Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, and Meeting People on the Road

Episode Date: June 21, 2018

One of the best parts of solo travel is the people you meet on the road. Lannie Su saw via Instagram that we were both in Slovenia and asked if I wanted to meet up — of course! Last week, we talked about how she’s border surfing the Schengen zone and how you can, too. This week, we’re focused more on Ljubljana’s history and great food, and the delightful day trips you can take to Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, and Piran. Visit postcardacademy.co to learn more about Slovenia.   I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. If you so desire, you can sign up for my newsletter here. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.   This podcast is brought to you by Audible. Not a member yet? Postcard Academy listeners can get a FREE audiobook and a 30-day free trial if you sign up via audibletrial.com/postcardDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Welcome to the Postcard Academy. I'm your host, Sarah Micatel. The previous episode nearly broke my brain due to the mathematics involved in calculating how to stay in Europe forever without a visa. Today, we are returning to my favorite travel topics, food, history, and meeting random people. I'm continuing my conversation with Lanny Sue, an American living in Europe visa-free, following the 90-180-day shang-in-roll we talked about in the last episode. Lanny saw on Instagram that I was in Ljubljana and so she wrote to me saying she was arriving from Lake Blood and did I want to hang out? And I said, sure, let's meet up.

So in this episode, we will jump back into my conversation with Lanny in which we will be talking about all the foods you have to try in Slovenia, more about his history, and the best day trips from Ljubljana. This podcast is brought to you by Audible. When I was traveling through the Balkans last year, I asked for book recommendations. And at the top of the list was Samantha Powers, Pulitzer winning A Problem from Hell. I love learning about the history of a place when I'm there, but I really wish I had picked up

this book before I'd gone to Bosnia. Like in Germany, the war-torn history is a big part of tourism, and I just felt so dumb at my ignorance of the siege of Sarajevo and the Bosnian War before I arrived. So I'm reading a problem from hell before my next trip. Are you interested in this audiobook? Maybe something else? If you're new to Audible, you can get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial at audibletrial.com slash postcard. That's audibletrial.com slash postcard. Now let's jump back

into my conversation with Lanny. Let's see. I'm trying to decide whether I have any other Schengen-related questions for you. It's so complicated. And so what brought you to Slovenia, which is a Schengen country? Honestly, I love Instagram so much. And I have been lusting over Lake Bled and the island on the lake for so long. I've been waiting for it to be summer and it coinciding with one of my class modules so that I could just take the train from Vienna to Lake Bled. And so I really wanted to go to Lake Bled specifically just to photograph it. And also there's a lot of hiking trails. around the town and the lake, which have amazing views.

And I love going hiking. So really, that was it. Just photography and hiking. You know, it's, I don't know if this is sad or what, but I also came to disappointment pretty much because of Instagram. And I was having this conversation with my friend Crystal the other day. We're like, we're kind of over social media. We don't really, you know, we're not that into it.

We just want to be living our lives. but then at the same time as introduced us to some cool new places and some people like I met you through Instagram and we just happened to see that we were in the same place at the same time and we got to hang out together today which was really fun we went to the open kitchen

which here in Lublaana every Friday in this town square a bunch of restaurants have food stalls there's music and God, my falafel was so tasty, and I think we're going back for second soon. Yeah, I hope so. I had a really tasty tortellini and an order of sardines, which was amazing. Yeah, so here in Slovenia, the country is shaped like a chicken, and there's three different regions, and they have sort of three different regional cuisines as well, and people listening to this podcast can go back and

into the Slovenia episode I did with Noah Charnie, who wrote a book about traveling in Slovenia. But yeah, I've been just enjoying being here. And I learned that they have these three different food regions. And so they have a little bit of coast. You know, Croatia has most of the coast over here. And I think most of the other countries are jealous, right? At least so, but they do have a small coastline. So that's where, you know, people are eating more of the sardines and things like that, the fresh fish. And then other areas are influenced more by the Alps. So you've got more like stick to your ribs type food. Your sausages. Yes, yes. And then the more central area is sort of like a blend. But the Habsburg Empire occupied this

land for like 600 years. And so you can see that in the different food in the architecture. Sure. And so I was told that most of the food that you're going to eat around in Slovenia is more influenced by some other empire. So whether it's Italian or Austrian, you can get some tasty food. And the desserts are also quite delicious. Well, and that's what Bled is known for for their cream cake dessert, which is kind of like a Boston cream pie, but on puff pastry. instead. It was really good. It felt very heavy after everything that I ate yesterday, but it was a must. Oh, I had some yesterday as well when I was up at the Lake Bled Castle.

So if you're in Slovenia, so you actually stayed in Lakeblood. I just did a little day trip. If you don't want to go through the hassle of navigating buses, you can take a tour and you can hit Lakeblood, like the little island with the church on it. And they have these boats that will, these guys who will row you out there. And this goes back 200 years. So apparently there were a bunch of farmers in the specific area. And the queen needed that land or, you know, whoever was in charge decided we need that land.

And so they took it from the farmers. But to compensate them, they said, okay, you can have the exclusive rights to boat people around. And back then it was just sort of, you know, not people with very much money. Maybe pilgrims just, you know, people who needed to get from one side of the lake to the other. But now I think it's quite a good tourist industry. So these guys have inherited the right to row people out there. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.

But, I mean, I went out there. There's not a ton to do on the island. It's quite tiny. I didn't go on the island the whole five days that I was here. Yeah. I don't think that you missed that much. And the best view, actually, is up from the castle. From above, yeah.

Yeah. And so we went up there, got to take some really nice photos. I wish I had more time to hike around. Is that what you did? You hiked around the lake? Yeah. So the circumference of the lake is about four miles. And it's nice to just walk around the lake because you can see the island from all different

sides and you can see the castle. But also they have a couple of viewpoints that you can hike up to. And I think it's maybe six or 700 meters up. I could be wrong. But I went up for a sunrise hike one morning and of course it was cloudy, but it was worth it. There was only five other people up there. And ironically, they were all Americans. So for whatever reason, there's six Americans waiting for a sunrise in Slovenia. Yeah, and I think that's quite common here. In the mornings, it can be quite foggy. And they said that especially in the wintertime, they said, you know, London is famous

for fog, but really, it's all here in Ljubljana. But then later on in the day, you know, it clears up and it's been really quite brilliant. I've been slathering on the sun screen. But what of your first impressions of Lubliana, Ben? It's a really adorable city. And I don't mean adorable in a condescending way. It's adorable and it's architecture and the old town is very quaint and very lovely. There are a lot of bridges in town, which arguably is my favorite type of structure.

And it's just a nice little old town area. Yeah, I've been mostly staying in the old town. It's just so quaint. I love it. And it does look very fairy tale. Like, as I said, it was occupied by the Habsburgs for hundreds of years. And in 1895, there was actually a major earthquake. And most of the city was destroyed. And so what you see now is architecture after that point. And so like the very colorful, you know, pastel buildings in that sort of Habsburg style. Well, and I think that's what makes it so amazing because for me, I love art-newvo architecture, and within the old town, that's all there is. It's very ornate, is very colorful. It's lovely. Yeah, and also, Lugliano was actually walled in during World War II.

So first, the Italians occupied them, and then the Nazis. And there was, like, quite a resistance to them. Slovenia, you know, had a pretty strong partisan movement. and so the Italians barb wired them in to the city. And then the Nazis came over and sort of took over that occupation. But because they were walled in and occupied, they weren't bombed. So that's why the town is still in such great original condition. Original going back to 1895.

Right, right. Semi original. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it's such a cool, like, chilling. vibe. And as I was telling you, I'm staying near this old tobacco factory that was from like the Yugoslav communist era. And now there's some bars and like a co-working space and things like that. So yeah, there's a lot to do. And also Slovenia is quite a small country. And I was thinking of going to Pruran and spending the weekend there, which is this cute little coastal town, which everyone

keeps telling me to go to. But we're both kind of flying by the seat of our pants right now. And that can be great, but and also, you know, the housing there. It's, I just looked at booking.com and it was 99% occupied. And because. I mean, I guess beach town and summer, right? Yeah, although it's not officially the high season yet. Yeah, not yet. Because Slovenia is so small, I realized, I could actually get there in two hours. And so I'm just going to stay where I am and just do a day trip there, I think. Oh, nice.

And you decided this within the last two hours. Yeah, since I saw you, since we last spoke. But I will say that I didn't realize this until I got here and I looked it up, but Slovenia is the third most forested country in the world. I think by percentage, not by actual land area. And so everywhere you look, it's very lush and very green and just very, very beautiful. Yeah. And so you went to the lakes, you said, not just Lake Bled, but you went somewhere else.

Yeah, so I think two days ago I did a day trip to Lake Bohini. I think that's how you pronounce it, which is in the Triglav National Park. And it's maybe only a 45-minute bus ride from Bled. And part of it, part of the National Park is in the Julian Alps. So the Slovenian portion of the Alps. And it was just really, really pretty. It was a glacial valley. So, you know, you have these stunning vistas.

There's beautiful waterfalls. And seriously, the clearest water I've ever seen in a lake in my entire life. You could see the rocks at the bottom. You could see the fish in the in the lake. It was just beautiful, pristine water. That sounds wonderful. Yeah, it really was. They do like their green space here.

Yeah. You know, we were just talking about Lakeblood, which can get horrendously, like, touristy as far as, like, the bus is coming in and going on that boat ride to the island with the church on it. But it's also a place that locals go to a lot to not to go to that little church island, but just to chill out, go swimming. Lakeblood is actually the warmest lake of the alpine lakes. And so it's a good place to go in the summertime, although there are like really giant catfish in there.

And so some people like won't go in there because it's just a little bit creepy. And in fact, I saw a mom like a deck and her babies were swimming with her. And I saw one of the babies on her back. And I thought, that's funny. and adorable. But then somebody said, it's because the fish can try to like eat the baby ducks. And I was like, what kind of monster fish are these?

But, oh my gosh. But yeah, I would love to go back to Lakeblood and just go rowing or something. Yeah, it was very relaxing there. And I, well, part of the reason is because high season hasn't started yet. So when I

was there, it was, I wouldn't say empty, but it was not what you would expect for a tourist destination. very relaxing. Another thing that is relaxing is having a glass of wine in this awesome weather along the, like there's a nice little canal running through the city. And you mentioned like the more than 30 stone bridges that are here. There's just so many little places where you can sit by the water and have a coffee,

have a glass of wine. Slovenia is not the cheapest. It's not the most expensive European city. but we were both saying it's not like the bargain destination we were thinking. Yeah, I think it's probably because it's increasing in popularity in recent years, and so prices have gone up. Yeah, so increased tourism for sure, and then also whenever countries switch over to the euro, things get more expensive as well. Some locals were complaining to me, and they definitely have a point. I mean, I remember the first time I went to Italy.

They were still on the lira, if you can delete it. And then I went back soon after and it had switched to the euro and I didn't realize that. And I'm not one to really budget anything. I just tend to spend money on, you know, food and experiences and not things. So I don't really think that much about it. But, you know, I have a general idea of how expensive places and what I have. I was like, wait a minute, what? The money that I had just got cut in half.

And yeah, people are still feeling that. That's how I feel in Scandinavia or Iceland. I'm just floored about how expensive everything it is. Yeah, and like in Iceland, I don't understand their money at all, and you don't realize what you're spending until you get your credit card bill later and your eyes pop out of your head. Oh, my gosh, I got a bowl of soup and a banana for 50. in Iceland earlier this year and I wanted to cry.

Good grief. Good grief. But you have some lovely non-Shangun areas you can go to that are super drape. Like Macedonia has just appeared on my radar. I hadn't planned on going there this summer because I have a few things on my list. But yeah, I'm so, Skopje just sounds like a lovely place. And they are spending so much money in the capital city. to try to attract tourists and things like that.

And it sounds like a cool cafe culture type place to hang out in it. I've never been there, but one of my class nights is from there. So it's on my radar. Yeah. And I think I want to go back to Bosnia. I really loved it. So I think that should be on your list as well. I think Bosnia, yeah, it is on my radar too.

Well, thank you so much for having this little chat with me. And I think we should go. back outside. And there's a few places that I want to take you to you. And I think we have to try this dessert called, and I'm not going to say it, right, Gibanika. And it's a layered cake that's got poppy seeds and raisins, walnuts, cottage cheese, apples. They say it's like a very healthy cake. We'll see about that. If there is such a thing as a healthy cake. I mean, I think the apple struttle I had for breakfast was somewhat healthy. I think, I think, the Giba.

Giba is healthy enough. So let's go get some. Oh, but before we go, don't forget the sign that we saw earlier, stressed is desserts spelled backwards. Yes. I think that means you should always have dessert. That's what I took from it. I think so too.

You know, I'm more of a savory person, but I have to say, the desserts here in Slovenia have been really good. I haven't had a bad meal. All the food has been really good. Yeah, it has been really good. And I pointed out that place that had the doodily, which is these melt in your mouth dumplings. They're a little bit, they're like melt in your mouth dumplings, but they're a little bit fried. And you can get it with a mushroom sauce, and it comes with this other, like, cream, sort of more onion-y sauce.

It was so tasty. And then I got one of the local wines. And that's another thing. They produce, like, 80 million liters of wine in this country every year. But they don't export most of it. They drink, like, 80 to 90% of it themselves. I'm not sure why. I kept trying to ask.

Like, why don't, why aren't you guys exporting this wine? Maybe they want to keep it for themselves. It's their little secret. Yeah, they're enjoying it. They're enjoying it. And so, yeah, I went on a little food, wine tasting the other day. And, yeah, so I found some favorites. I feel like such a local right now.

Well, you were giving me a fantastic tour of town earlier. We went up for a walk up to the castle. had a nice view of the city and then I pointed out the Empire State Building that they have not Empire State Building, they're a little skyscraper which I think is 12 stories tall

but at the time it was the tallest building at least in Yugoslavia so yeah this is a great place everyone should come to Slovenia I agree it wasn't on most people's radars but it should be and I had put out a blog post a while back

on Slovenia and Lubliana. But after this trip, I have so many updates to make, so I'm going to go back and do that. Yeah, I need to write a blog post on this too because it's just been the most fantastic time here. Yes, okay. We can do some writing and then go get some dessert. Sounds like a plan.

All right. Well, I will see you soon. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Bye. Bye. Where are you in the world, to hang out, visit postcardacademy.com and tell me where you are. Okay, I am so excited about the next

episode. I will be talking with Tony Matsalia, founder of the Taste of Florence, the best food tour in Tuscany. As one of the world's most popular travel destinations, Florence has a lot of tourist trips. Tony, an American who's lived in Florence for years, has made it her mission that you eat well when you're in Italy. So we will be sharing her top recommendations. So if you haven't subscribed to the Postcard Academy yet, please do so you don't miss it. And if you have subscribed, thank you and I love you. That's all for now. Thank you for listening and have a beautiful week wherever you are. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond

with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah micahatel.com slash blank no more.