Croatia.

I had purchased my ticket the day before, and Andrej took me right to the correct bus, with only 5 minutes to spare.

The bus to Piran (like Iran, but with a “P”) took only about 2 ½ hours. When I got there, it was a complete turn about from Ljubljana. It was sunny and pretty warm, say 65 degrees. This is a charming little town on the Adriatic coast, just across the border from Italy. In fact, it used to be a part of Italy until after WWII, when the borders were re-drawn and it was given to Yugoslavia.

I found a nice hotel about ¾ mile walk, along a stone sea wall from the center of town, although I took a taxi with my luggage. There is a heated sea-water swimming pool, and even though the room is tiny, it's very modern and tidy. After finding the hotel, I had a look around the very picturesque town.

The narrow streets are just like Venice, except for the very steep hills, and lack of canals of course. (And it smells a lot better than Venice!) I had a garlic fish fillet for dinner, and some more of the delicious Lasco beer too! Sunday, I decided to stay another day/night and try to get a plan together for the rest of the coming week.

I don't know what in the hell I'm going to do, once I get to Slovakia. I really can't get a handle on that country. One thing I figured out, is I better go to Bratislava (Slovakia's capital, just across the border from Vienna, Austria) first. Supposedly, there are about 300 couch surfers there, but I e-mailed ten or so last night, and haven't gotten a single response. I was hoping to find a friend there who could shed some insider light on where to go and what to see.

I just now got two responses from Couch Surfers in Maribor, Slovenia, that are willing to host me on Tuesday night, and as I mentioned, I have a place to stay tomorrow.

By the way. I don't put every photo on TravBuddy. If you want to see them all, even the shitty ones, here is my Picasa photo page link:

Scotts 2007Europhotos

Thanks for the few responses to me. I know a couple of you are reading this. I'm sure enjoying the opportunity of sharing it.

(more photos if you scroll down)

Ciao Amigos.

SA

i took the bus down to piran, a small coastal town at the bottom of slovenia on a wee peninsula.  instantlly the place was beautiful and the weather set it off nicely.  the bus station was right next to the marnia which was a good place to kick off the tour of the place.  the maria was bustling with people and amazing boats. 

after looking around the marina and its many lighthouses i headed to the towns central square, tartinjev trg.  in the middle of the square is a monuement dedicated to a violinist from the town.  around the square are a number of historical building  and some cute houses along the way.  overlooking the square is the towering st george church which can be seen from all over the town.

i decided to follow the water and walked along the coastline, which is bliss!    just as i got the the end tthunder and lightening started and ended up in a massive storm for around an hour.  it was pretty cool to watch.  once it was over the weather really picked up and made the place even more beautiful.  i took the walk up the hill to see st georges church up close and to the back was a great view out to sea and of the coastline. 

this place is a really good day trip from the capital.  everywhere you look is a wow factor and it just puts a smile on your face.  although there isnt a great deal to see the feel of the place and the small cobbled streets are good to roam around.

Piran is a little fishing village on a peninsula along Slovenias very small coastline. Its is very close to both Italy and Croatia and appeared to be heavily influenced by the I-ties. The town is a very compact is a series of little streets winding their way through the town. There are some cars but youd have to be a madman to take one in there, theres not a heap of room.

We spent two nights in Piran mostly just walking through the town and as we do best, eating and drinking. It was also our first exspoure to the well know rocky beaches of the Adriatic Coasts. The water was a little chilly but nice to be back in the salt water after a lengthy break.

A pretty quick stay in Piran but it was well worth it, a great little town and another side of Slovenia that continues to impress us.

Highlight of the town, Andrew eating his first Horse burger, giddy up!

After lunch, bikes were put up on the trailer for the final time, biking gear was put away and it was into the vans for the 2-3 hour trip to Piran.  I watched the land and architecture continue to change from the mountains to the lower hills and to the coastal regions where a decidely Italian influence could be seen on the roads into Piran.  Klara drove us into Tartini Trg (Square) where our hotel (Hotel Tartini) was located and we retrieved our luggage (can you tell that this Tartini was a pretty popular guy in Piran).  The cheaper parking was further outside the central area and Klara and Renata would be staying at a location outside the central square.  They promised a surprise for the evening before departing, although anyone who had read the trip brochure materials might guess what it was.

After getting cleaned up Steve and I went out for a venture through town.  Wandered through the tight streets and alleys from the square and then popped out onto the coast.  Piran was a walking town, cars could come in no further than the square and the "roads" that we were walking along were mainly 6-10 ft wide or so.  Market vendors looked like they were closing up for the afternoon, but the restaurants and ice cream stands along the Adriatic were just getting busy and Steve and I decided to partake of some ice cream.  Walking back towards the hotel we ran across the rest of the group enjoying some pre-dinner appetizers at a different spot and stopped and chatted briefly.  Eventually we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our "surprise".

That surprise would be a Dalmatian fish picnic out on the Adriatic.  Klara and Renata escorted us to our boat, where for the next 2 hours or so we would get a chance to see the Slovenian coast from the sea and enjoy a fine dinner of mussels, calamari, and fish.  And that's not to forget the shot of grape Schnapp's to start our voyage and the free flowing wine for our last evening as a group together.  The ocean breezes were comfortable and standing up along the bow of the boat to watch the coast slide along beside us really was a great way to spend the evening with this great group of people I had come to know.

All too quickly the "cruise" ended as we returned to the harbor.  But the evening was still young and so everyone went wandering down the shore to the ice cream shop that Steve and I had visited earlier.  Shared some ice cream with Klara, broke a chair (it was Renata's fault), talked, and laughed with friends.  Started back towards the hotel when C.C. got the crazy idea to go swimming in the Adriatic.  A few others decided to join him, but this time I was not one of them.  All too quickly the evening was drawing to a close though.  Eventually it was time to call it another evening, our last of the trip.  Easily said that Piran was a fantastic town in which to finish the tour.  Its kind of an unknown town in comparison to the popular Venice on the other side of the Adriatic or more well known European tourist locales like Dubrovnik or Split down in Croatia.  And although I've never been to the last two towns (but would like to someday), Piran would be a great place to spend a quiet day or two of rest and relaxation away from the tourist throngs.

We started the day by touring the town walls before hordes of tourists descended on Piran. The walls encircled the oldest part of the own in the 7th century.

Read more about Piran and Slovenia at Travels with Sheila