Padova to Ljubljana - Day 5 - Monday 1st September 2025 - Balkan-Georgia Trip - Day 5/34 - City 5/20 - country 5/11
- eusts6
- Oct 20, 2025
- 4 min read
I was up bright and early and walked to the railway station to catch the first of 3 trains for that day. At 07:41, I caught a train which was earlier than my pre-booked ticket for Venezia. The inspector was not impressed, and I had to buy yet another ticket costing 5 euros.
It was worth it just to have that extra time, allowing me to get a cappuccino and a sandwich. It's "illegal" to drink cappuccino after 11:00, so I remarked sheepishly, "Si può?" It's allowed as it was around 8 a.m. The lady chatting to the barista stopped her conversation and remarked, "Si deve!" YOU HAVE TO!!
I took a few pictures just outside the station to record that I was actually there, hypocritically cursing the hordes of tourists as I felt above them speaking Italian, understanding the dialect, and remembering how I used to go to this place every Sunday in 1992 when the streets and alleyways were deserted, just church bells and pigeons for good company.
I savored the few minutes in Venezia, still cursing the tourists and remembering how I took this very city for granted 33 years ago. I took a deep breath and made my way to the station, and I boarded the train for Trieste and waited for departure. This was exciting; the train would bring me to the border of Italy and Slovenia, the start of the Balkans.
The first thing I notice on arrival is that the EC135 to Ljubljana was canceled. I had a brief moment of panic thinking about how I could get to my destination, as my other connections would fall apart. I knew something like this might happen. At the information desk, they kindly informed me that there was a replacement bus waiting to drop us off across the border, phew, panic over. As the bus crossed over into Slovenia, I felt a warmth; I was back in the Balkans, I was back in Yugoslavia.
The bus promptly dropped us off at Sežana station just across the border, and instead of the expected ÖBB train, there was a Slovenian train with a digital display "EC135". There were a lot of confused travelers, most of whom appeared to be over 60 and Australian, trying to find their assigned seats, but we just ended up picking random seats instead.
The train journey took us past mountains and forests that got more spectacular as the journey went on. I was feeling invigorated. I got talking to a local guy, Igor, a smiley guy with long hair tied back in a ponytail. He was fascinated that I spoke Serbian to the ticket inspector. The train slowed down, and I could see we were already in Ljubljana. I was back in Yugoslavia.
Despite it being only 900 meters away, my hotel, Hotel Meksiko, I was sweating carrying a camera bag, a second rucksack, and a bright yellow Dutch Jumbo shopping bag now full, and trying to encourage my damaged now 3-wheeled suitcase to cooperate. But like a stubborn toddler, it kept protesting, to which I responded by kicking it and scolding it, quite amusing for the locals. I arrived drenched in sweat, speaking to the Italian ladies who were checking in. These ladies and the female receptionist seemed to have pity for my self-inflicted pain. Hot and bothered, I decided to stay put for a couple of hours. I charged up some batteries, as well as allowing myself to recover before showering and exploring the city.
When I finally went out to explore the city, it was nicer than I remembered. The small streets were full of little shops, cafés, and wine bars. I was on a quest to find food, but I quickly forgot that idea when I saw the wine bars. When I explore, I always wait until a place "jumps out" at me, and this place called "Vinski Bar Most" did just that! The bar is so called because of a nearby bridge. I had a private service where my waiter explained everything about the wines I was tasting in great detail. I had two white wines and two reds.
I started with the "zelen," meaning "green," followed by "šipon," so called because the French used to say "c'est bon," and the locals tried repeating it, and it came out as "šipon." The pinot noir was excellent, but the cabernet-sauvignon, despite being made in a qevri using the Georgian method, didn't impress me, but cabernet-sauvignon rarely does. The whole time I was there, there was a really strange and disturbing statue next to me that I couldn't ignore.
I finished the wine tasting and immediately bumped into some Dutch tourists, and I explained I was looking for a vegetarian restaurant. Lo and behold, right behind me was a vegan restaurant, so in I went. I ordered a traditional menu—well, "traditional" as I could get being vegan. I immediately noticed a guy with a blue cast just like the one I had, so I spoke to him, and he explained he had also been in a biking accident just like me!
I started the meal with a rakija made from pears "kruškovača", then some local wine. It took absolutely ages for the 3-course meal to arrive. The soup, a bean and smoked tofu, was good, but the vegan "spare ribs" with fake meat were far too realistic for me. The dessert was actually nice, a sort of half-savoury bread/cake. The German couple, the guy with the cast, came up to me at the end of the meal to thank me for wishing him well.
I felt the night was still young and ended up in a place called "Mačkon," meaning "male cat," where I continued with beer, befriending a guy called Luka. We ended up staying for ages, and the conversation got very deep indeed. Drunk and satisfied, I walked back to my hotel.
#Italia #Trenitalia #Padova #Venezia #Venecija #Slovenia #Sežana #Trieste #Ljubljana #VinskiBarMost #Mačkon
Comments