29 September: to Kranj

I am travelling to a country that is just a 1.5 hour flight away. But before leaving, I couldn’t have told you which countries it borders. I also have remarkably little grip on the size of the country and the distances within it that I will be travelling. And when my plane descends towards Ljubljana I am ashamed to say that I am actually surprised to see soaring limestone peaks so close to the capital. Under informed or what.

I am relieved when my phone pings into life. Travelling without access to timetables, accommodation websites – the usual gizmo – would be unthinkable.

The late afternoon sun is pleasantly warm. A throng of people at the bus stop are piling onto a bus for Ljubljana. What about Kranj? I have trouble getting the word out in a way that is intelligible. The driver tells me that there are no more buses to Kranj today. I bounce between the taxi rank (where I am quoted an extortionate €30 for a ride that would cost me €1.90 on the bus) and the bus stop. Eventually, the timetable proves correct. A bus pulls in and I am in motion once again.

The mountains emerge from a flat plain – similar to the French Alps that I am familiar with. We weave our way through villages with views of maize being harvested, and a zillion churches.

No one on the bus speaks English. But the driver tells me he’s taking me to Kranj  “Centrum”. What did we do before Google Maps? I stumble my way to the little hostel cum hotel in the old city, kick the dust off my shoes and relaunch for supper.

The streets are weirdly dark – no floodlighting that I can see, few streetlamps. A full moon hangs over the river. The terraces are full. Led by Google ratings I arrive at an authentic little bistro, across the river. The picture menu shows combinations of yoghurt, cheese, potato, meatballs and sausages. I choose something that looks like an omelette. When it arrives, it turns out to be a solidly constructed laminate of bread and cheese, accompanied by a large glass of yoghurt. This sits oddly with the beer I have just started and it feels like a terrible meal. But the next day I hear at the tourist office that this is a cherished eating venue. So I will need to educate myself into Baltic ways.