DAY 107 THURSDAY JULY 9 - GOODBYE ITALY, HELLO SLOVENIA

Today was a very tricky transport problem because Italy and Slovenia have little interest in setting up a direct link by train across the border.  Lyn was very doubtful whether the travel plan given to us by Deutsch Bahn in Frankfurt would actually work and she knew very little about Ljubljana where we were to spend the next two days.  We used the detailed instructions provided by Mark Smith ("the man in seat sixty one" finds him in google). We had 9 separate phases to work through.

1. Walk from the B&B to the ferry.

2. Buy a ferry ticket on the ferry and get off at the wharf for the station (Ferrovia).

3. Catch a regional train to Trieste Central.

4. Walk to the tram terminus in Trieste.

5. Buy a ticket for the tram and travel on it with our luggage to Villa Opicina near the border.

6. Walk to the Slovenian train station in Villa Opicina.

7. Catch a Slovenian train to Davaca.

8. Transfer to a bus substituting for the train to Ljubljiana.

9. Find our Hotel in Ljubljiana.

Malcolm had intended to study google maps while in Venice to ensure we could find our way for the walking sections but that was thwarted by the ISP for our B&B who could not repair the link for two days.  He tried using the kindle but it would not download the maps.

We left at 5:13am and had a quiet wait on the wharf.  It was so nice to see Venice waking up slowly and the ferries running with small numbers of passengers.

The train ran around the coast to Trieste and was the first Italian train we have taken that arrived on time.  We agreed that Mussolini would have been pleased, but no mention of his name is made here.  We had good views of the port and the sea as we descended into Trieste.

Our backup plan for finding the tram was to get a map at the station from the information office.  Some stupid people had recently closed it down and moved it 600 meters away.  We saw a street sign pointing to the tram so thought that we could just follow the signs.  That did not work so we found a taxi and arrived just as the tram was leaving.  We scrambled on but realised we should have bought tickets and waited for the next one.  In the end we are ashamed to admit we did not pay.  Paying $4000 for a Eurail pass does not cover $2 tram tickets.

The tram was a real beauty,  just like the ones we went to school on in the 1950s, made in 1937 and kept in great order.  For the 200 meter climb out of town it uses a cable system just like the French one we used in Evian.  The views back over Trieste were stunning. This tram has been running since 1902.

This is the extra vehicle that helps the tram down the hill. It gets pulled up by cable.

There were five young backpackers on the tram (we think they were from Portugal) and we asked them whether they were going to Ljubljana and they said yes, so we followed them through Villa Opicina to the station.  It was a good thing we did not wait for the next tram as there were no street signs to the station and it was more than a kilometre.  No one was quite sure whether we would have to transfer from the train and at which station but the train arrived and the conductor said confidently in English "I will tell you what to do."

 At Davaca he transferred us onto a tour bus that was nearly full already, and we had  a pleasant trip along the new tollways they were building in Slovenia.

We found our way to the Hotel Center in record time at 1pm, so we travelled with hardly a break for 8 hours, but Lyn rated it as a smooth operation and she found the city to be a revelation.  No problems with using English, wide streets, moderate crowds, excellent hotel room and prices cheaper than Italy. It was planned for our last Europe tour but just did not fit;  this time we call it a "must see".

We explored the environs twice this afternoon; in the old town we recorded this man.

 The highlight was a set of about 200 large photos in the Tivoli Gardens depicting outdoor activities by scouting groups from around the world. We were really inspired to see so many camping and hiking activities being enjoyed by young people and their mentors.

Slovenia contributed the most photos and we were able to see a lot of the landscape  of the country that we would not have time to visit. Our daughter Catherine would say "I told you so." It is a very scenic country.