Day 3: From Caves to Castles to Shootout Wins

Sundays are definitely sleepy in Ljubljana - there was not a soul on the streets this morning.   We headed out around 9:30, hopping in the car and driving South on the excellent highway.  The infrastructure is amazing here and everything seems to be kept in good repair.

Our first stop was at the Postojna Caves.   We’d read that they were great, but very busy and “touristy”.   We have a constant internal conversation about that word - people often refer to something as “very touristy” (ie, “the Eiffel Tour is just ok... it’s very touristy”).   As Abby says, “I get what they’re saying, but there’s a reason tourists go to see these sights”.  

I think the line for us is drawn between “cultural experiences” and “sites to see”.  The cultural experiences like the Masai warriors in Africa or the like can certainly skew more towards disappointing.... but the sites (the Eiffel Tower is amazing!) are a different story.

In the end, we didn’t find the caves very busy.  It was well done.  We bought tickets and waited for our 11am departure group.  We were hooked up with a guide in a group of about 30 people.  After renting the girls some world war 2 looking coats (it was chilly inside), we boarded a little train that whisked us almost 2 kilometres through the cave system.  The place was huge and the train route occasionally opened into grand caverns with thousands of stalactites and stalagmites.  Eventually, we got off the train and did about a 45 minute walk and stop tour in the caves.  The tour guide, a very precise Slovenian with a dry sense of humour, asked us if we were from America (as one does in Europe).  When we told him we were from Canada, he smiled and offered to take our picture.

Eventually we looped back to a huge cave known as the “concert hall” (they actually stage concerts and masses here occasionally) and boarded the train for the ten minute ride back to the entrance/exit.

We went through a cheesy, kind of overrated museum just outside the caves that showed some of the living albino salamanders they call “human fish” but were pretty much ready to go after that.

We got back in the car and headed South towards Predjama Castle.  Although it wasn’t far, the girls were getting Hangry so the ticking time bomb virtual egg timer was triggered in our minds with a knowing glance between Beth and I.  We took slight detours to check out a couple of little towns, wondering if we could find a truly local restaurant, but not only were these towns super small, they were also super apocalyptically quiet!  In one town, four locals sitting outside their house gave us the strangest most quizzical looks that we finally gave up and headed to the “touristy” castle.

The castle was built on to the face of a cliff and in front of a large cave system.  We decided to get lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the castle.  The views were great, and we decided to listen to Rick Steves and just chill outside for a bit and ignore the temptation to get a ticket to go inside (sounded a little disappointing).

Back in the car around 3pm, I suggested out loud that “people who usually would like to sleep at this time of day may want to recline their heads and close their eyes”.  I wasn’t surprised to see Beth and Robin with heads bobbing and mouths drooling not three minutes later, but... et tu Abby?  She’s usually my non-napping wing man but she was soon asleep too.

Back at the hotel, and woken up, we decided to walk a little beyond the city center area, passing through an area known for its graffiti.  This graffiti was not pretty - it seemed more like “tagging” than the artistic graffiti that I was expecting.  In fact, even inside the historic district, there was quite a bit of tagging, which seems to contrast the neat outward appearance of the capital as a whole.

We ended up at a squatters grotto that had a bunch of wacky sculptures -some good, most childish, and we moved on.... quickly.  It was so quiet there that the girls (3) were getting creeped out.

Back across the river, we headed south, back past the dragon bridge and on to the back streets that Abby and I had explored yesterday.

We ended up at a Japanese fusion restaurant for a drink where Abby and I decided to stay and watch the Russia - Spain game and Robin and Beth headed to H&M.   Robin is having a tough time in the outdoor cafes and restaurants here - the second hand smoke is everywhere.  I always supported aggressive smoking bans at home, but I remember being surprised when they banned smoking outside at restaurants and bars.  With how sensitive Robin is to smoke, it has really hit home what a good decision that was.  At least so far in Slovenia, we see nobody sitting inside restaurants and I believe the main reason (other than the good weather) is the opportunity to sit and smoke.   It’s pretty gross and I can’t blame Robin for constantly having a scrunchy or shirt held up to her nose in an attempt to filter the nasty smell out.

The game was amazingly boring, but Abby and I had fun.   By the end of the game, the shoppers had returned and we watched Russia pull out a win in a shootout.

We were waiting to hear word from the Taylors on their flight into Ljubljana, but nothing yet.  We met up with Paul and Blair and found a nearby place for dinner where most of us had some nice, local pizza.

The football schedule did not let up, so we headed to the same bar as last night, Lockal, to watch the Croatia - Denmark game at 8.  With a Denmark goal scored at 2 minutes in, and a Croatia equalizer at 4 minutes in, we though we’d be in for a more exciting game.  Alas, the next two hours had no further action.  Halfway through, Robin again had to bow out due to smoke, so Beth took her to the hotel to try and hook her up with the game from the comfort of her room.  She reported back that she couldn’t get the TV working so we figured Rob would get a good sleep.

The game came down to a shootout - d’oh!  Stressful.  Shockingly, there were as many misses as makes, but in the end, the semi-local fans were relieved as the Croatian team won!  It was a really fun atmosphere.   Their next game, against Russia, is next Saturday so we will watch that in Dubrovnik.

We walked back on the cobbles - three Tyndalls and Papa (Blair bowed out before overtime) and crept quietly up to the hotel door of the girl’s room so as not to disturb Robin but when we opened the door she greeted us with a “hey guys!  I watched the whole game!  It was awesome!”.  As Beth said later, “that Robin will do just fine in life”.   Too funny.

We did hear from the Taylors.   They made it to their apartment not far away by about 10pm.  A long day of travelling with two little ones - it must have been very tiring.   We’re looking forward to seeing them but not sure if that will be tomorrow or when we get to Split.