Author Archives: Jodi

Island Hopping Adventure in Greece: Milos and Beyond

My sister and I are wrapping up a month long trip to Greece that started with a group tour with G Adventures. That was an amazing tour that ended in Santorini. From there we took a ferry to Folegandros, a very different island to Santorini and Crete. Now on Milos which again is different. Just goes to show you need to visit ALL the islands!

The post on Folegandros can be found here: The journey through Greece continues with some island hopping. Folegandros, here we come!

16 Sep 2022

Thursday. After a leisurely start to our day we packed up and boarded the slow ferry to Milos. 7.50 euros each. Nice! Milos was much busier than Folegandros!! We found Prevena studios where Evgenia met us and showed us our room. She gave us LOTS of info on where to eat, what to do , etc. very nice! She suggested we go to the port and choose a boat to tour around the island after going for lunch at Oxamos. (Also called Oh Hamos) So we did. Lunch was as good as she said it would be

We settled on Captain Yiangos as it was 45 euro for the same itinerary others were asking 110-130 for. The difference is his boat can take 60 people and others around 16. The others also provide 2 meals and an open bar. We figured we’d have to eat and drink a lot for the difference.
Arrangements made, we spent ready if the day at Papikinou beach as it’s a 5 minute walk from our room. Then we picked up groceries to make breakfast for the next few days, went out for ice cream and called it a night .
Prevena studios
Breakfast on our porch
Interesting artwork along the waterfront in Adamas
Friday: Captain Yiangos turned out to be a great choice! There were only about 30 people on board and the bigger boat handled the rough waters in some places much better than the smaller ones. Captain Stavros is an amazing navigator who got the ship really close to any interesting geologic formation he wanted to show us. There were a LOT of them. There were several swimming spots as well as areas only accessible by boat, including the infamous Kleftiko and the towering basalt rocks of Glaronissia
We stopped in Kimonos for lunch which was really nice.
The boat trip was over 8 hours long and excellent. I highly recommend it but make sure you book it as soon as possible upon arrival as the weather is fickle. When winds come in there are areas of the island you can’t get to.
Sarakiniko from the water
Pink!
Kleftiko. We swam in and under those caves and arches
Looks like a rabbit!
Glaronissia
Glaronissia

Saturday. It’s still so hot. We took the bus to the catacombs. Sort of. The bus drops you off on the road and you walk down as well to see Aphrodite and the amphitheater. Coming back up was torture as we were dripping with sweat.

We headed into Plaka and stopped for a lemonade. At 5 euro, it was stupid expensive but we were parched and the water we brought was warm. It just wasn’t cutting it. We continued up hill and managed to climb to the top of the castle where we spent some time enjoying the view. After visiting some shops we headed back to the bus. While trying to figure out where to catch it we saw it pull up across the road. The driver gestured us to come and held it for us! How nice is that? Back in Adamas we had a gyro for lunch and headed for the beach to cool off

Sunday is a day of rest so we took the bus to polonia and sept the day on the beach.

It’s a rough life

Monday. We’d forgotten grocery stores are closed Sunday so didn’t get anything for breakfast. So we had to go out. haha We caught the bus to Sarakiniko where we wandered around taking pictures of the strange, white, almost lunar landscape.

Caves there were carved by some kind of mining and are fun to explore. Too bad some of them seem to have been used by tourists as toilets.

The bus took us back to town where caught the next one for Firiplaka beach. It’s a bit of a trek getting down the hill but it’s totally worth it as the beach is beautiful. There we rented chairs and spent the afternoon reading, swimming and walking.

Being our last night in the islands, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Nostos where we both had stuffed squid. Ooh it was delicious. They even gave us a complimentary dessert. I love the way they do that here. It’s just enough to satisfy the sweet tooth after a meal without getting over stuffed

Tuesday we took our time having coffee on our porch, packing up and wandered about town. We stopped at a bakery for a nice coffee and a treat and visited a few shops before boarding the ferry for Athens. Sea Jet ferries aren’t cheap but they’re really comfortable and a great way to travel.

The last post goes back to the first about Athens as that’s where we ended our trip as well. We really enjoyed the trip to Greece. It’s a lot bigger and has more to see than I imagined. That’s often the case, isn’t it? One day I’ll come back as I have yet to see Corfu and there are a lot more islands to visit.

Athens: Greece. It all begins and ends in Athens!

From mainland Greece to Crete. Chania, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Heraklion

Exploring Greece: A Journey Through Santorini and Folegandros

My sister and I have been traveling through Greece with a G Adventures group. That tour “The Best of Greece” was very enjoyable. We had a great group, our leader Norea was amazing and we learned a LOT. It whetted our appetite for more of Greece. The tour finished in Santorini and we’re now on our own. Posts about that part of the journey can be found here: 3 days in Santorini. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Greece
and here: From mainland Greece to Crete. Chania, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Heraklion There are more before that.

Monday, September 12, 2022
It’s our first day without the group. The taxi picked us up and took us back down the windy road to the port where we caught the ferry to Folegandros. As soon as we got off the ship we felt the difference in the vibe. Sooo much calmer and relaxed! Santorini is pretty but ugh. So many people! It took a bit but we found Eleni’s studios and Susie showed us our room.
Next we set off to explore. Karavostasis is tiny so it didn’t take long. Vardia beach is beautiful but it was really windy so we went back to the harbour beach and spent the afternoon swimming and reading. After getting cleaned up we enjoyed dinner of local dishes at Syrma on the beach. I had an eggplant dish and Anita stuffed tomatoes. Both were tasty

Vardia Beach

13 Sep 2022

Tuesday September 13. The nice thing about a room with a kitchenette is being able to make coffee and a simple breakfast in the morning. Saves money too. We caught the bus to Chora then noticed a bus to Agkali beach so we got on that one. The windy, narrow road to the beach looked treacherous enough for a car never mind a bus. Once there we found the path to the next beaches Galifoli (where the naked people seem to hang out) and St Nikolaos. The hike was just over a kilometre but some areas were pretty intense. After enjoying a swim and some relaxation we took a shuttle boat back to Agali. It was actually the nicest of the beaches anyway. After another swim we caught the bus back to Chora. We splurged on lunch. Anita had the swordfish and I had stuffed squid. Both were delicious.
The nice thing about Chora is that in the afternoon is it’s a ghost town. Nothing much is open from 2 to 6 pm so there are very few people around. We spent a couple hours exploring Chora and the castle (Kastro) and were practically alone!
After ice cream we caught the bus back to Karavostasis, dropped our bags off and went to our beach for a swim. Back in the room we cleaned up and headed out again, wandering the streets till we settled on Dal Capi for a light salad dinner. Then we watched the ferry come in and marvelled at how quickly they do it. It’s pretty amazing.
Wednesday. Walked to Katergo beach and on the way back met a man with a herd of goats so we stopped to chat. He was quite proud of his goats and told us all about Alina. She had been orphaned so he hand raised her. From Pakistan he dreams of going to Canada. After lunch at dal capo we caught the bus for Chora then on to Ano Maria. Not much to do there so after wandering a bit we had second lunch. First one was fruit salad and this one was Greek salad so we didn’t feel too piggish. Lol
Ano Maria

By the time we got back to Chora we decided we just wanted to go home, rather than climb up to the church to watch the sunset. We’re pretty spoiled by sunsets back home in Northumberland county so we’re not easily impressed. We caught the bus back, picked up a few snacks and relaxed on our balcony and enjoyed the sun set from there. Watching the boat traffic is fun too.

The next day we took the slow ferry to Milos. Use https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/ to book ferries. If you’re flexible with your dates you can do it cheaper.

3 days in Santorini. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Greece

Our journey continues with G Adventures on the “Best of Greece” tour. Previous posts can be found here. From mainland Greece to Crete. Chania, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Heraklion
and previous to that here: More of Greece. Kalambaka, Meteora and Monasteries, Delphi and Napflio

Friday, September 10, 2022
After an early breakfast we boarded the ferry from Heraklion, Crete to Santorini . The sea jet ferry was really nice with assigned seats and a very smooth ride. Upon arrival we were picked up and driven the windy road up the cliff. On the corners busses take turns as they’re so sharp. Too early for check in at the Hotel Porto Perissa, we dropped our bags and set off exploring. We ended up at tutti frutti where we enjoyed delicious smoothies. Note that we went back the next day as it was so good.
Porto Perissa hotel has a pool!!! First thing we did was enjoy a refreshing swim. Next we all boarded the public bus and went to Fira, capital of Santorini. After picking up some beverages we walked till we found a good place for sunset pictures. On the way back we stopped for the most delicious pizza I’ve had in a long time. Sour dough crust ! Yum

Saturday. Today we had nothing planned but managed to fill it up anyway. We started with fully exploring Perissa town and the beach. Soon we were hot and bothered so decided to take advantage of the pool and spend some lounge time reading.

At 5 pm we met some of the others and headed off in a wine tasting at Hatzidakis Wintery. Cool story there which you can read about on their site: http://www.hatzidakiswines.gr/to-oinopoieio/taytotita.html It’s interesting to see how the grapes are grown as it’s different than anything I’ve seen before. Santorini vines are kept unstaked and trained low to the ground in a basket shape that helps protect the grapes from the fierce winds and heat of the island. Apparentlly it reduces the need for water as well.
After that we met the rest of the group for a final dinner and said goodbye to most of the group, including Norea who had been a wonderful guide

Sunday we had a full day volcano tour planned which we booked with Ankor travel agency. https://www.ankor.gr/

We met the bus at the Angkor travel agent and were taken to the port where we lined up according to language. The boat was pretty but not terribly comfortable for the number if people on it. Oh well. The view was nice and the trip pleasant. First stop was at the hot springs. We jumped off the boat and swam towards the short where the water is heated by seismic activity underground. It was interesting.
The volcano hike was hot but really good and the guide interesting and informative.

We’d opted to pay an extra 5 euro for the sunset extension only because we hadn’t been to Oia and more time in the boat sounded nice. Big mistake. The boat doesn’t take you to Oia. We got dropped off at the port where we were to take a bus to Oia. There were hundreds of people and it was mass confusion. Oia was just more of Fira but with all kinds of fancily dressed people trying to get instagram shots. We had spent the day climbing a volcano and on a boat so were hot, sweaty and VERY dishevelled. People were lined up at some spots for the “perfect view”! We couldn’t wait to get out of there!! Prices of food were nuts so we had an expensive ice cream served by a snotty man and went to find our bus back. Don’t even bother with sunset. Rice lake has better ones anyway. Again we got a run around either the bus. Finally got back to our room, showered off the sweat and crashed

Hotel Porto Perissa

Monday. Our first day without the group. The taxi picked us up and took us back down the windy road to the port where we caught the ferry to Folegandros. The Ferry Hopper app is a must if you’re going to do any island hopping. Not only can you make and track all your reservations through it but you can track your ferry too. That’s very helpful in knowing what time it’s actually arriving and departing. Boarding passes for most ferries can be stored there as well. Find that here: https://www.ferryhopper.com/ If you’re flexible with your dates you can find cheaper ferries.

As soon as we got off the ferry at the port of Folegandros we felt the difference in the vibe. Sooo much calmer and relaxed! Santorini is pretty but ugh; So many people! Santorini is beautiful and definitely a “must see” but …. not my favourite place in Greece. You might feel differently.

From mainland Greece to Crete. Chania, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Heraklion

Anita and I are traveling through Greece and in this post continue on with our G Adventures group doing the “Best of Greece” tour. The previous post can be found here: More of Greece. Kalambaka, Meteora and Monasteries, Delphi and Napflio

Sunday, September 4, 2022
We boarded the ferry an hour before departure, settled into our rooms and met on the upper deck where there’s a really nice bar. Our room on the ferry was comfortable and the hum of the engines together with the motion of the boat made me sleep like a baby. My alarm woke us up at 5.40 am. We met the group at reception and were some of the first disembark. After a 20 minute bus ride to Chania, we dumped the bags, walked around town and finished a massive breakfast at Remezzo by 8.30 am. That left a full day to spend exploring Chania

Bye bye Athens. The room on the ferry was much more comfortable than I expected!

5 Sep 2022

The Nea Chora beach is within easy walking distance of town so we decided to check it out. It’s one of the nicest beaches we’ve seen and is actually sandy. It’s a great beach for walking too as it’s huge. We walked till we reached an area with some hotel lounge chairs then plopped ourselves in empty ones expecting to get kicked out. We lucked out. Maybe it wasn’t busy? So we swam in the bath warm sea and read in the shade for a couple hours before walking back to the Nefeli hotel where we checked in, cleaned up and went back to town for the sunset.
We chose a restaurant we could see the sunset from. The gyro meal was delicious but the sunset was “meh” The place had exploded with people so we enjoyed people watching for a while before doing a bit more wandering around the unique, interesting and very scenic town. Of course there was a gelato shop and this one had goat cheese and pear gelato. That was yummy!

Because my grand daughter’s name is Ariel (hehe)
Monday. Apparently it’s the last of our good breakfasts as Cretans (yes, that’s what they call themselves) aren’t morning people. They like to serve raki after every meal, even BREAKFAST. Once we were even given some after buying some lotion in a shop. There she had us trying pomegranate flavoured and some coffee flavoured raki. She wanted to give us more but we managed to escape.
In Crete they also like to shoot holes in road signs. Interesting. We saw much evidence of that.
Our driver took us carefully across the mountains through hairpin turns past amazing scenery, cliff hanging sheep and goats just chilling on the road to the ferry port bound for Agia roumeli
Tuesday
We opted not to hike the gorge as we only had the afternoon and it’s soooo hot. It would have been nice to start it first thing in the morning but that’s not an option with a one night stay. Those who did it said it was nice but there were a LOT of people so we’re glad we spent the day on the beach instead. 5 euro each for a chair and a free drink was a bargain. Swim, read for a bit and swim some more in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea was a perfect use of time. For dinner the Cretan salad was delicious

Tuesday had a leisurely start. Breakfast wasn’t till 8.30 and simply fresh orange juice, toast and honey or marmalade. After a nice walk we boarded the ferry to loutro. Too early for check, in we donned swimsuits and headed off. The others went for lunch but we decided ice cream was in order. Then we walked to Finikas bay (about 2km) where we spent another afternoon in and out of the water. We walked back a shorter way over the ridge. It was more like a hike and we were even escorted by goats. The old fortress on top was interesting.
Dinner was at a restaurant we’d walked by where we’d seen a man bbqing all day. The pork on a spit was amazing. The portion of greens is apparently often just picked in the wild. It tasted kind of like spinach but better. The whole meal was delicious. Well. Other than the obligatory finish of raki. We didn’t finish that.

the obligatory raki
Anita is NOT sharing with that cat. lol

Wednesday. Pavlo picked us up in his boat with his dog Shakira and took us to Likos bay where he spent a couple hours teaching us to make moussaka. While it was baking we walked the beach and did some swimming. He served us a delicious salad and the moussaka. Twas good but making it is a LOT of work. Rather than have him boat us back we elected to walk back. Took about an hour and by then we were hot so went to the far end of Loutro for a swim. After cleaning up we went back to town and watched the sun go down while enjoying a cocktail.

Thursday. A ferry to Skalja where Dmitris picked us up in the bus. He drove up and down the mountains to drop us off in Heraklion. There we visited Knossos. These ruins date back to 2000 years before Christ. It was destroyed by earthquakes and fire started in the stored olive oil. There is still evidence of that fire. Some of the pottery is original and intact as well as a few paintings. They even had a sort of flush toilet back then. Amazing! After taking the bus back to the city we wandered till we found a place that looked like it had good food and filled up on veggies. That is not difficult in Greece. Every menu has an assortment of delicious salads.

The next day we boarded a sea jet ferry bound for Santorini. I’ve heard mixed reviews on this famous tourist destination. We’ll have to see!!

More of Greece. Kalambaka, Meteora and Monasteries, Delphi and Napflio

Tuesday morning we left bright and early and we’re on the train by 8 am. We settled into the Kosta Famissa, walked about the small town of Kalambaka (Kalabaka?) and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Meteora restaurant. They make their food in big pots so a lot of it is slow cooked. Our guide for the monasteries picked us up and we drove up the rocks, getting out to enjoy views, hike a bit and visit St Stephen’s monastery which is inhabited by 33 nuns. The other 8 operating monasteries are homes for 2 to 4 monks. The restaurant we stopped at was famous for its pies so I had the spinach and cheese. YUM! It was raining so we weren’t too hopeful for a sunset but drove to the view point anyway. Luckily for us the sun came out just in time! Clouds always make a sunset more interesting.

Downtown Kalambaka
Inside the oldest church in the world
Oldest church in the world
Poor dog. Looks like cat is the boss?

Wednesday we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before getting picked up for the hike we’d booked. We weren’t sure what to expect. It was rated “easy”, 7 km with only a 200 m climb. 🤔. BUT it was expected to take 4 or 5 hours. We prepared for difficult. Brought lots of water just in case.
In the end I’d rate it moderate. There was lots of up and up and down, some slippery patches and certainly more than a 200 m total climb. We were glad we brought poles. It was a really good hike and just what we wanted. Lots of variety and I got to see several tortoises. Back at the hotel we showered and relaxed for an hour or so before meeting the group for dinner

There is NO easy way to get there
Tortoise porn

2 Sep 2022

Thursday. We arrived in Delphi by bus and checked into the Acropole hotel. Delphi is basically 3 main streets that run parallel and the 3 streets are connected by stairs. Since it’s so small you can walk anywhere so we walked to the ruins and museum and archaeological site. There we met our guide, Penny, who spent the next hour showing us the site and explaining the history. She was very entertaining and made the history come alive. Afterwards we wandered around on our own investigating.

The ruins are the draw but the town of Delphi is lovely too!

One of the stairs
The church
View from the restaurant
Sunrise from our room
Sunrise from our room
Sunset from the restaurant

Friday. After leaving Delphi we stopped to see the temple of Athena and then on to the Korinthian canal before reaching our destination of Nafplio, the capital of the region. It’s still ridiculously hot!

Temple of Athena

In Nafplio we joined the others for lunch then headed for the beach. After a swim and drying off we walked up to the castle for some exploration and gorgeous views. Dinner was wine we found at the grocery store and potato chips on our balcony. Perfect
The beach in Napflio isn’t impressive. It’s small, with big stones so not comfortable to sit around on. Getting in and out isn’t easy either. If I went again I’d go for a swim at the base of the castle, near the harbour. It looks like it was once a pool, is blocked off from the waves and has ladders to get in and out.

At the base of the castle. A better place to swim than the beach

Saturday. We had great aspirations of climbing the 999 steps to the fortress but by the time we’d finished breakfast at 8.30 it was already stinking hot. So we opted to spend the day exploring every nook and cranny of the gorgeous little old town. I think we managed that. 18,000 steps later we were hot, tired and thoroughly done.

The market; where they sell wine in plastic jugs.

Sights around the town of Napflio. Such a pretty town!

Our bus left at 5.30 to take us to Pareus to catch the overnight ferry to Crete. On the way we stopped in Corinth to see the canal which is apparently the smallest in the world


Korinthian canal

Greece. It all begins and ends in Athens!

I’ve enjoyed the summer at home in Ontario, Canada but when a deal came up for Greece, I had to jump on it. I’ve never been to Greece! I managed to get a direct flight for a decent price. It’s possible if you can be flexible with your dates. Since I’m retired now, I’m VERY flexible. Lucky me!

One thing that makes travel so much easier these days is the ability to stay connected. The past few trips I’ve purchased at SIM card upon arrival. Now you don’t even have to do that! Check out Airalo. You can purchase an E-SIM ahead of time and activate it upon arrival. I’m not techy and I didn’t find it difficult. Prices are really reasonable too! https://www.airalo.com/

We arrived in Athens Thursday, August 25, 2022 and took the train from the airport to the city and started walking. 5 minutes in it started to rain. Then it started POURING and we happened upon a coffee shop so decided to enjoy a cup while waiting out the rain. 10 minutes walk from there we arrived at the Cosmos hotel. After checking in, Anita and I spent the day wandering around Athens and getting very lost. That’s not a bad thing. We find the most interesting things while lost. Eventually we found our way back to the hotel.

Friday, August 26 we organized what to do over the next few days. As I usually do when arriving at a city new to me, we started with a “free” walking tour led by Walter Walter is an excellent guide and we learned a lot.
The tour ended at the Acropolis where we spent a couple hours wandering around after we’d purchased the 5 day ticket. I’m sure we would have learned a lot more had we hired a guide but we’d already learned so much from Walter and my brain was fried. It was stinking hot! Next we headed to the agora and by then we were thoroughly wilted and tired so we found some dinner and walked back to the hotel

View of St Georges from the Acropolis

27 Aug 2022,

Saturday. After grabbing a coffee and we got on the hop on hop off bus and toured the whole city. Then we got off and visited the Agora again so we could spend some time actually reading. We had purchased a five day ticket so we had plenty of time. You can pay €20 to get into the acropolis plus €10 to get into the agora each for one day or you can buy a five day ticket that covers both of them plus other stuff for €30 no brainer. After that we need our way to the Melina Mercouri square a to catch the tour of Poseidon’s temple we’d prearranged. It started pouring so we dodged in and out of awnings and umbrellas but still managed to arrive soaked. The sun came out and we were dry before the bus finally arrived. It left a half hour late and the drive took 1.5 hours. Not sure it was worth it as we barely got an hour there before we were rushed back in the bus.
Poseidon’s temple

Back in town we found a nice place to eat a gyro and a drink. By then it was almost 8 pm and we had a 40 minute walk. Some of the areas we walked through seemed a little sketchy so we decided to try the metro. The Greek alphabet is impossible to interpret so station names were a challenge till I realized in small letters they were written using the English alphabet! Bonus. So we bought tickets for the morning too

The Agora

Sunday. Good thing we started early and got the train early as we still managed to get lost when we got into the city.

Finally found the acropolis parking lot where we boarded the bus to go to. Voulangien lake. Twas was a nice relaxing day with just swimming, reading, swimming and an overpriced salad for lunch. It was delicious anyway. The lake is full of the tiny fish they use in those “fish spas”. They seem to just stay in the shallows though so if they annoy you, just swim out further. Back into Athens where we finally got our yoghurt at the yoghurt stand we had been eyeing for a few days

Back at the Cosmos hotel we picked up our bag they had but they stored for us and walked to the Parnon hotel where we met the group we are going to be travelling with for the next couple of weeks on the G Adventures tour called “The Best of Greece”

Breakfast at the hotel was typical Greek. There’s always tomatoes and cucumbers which taste better than any I’ve had at home. I have no idea why. I always have a plate full of veggies loaded with soft cheese and olives. Then for desert breakfast the creamiest greek yogurt you’ve ever had topped with walnuts and honey. Sometimes even fruit. Yum!

We caught the hop on bus and tried to hear the commentary but the music is loud and the commentary not so you’re always adjusting the sound. I wish they’d just skip the music. What’s wrong with silence? Enjoy the scenery! After doing the whole route we hopped off at the market and wandered. Found the Odeon Herodes Atticus. Twas closed and we realized we’d walked by it several times. After the required gelato we visited Hadrian’s library only because our ticket included it. You can see most of it from the road but there were a few interesting. For “lupper” we found shedia home. It’s a cooperative supported by g adventures and the food is excellent. Go there!

Hadrian’s Library

The next day we started the tour with the group and headed to Kalambaka. That post will follow along with others about the 2 week trip with G Adventures. After leaving them in Santorini Anita and I embarked on our own again. First we spent 3 days on Folengandros and then 5 on Milos before taking the ferry back to Athens where we ended our trip

September 20th, 2022
Tuesday. We arrived by ferry from Milos just before 6 pm and used google to find the subway, apparently along with a bunch of back packers who also turned away several cab drivers. The subway took us to the Omonia stop and we knew how to find the Cosmos hotel from there. We’d booked it for the last 2 nights as it was great the first time. They didn’t disappoint this time either. The price is right and the front desk staff are very helpful. The young man gave us a recommendation for dinner nearby which was great.

Strefi hill

Our last day in Greece we spent trying to see everything in Athens we’d missed the first time. We started with yogurt from our favourite place just outside the Agora. Next we found Strefi hill and admired the view from the top, wandered various other neighbourhoods, checked out MANY little shops and again, hid out when the rain poured down in the afternoon. The great thing about those massive afternoon thunderstorms is that the deluge of water washes the streets of the cat pee and other smelly stuff.

Views around Athens

Above is a view of Sifnos island on the ferry ride back to Athens and the Athens war memorial cemetery

After a fantastic tour with G Adventures we spent a few days on Folegandros Island. Find that post here: https://whereisgrandma.com/2022/10/13/the-journey-through-greece-continues-with-some-island-hopping-folegandros-here-we-come/

Next we spent several days on the island of Milos. Find that post here: 5 days on Milos. Beaches! Food! Amazing Geology! Even a few ruins.

Monday, Sept 20.
From Milos, we took a Sea Jet ferry back to Athens. It was fun trying to find the metro from there. There were cab drivers offering rides but we just kept walking. There were several back packers doing the same so we ended up as a group. Eventually we found it and took one train to the city just a 10 minute walk from the Hotel Cosmos. It was great the first time so we stayed there again.

Tuesday. There was a transit strike so traffic was intense. Good thing we like to walk. We spent the day finding other places in Athens we’d missed the first time. One such place was Strefi Hill. It’s not a common place for tourists to go but it’s really nice. The views from the top rival those from St George’s church. For more on that visit this blog post. https://theblogofdimi.com/strefi-hill-athens-greece/

Strefi Hill

Tuesday, September 22
Departure day. Since the metro is much cheaper than a taxi and we’d taken it several times without a problem, we decided to take it to the airport. My app said it wasn’t busy at 8 am. Well. Good thing we left with plenty of time as it certainly WAS busy! That was fun. The rest off the trip home was uneventful.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Greece but were I to go back (and I want to see Corfu for one) I would go before mid June or after mid September due to the heat.

The metro!! It’s a “little” busy

Southern Israel. You CAN do it by bus! Eilat, Mitzpe Ramon and the Negev Desert

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One day in Brussels. Thus the European adventure ends.

Monday June 6th. We arrived by Flixbus from Frankfurt to the North Station after 10 pm. That post can be found here: More of Germany. Moving North from Fussen to Munich and Frankfurt
I was a little nervous about walking to our hotel at that time of night but it was less than a km and it worked out fine. The Max Hotel turned out better than I expected. The area’s not the greatest but the room was clean, we had our own bathroom and the beds comfy.
Tuesday. We made the most of the one full day we had in Brussels by walking everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. I think we managed to see all the highlights including a lot of the funny statues. The most famous is Manneken pis. It’s a boy peeing. You can read more about it here as it’s actually an interesting story https://www.brussels.be/manneken-pis. Here is an excerpt from that page.

“Manneken-Pis was at first a fountain that played an essential role in the former distribution of drinking water since the 15th century. The system was well-known in all of Europe.

Towards the end of the 17th century, the statue became more and more important in the city life. It was also a survivor of the bombardment of Brussels in 1695. Manneken-Pis became a precious good and enjoys a ceaselessly growing glory.

During big events, we adorn him with luxurious clothes. We know that in the 18th century, Manneken-Pis was dressed at least 4 times a year. Since he lost his main function in the network of water conveyance of the City in the 19th century, Manneken-Pis gradually became an image and symbol of the Brussels folklore, the joy of the inhabitants and their capacity of self-mockery.”

Of course we had to find Jeanneke pis and Zinneke pis too 😉



The Grand place is a central square with lots of beautiful buildings and all the old city streets branch out from there. There’s a beautiful shopping street called The royal gallery of St Hubert. We had a waffle at Mokafe on that street but the wares in the stores were out of our league.

I’ve seen a LOT of churches on this trip so it takes a lot to impress me now but St Michael’s in Brussels is beautiful. The stained glass is amazing.


The Royal castle is a bit further out of town but worth a visit as it’s huge. There’s a really nice park to walk in as well.
We had lunch at Boenje’s cafe as we wanted something healthy and different. It really is good. Check it out!
Back in the old city it started really raining so we found a shopping mall just outside and …. bought nothing. Oh well, it’s just interesting to see what stores are available here.
For dinner we had to have one last order of Belgian fries. I got mine with tartar sauce. YUMMY

That’s it for the European journey. Wednesday morning we packed our backpacks for the last time and headed to the train to get to Brussels airport. The airplane pictures are approaching Dublin. I’m going to have to go there…..SOON.

This map sums up our route through 9 countries in 9 weeks. Twas a good trip and I can’t wait to go back and visit the places I missed. Happy travels!

More of Germany. Moving North from Fussen to Munich and Frankfurt

Read more about the previous post here: Hiking the Lechweg trail. Tirol, Austria

We’re running out of time on our European adventure and aren’t able to get to as many places as we’d hoped. Though we’re not fans of big cities, they ARE easier to get to. To break up the journey back to Brussels we opted to spend a night in Munich and one in Frankfurt. It would have been nice to have more time to get out and visit the smaller towns but I guess that will have to be another trip

Saturday, June 4, 2022. We were able to use our 9 euro travel ticket to take the train from Fussen to Munich. There we checked into Hotel Andra, dropped off our bags and took our host’s advice on where to buy train tickets. For some reason, the flix bus app stopped accepting my credit card so I wasn’t able to book one last transit. After figuring that out we set off to explore this noisy, dirty very PEOPLY city. There appeared to be quite a few pre-wedding parties going on. A few times we ran into groups of young men singing and shouting. People around them found it amusing. The groups of girls were much tamer. the old city of Munich is beautiful but there are way too many people for me. This isn’t even high season! Just so you know, if you want to see the glockenspiel clock go off, you have to be there at 11, 12 or 5 pm. We had dinner at the restaurant right in front of it, hoping to see it but were too late. I thought it would go every hour like the one in Prague. Nope. Missed it 😦

Sunday, June 6. We got to the train station early to get some coffee and breakfast and took the flix train to Frankfurt. That let us out at the south station so we walked the 2 km to the Munchner Hof hotel. It’s a nice hotel and very clean but in a scuzzy neighbourhood. For one night it’s fine. We headed to the old city and happened upon a boat cruise so decided to take it. A couple of hours up and down the river with commentary on various buildings and bridges was a nice way to spend the afternoon, if a little boring. Frankfurt isn’t terribly interesting. For dinner we found an “authentic” restaurant so we could have schnitzel and green sauce and try the apfelwien. Both were good. The old city is gorgeous and buildings beautiful but once you get out of the tourist zone it’s dirty. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s Sunday but there were a lot of people drinking on the streets. Butts, garbage and glass littered the streets and the smell of urine hit me in several areas, despite the recent rain.

Monday. We thought we could do some shopping since we’re nearing the end of the trip but apparently it’s WhitsunMonday which is a holiday. So we just spent the day wandering, people watching and enjoyed a delicious piece of strawberry cheesecake for lunch.

Then we picked up our bags and boarded the flix bus to Brussels.

Exploring Austria: My Hiking Adventure from Steeg to Fussen

This trip has been a very different one for me. I don’t usually like to spend so much time in cities but the European cities have been a treat. The last one was Salzburg and I could have spent a couple more days there. That post can be found here: The European adventure continues into Austria. 2 days in Salzburg. The Sound of MUSIC!
To break it up I booked a walking tour with Natural Adventures. They have a TON of itineraries to choose from so if this one works out, I’ll certainly book more.

It all begins in Steeg. But first you’ve got to find Steeg.

Monday, May 30, 2022
I’d looked up how to get to Steeg and it seemed simple. Sue had checked at the train station. Yep, trains were scheduled to leave every hour. The journey would take a couple of hours with one change. So we didn’t rush out in the morning. Upon trying to purchase tickets though the fellow asked “Which Steeg?” HUH? There’s more than one?? Well. I KNEW we were going to Tirol yet the Steeg I had researched was nowhere near it. Oops. So, with the hotel address in hand, the kind fellow figured out how we were to get there. We ended up with an itinerary. It took a train to Innsbruck. Then we took another train to an unpronounceable town. After that, we boarded a bus to Elmen and another bus finally to Steeg. Almost 6 hours of travel. That was much different than the 2 hours we had planned for. Oh well. That’s the joy of travel! The first train was slightly delayed which meant we had THREE minutes to find the next one. From platform 3 to 31, we had little hope of making it. How relieved were we to find platform 31 RIGHT NEXT to our train! Nice! This was a regional train. I asked a young man to look at the itinerary for me. I wanted to ensure we were doing it right. The kind university student even told us when to get off. I could NOT get the name of the stop no matter how many times he said it. LOL.
After waiting an hour we boarded a regional bus to Elmen. Whoa, what a ride that was! Up and up the windy, twisty, narrow mountain roads, then back down again. No way could I do anything besides look out the window as I’d be sick for sure. Good thing the views were spectacular! Sometimes the views down were pretty scary. The bus from Elmen to Steeg was much tamer and passed through many small towns.
The pension Alpenblick was mere steps from the bus stop and we were warmly greeted by our hostess, Monica. After settling in we walked to the next town to eat dinner at the Adler. I had a sampler of Tyrolian dishes and it was really good.

Steeg to Elbigenalp

Tuesday. Our host at the Alpenblick in Steeg prepared a buffet breakfast. There was a TON of food. We were ready to hike. We left our bags at the door to be transported to our hotel in Elbigenalp. First we collected on a cheese voucher from the cheese maker next door to the hotel. She kindly vacuum packed it so we can take it home. NICE! If you’re in the area, go there https://www.kaesereisojer.at/
Finally we were ready to set off on our hike. It was a chilly 10 degrees so we dressed in layers. Soon we were peeling them off. By the time we started the ascent to the waterfall we were in tee shirts. The trail was very well marked and we had good instructions from Euro Hike in the package ready for us at our first hotel. It was rated easy / moderate and it definitely was. There were a lot of undulations plus a couple of really good hills. The trail had a few “technical” spots. All in all, it was definitely enjoyable. The terrain was varied and the views….spectacular. At one point we came upon a tiny chapel and the bell was ringing. A woman came out with her dog, waved and raced down the hill. There is no road access to this chapel. she must just run up the hill and ring the bell when it’s time? Interesting! Rain had been in the forecast but all we got were a few drops during the last hour

It was supposed to be 18 km but we ended up doing 22. Typical. Haha. We were welcomed at the Hotel Gastof Stern and offered a glass of schnapps. Nice! She explained they have a few saunas and would we like to enjoy them? HECK YES! What a fantastic treat for sore muscles after a long day of hiking.
The Gastof Stern also has a really good restaurant with a set menu. It sounded good to us so we opted to stay and we sure were glad we did.

Next we walk to Stanzach

Wednesday June 1, 2022
Breakfast didn’t start till 8 so we had a leisurely start. The trip notes said today’s hike was to be 20 km. Since the first part was the most boring, we decided to take a bus to the next town. This shortened the hike. A bus pass is included in the Euro Hike package, just for days like this.
We were glad we did as the hike was really tough in spots. There’s a “panorama way” that offers amazing views of the town of Elmen and the mountains behind. However, much of it consists of gravel and bigger rocks. The “undulations” are more like steep inclines and declines. That can’t be done quickly. The meadows were gorgeous as well. They’re just FULL of wildflowers like butter cups, wild asters and lots of other flowers I didn’t recognize! I could see tulips and lupins that would be coming next too.
The walk through the forest was a wonderful respite from the heat. My phone said 17 degrees but I was soaked with sweat as the sun was really strong. Upon entering the village of Stanzach it started to drizzle and the rain started just as we arrived at the hotel Garni Waldhof. Perfect!

Stanzach to Hofen.

Thursday. Despite the forecast of rain all day, we started off in the sunshine. An avid hiker would scoff at today’s hike as it was pretty much flat with barely the odd undulation. At one point we had a face off with a herd of cows. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not afraid of cows but when they’re standing on a wide path, just staring at you, with no room around or between them to walk, it’s a little intimidating. We tried going down another path but quickly realized it wasn’t going to connect or go in the right direction so went back. By then they’d dispersed a bit so we could walk between them. We enjoyed the break from hills and did the 20 km at our leisure yet were in Hofen by 1:30 pm. We got rained on a few times. It rained just enough for us to put our raincoats on for a bit. Then, when we started to overheat, we took them off.
The Hotel Garni Lilie had a sauna. We enjoyed some “hot and cold therapy” for an hour or so. Then we headed out to explore the town a bit. Apparently, we hadn’t walked enough for one day. Dinner was decent but seriously over priced. Mine was glorified Mac and cheese and 18 Euros. Oh well. We can’t eat cheap every day 😉

The last day of walking. Fussen here we come!

Friday. 26 km was more than we wanted to do today as we also wanted to spend some time visiting Fussen. We skipped the first 10 and took a taxi to Pflach. It’s pronounced Flaaa – gargle apparently. For the first 3 km or so, the trail was nice. After a big uphill, we had to go down. That trail was steep, muddy and slippery. If I’d been prepared with trekking poles, I would have picked my way down. Instead, I went back up. We thought about our options. This part wasn’t even mentioned in the trail guide. The worst part was yet to come and with all the rain, trails were going to be worse than usual. So we back tracked and decided to do the bike trail instead. Lots of that were kind of boring but there were interesting parts as well and we got to walk through a couple of villages. We veered off the path when I found a more interesting way so it ended up being a pretty good trek and we walked 14.5 km. Shortly after Pflach we must have crossed from Austria into Germany.
After checking into the Hotel Hirsch and getting information on onward travel, we cleaned up and set out to explore the gorgeous town of Fussen. Then came the thunderstorm and of course neither of us thought to bring our raincoats. So, back to the hotel to get those and then boot it for the bus to take us to Neuschwanstein Castle. You have to book tickets for tours to get inside but we didn’t have the time or interest at this point for a tour. Seeing the outside was enough and it IS amazing. Unfortunately the best parts were closed. There’s a trail on the mountain that’s supposed to be nice and Mary’s bridge is supposed to have the best views. Both were closed. Who knows why. Ugh.

A lazy day exploring Fussen

Saturday. A lazy day. After a leisurely breakfast we wandered around the beautiful town of Fussen, admiring the architecture, the gorgeous river and people watching. I noted a couple of women wearing the same shoes I was (Teva sandals, my favourite) and commented. Turns out they’re from Wisconsin and on a Rick Steeve’s tour. They love their tevas too. LOL

Germany has a promotion right now. 9 Euros buys you a ticket you can use for a month on any regional train, bus, streetcar… transportation. We bought one for June. I’m pretty sure the only transport we can use it on is the train to Munich but it’s still cheaper than usual. It’s a great deal if you’re going to Germany!

Next stop: Munich

The European adventure continues into Austria. 2 days in Salzburg. The Sound of MUSIC!

Saturday, May 28, 2022….Again we boarded a Flex bus, this time in Ljubljana bound for Salzburg, Austria. The previous post can be found here:

The border from Slovenia to Austria involved getting out of the bus, having our passports checked, waiting outside till everyone was done and then filing back in the bus. The previous days of 28-30 degrees had changed drastically to about 15 degrees. and it was cold just standing there. Some folks took a lot longer than others. One woman had a child with her and she had to produce several different papers. We arrived just after 5.30 and bus dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. I thought we were going to the south STATION but apparently got that wrong. So. Uber to the rescue as I did not want to walk 6 km with my bag. This was the first time we’ve had to use any kind of taxi so it’s not terrible. The driver was super nice and gave us a bit of info on the city.
Our room at the a&o Hostel Salzburg Hauptbahnhof was small but just fine and we even had our own bathroom. The last couple rooms we’d shared a bathroom so this was nice. Twas late and we were hungry so we searched for something authentic and found the Augustiner Bräu Mülln. It was interesting. There were a bunch of stalls selling various times of food. To get a beer you grab a stein (large or small) then pay to have it filled. The food was not great and some of the proprietors VERY impatient (downright rude?) but the experience was interesting.

Taken from the bus on the way!
olives wrapped in pickled herring and a rollmop
An old monastery now a beer hall
Lots of delicacies!

Sunday. The hostel had a buffet breakfast so we ate there before heading out to explore the city. On the way I noticed a stall selling “Sound of Music tours” so I enquired. One was leaving in 5 minutes. So, why not? Sometimes one has to do the “touristy” things. I had a great time! It was a big bus with 60 people (not normally my thing) but it was fun. The guide told us all kinds of fun trivia about the movie. We stopped at various movie set locations and sang songs from the movie on the bus. The driver wore traditional shorts and was very entertaining as well. If you like the movie at. (who doesn’t??!) then take this tour. https://www.panoramatours.com/de/salzburg/

This dwarf is in the movie somewhere
The kids ran through this park
Garden scenes filmed there
The lane Maria danced down singing CONFIDENCE
Mirabell garden
The church Maria and Von Trapp were married in
Inside the church
Mirabell park. The song “Doe a deer…”
Goat herd song anyone?
Austrai’s wealthiest man is the owner of Red Bull and this is the head quarters

The tour ended at Mirabell gardens so I started there and went walking everywhere. I walked up a ton of the steps to the monastery for the view. I should know better. You just see the roof tops of all the buildings. The streets of the old town are great fun to explore as there are side streets, tunnels and narrow passageways everywhere. I visited several churches and cemeteries but my favourite was St Peter’s. The catacombs are certainly worth a visit as well with gorgeous views of the cemetery and beyond. There’s an interesting sculpture of pickles. Yep, they’re gherkins with a plaque describing Erwin Wurm’s piece. (linked to info if you’re interested) I stopped at Sacher’s cafe for the famous torte but saw the price and decided 8.50 euro for a piece of cake was way too rich for me. A cafe in the old town had a delicious chocolate cake with cherries for half the price and the coffee was good too. Although I got lots of photos of the fortress on the hill, I opted out of visiting it. I’m sure it’s nice.
For dinner we decided on a ramen shop near the train station. It was time for something different.

Bled and Bohinj: Discovering Slovenia’s Natural Beauty

Sunday, May 22, 2022. Our European adventure continues. The previous post can be found here: https://whereisgrandma.com/2022/05/25/croatia-part-2-zadar-ugljan-island-and-preko-the-european-adventure-continues/

From Plitvice to Bled by bus

We left Mukinje, where we’d stayed to visit Plitvice National Park bright and early on the 6:50 am bus to Zagreb. There we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and some good coffee before taking the 12:15 bus to Ljubljana. The border crossing was fun. Even on a public bus we all filed out to get our passports checked. He barely glanced at mine. Back in the bus to the Slovenian side where we got the passports stamped. 5 minutes down the road the bus stopped for a 5 minute break that ended up being more like 20. We’d been in the bus 1.5 hours and gone about 20 km. Apparently the driver knew what he was doing as we arrived in Ljubljana right on time. There we purchased a ticket for Lake Bled. That bus was supposed to get us less than a km from the Dolar rooms so I was surprised when the driver said we were at the last stop. It was still 3.2 km away. We asked at the tourist info how to get closer. The dude was totally unhelpful. He said we could call a taxi. (Uber is not allowed in Bled) Riiight. I don’t speak Croatian. That would be a treat. So we walked. Another reason to pack light. It was stinking hot too.
Our host was very surprised to learn the bus wouldn’t go any further. However, we learned that we could use that stop to go back. We could also go on to Bohinj when we wanted. With what was left of the day, we walked around a bit. We got our bearings and enjoyed dinner at the Starkl. We wanted to get groceries. A wonderful benefit of most hostels is the use of a kitchen. Unfortunately, the grocery stores are closed on Sundays. You don’t hear that often anymore!

It’s a very picturesque Lake!

The hike to the Ojstrica

Monday.
We’d spent the previous night making onward travel plans and figuring out how to entertain ourselves in Bled. It’s a gorgeous town and we’d already taken 76 pictures (slight exaggeration) of the castle and island church. We started with a walk around the lake and climbed the hill to the castle. Next we tackled the hike to the Ojstrica view point. This trail is labelled “intermediate, requiring sure footing”. No problem. Right. It had rained the night before making the already slightly “technical” hike VERY slippery. We found a stick along the path which really helped. Part of the climb up the rocks is made easier with a heavy wire handrail fastened to the side of the mountain. The view at the top is a wonderful reward.
Then the climb down. I was NOT looking forward to that! We picked our way down the hill, our trusty sticks serving as a fantastic security device. We met some folks just starting from the bottom and offered them the sticks. At first they said no, they were fine. I said “trust me. You’ll want it. It’s SLIPPERY”; of course using lots of gestures as they didn’t speak English. They took them.

Our reward for this accomplishment was a giant piece of cream cake at the Belvedere Cafe. It’s THE place to go for a good view while eating delicious cake. Cream cake is a specialty of Bled so of course we had to try it. It was REALLY good! We might have to try it again. 😉

We hadn’t had enough hiking yet so we headed into town to do a hike I’d found on a blog somewhere. We had to follow a map. Apparently we’re not good at that as we totally missed the things we were supposed to see. Oh well. It was a nice walk through the residential areas and through a bit of Bled mountain. By then it was dinner time so we walked to the other side of the lake to a place near the castle. I had the trout filet and grilled veggies. Twas delicious!!
That was a 35,000 step day. We’re tired.

Bohinj Lake.

Tuesday. After cooking ourselves a good breakfast we headed for the bus stop and took it to Bohinj Lake. There we wandered till it was time to catch the boat to Ukanc. You can buy individual tickets but the best deal was a combo ticket that included boat, cable car and lunch. Bonus.
Note that the combo ticket is not well advertised. There’s a sign on the boat dock and you can buy tickets on the boat.
Next was the cable car ride all the way up Vogel Mountain. After checking out all the views and paths on that level, we took a break to enjoy a beef stew lunch. Strudel was served for dessert and was included in the ticket. From there we were to take a chair lift further up for some nice hikes BUT the chair lift wasn’t running. So. We hiked up the mountain. At about 5 km pretty much straight up and then down we decided that was enough so enjoyed the view for a while then headed back down.
We caught a local bus again. It took us back to Bled. We got ourselves an ice cream and just relaxed in the park by the lake for a while.

Vintgar gorge.

Wednesday May 26. Today I fried up bacon to go with breakfast. Yum. Then we walked to the bus station to catch the shuttle to the Vintgar gorge. The shuttle was 10 euros and the entrance to the gorge 10 as well. You can walk as it’s about 5 km but rain was in the forecast. And we felt lazy. The walk around the gorge is only supposed to be about 2 km but you can also visit a waterfall, which of course we did. The gorge is gorgeous as you can see from the pictures. The walk back to the shuttle meeting point was a good hike through the woods, most of it up hill. So when we got back to town we decided we deserved Bled’s special cake “kremna rezina” at the Hotel Park where it was first created. I had to have a scoop of their award winning ice cream too. I really had a hard time finishing the cake but…. it was SOO good and I have issues with food waste. The walk back to the hotel did me good. 😉

We waited out the rain then decided to take one more walk around the lake, this time in the other direction. It really did add a different perspective and by the time we were done we were ready for dinner. Starkl’s was good the first night so we went back. I got the stuklj, a typical Slovenian dish. Twas delicious!

On to Ljubljiana!

Thursday. We caught the bus at the Mlino stop which was MUCH closer than the bus station. There was road construction and lots of traffic so the bus took an extra half hour. One young man missed a connecting bus because of it. Uh oh

After dropping our bags off in luggage storage at the Hostel Tressor we spent the next couple hours wandering around the old time. We said goodbye to Wendy who was moving on to Zagreb and then home and Sue and I went to walk in Trivoli park. There are some great trails there that kept us amused for a couple hours.
Back at the hostel we could check in. Since they had laundry facilities we took the opportunity to wash all our clothes. After a while, sink laundry doesn’t cut it.

Friday. I hit the pavement by 7:30 am. I only had one full day in Ljubljana and I wanted to make the best of it. First I climbed the hill to the castle. After walking around it about 3 times I studied the price list, trying to decide if I really wanted to go in. Basically what I wanted was to climb the tower to get a picture of the 3 bridges. From what I could see that wasn’t going to happen and it was 13 Euros to get in. I didn’t really need to see another castle. So off I went. I visited the grounds, the vineyard and made my way down to the Botanical gardens. The gate was wide open so I guess it was free. I tried to take a short cut back to town but of course that didn’t work and I ended up totally lost. Oh well. The residential section of Ljubljana is nice too.


The market had a whole new section today. It looked like some kind of food festival as there were stalls advertising food from various places. I decided to try a shwarna like thing from Egypt. I wanted to sit at a table to eat it so picked one on the river wall and just ordered coffee. They never seem to push you to leave no matter how little you order.

I wandered some more looking for interesting details and dragons as Ljubljana is the city of dragons so they’re everywhere. The Metelkova area is known for graffiti and street art and I managed to find some of it. In one area it was covering the walls of a parking lot. As I wandered I noticed a group of young men, they were drinking and they seemed to watch me. My gut was telling me this was not safe. I nonchalantly tucked my phone deep into my bag. I walked in the other direction at a good clip. This made it look like I totally knew where I was going. I’m sure they were perfectly fine but I’ve learned to just trust my instincts. I was alone, carrying very few valuables but I did NOT want to lose my phone.

By then it was 4 pm and I was to meet Sue for dinner at 6 so I decided to take a boat cruise. It goes into the old city, up the canal and even the river for a bit. It was really nice and relaxing and I even learned a few things.

Weird sculptures and other interesting things in Ljubljana

Twas a very good day. We treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Valvas’Or 35,000 steps so I earned an ice cream for dessert. Cacao near the pink church seems to have the most flavours so that’s where we went.

The next day we’re off to Salzburg, Austria! Stay tuned 😀 That post is here: The European adventure continues into Austria. 2 days in Salzburg. The Sound of MUSIC!