I got up early and went to the gym before breakfast. Had red face for rest of the morning and felt slightly dizzy. Pretty sure exercise is unhealthy. Breakfast good again – we’ve had a nice time here (Sheraton Salzburg) it’s a shame to leave.

Drove south. Left main road and went through Alpine National Park. Worried that we hadn’t paid (you have to buy a vignette and stick it on your windscreen) and that we might be fined. But there was nowhere obvious to buy one. Then we arrived at the official entrance to the park, and actually it would be impossible to NOT pay, so that was an unnecessary panic.

Stunningly beautiful views in every direction. I want to live in Austria – they even like dogs, so Kia could come.

Followed mountain road to a glacier. Saw a marmot (looked like a groundhog). Lots of cows with bells, sheep, motorbikes and – surprisingly – cyclists. Not quite sure why anyone would cycle up a mountain by choice, but there are some weird people in the world. The road led to a huge car park, with toilets and cafes. It felt rather like a seedy service station on a motorway. However, it was functional, it allowed everyone to park and enjoy the views. Some people were walking to the glacier – not sure if they could actually walk on it; but they looked tiny from the car park, so I’m guessing it would be a whole day’s outing, and we were on the way to Ljubjana so didn’t have time. Perhaps when we live here ….(need to start persuading Husband).

R perturbed by lack of lunch. Found a supermarket at 3pm and bought bread and cheese.

Arrived at Grand Hotel Union (yes, that is the correct order of words) in Ljubljana. (This is pronounced libby-ana. But Husband insisted on calling it Lubbily-Jubbily, and now it is REALLY hard not to. Which will be embarrassing when I’m telling friends about the holiday.)

  Hotel is in the old town, which is lovely. Weather hot. People speak good English (which is lucky, as we are having trouble with even the name of the city!)

We wandered around looking for somewhere to eat. Husband tired after 8 hours of driving. Ate in an over-priced cafe in a square and watched the world go by. Lots of young people. Old part of the city is pretty, and full of bars and cafes and street artists. There are famous bridges, interesting statues and lots of people. For a city I had never even heard of, it is surprisingly well-known amongst tourists. Will explore tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Take care,
Love, Anne x

On Friday I will tell you what we see in Ljubljana – why not sign up to follow my blog?
anneethompson.com

xxx