We started the day in Ljublijana. After a nice breakfast, we left the city and headed towards Austria. As soon as we left Ljublijana, we began climbing into the Julian Alps. The peaks were shrouded in mist and the countryside below was a patchwork of manicured pastures, fields and vineyards. We were impressed by how neat and orderly the farms were, and it looked like a postcard.
It was very interesting that the mountains were shrouded in mist; we drove through a number of tunnels and after the 4th tunnel we came out into bright blue skies.
We arrived in Sankt Nikolai im Sausal to tour the Weutz Distillery. We had made several attempts to contact them via e-mail and phone to confirm they were available for a tour, with no response. We were pleasantly surprised that they were open and waiting for us. The owner, Michael Weutz, warmly introduced himself to each of us and then proceeded to give us a tour of the distillery. Michael specializes in spirits distilled from local grain and fruit. We were surprised at the variety of spirits he had available and Tom and Bill sampled several of them.
During our conversation we learned that Michael actually makes his living as a mechanical engineer who specializes in HVAC. It turns out the distillery is his passion and only a hobby. We thanked Michael for his hospitality, bought several bottles of his best whiskey, said goodbye and headed for Vienna.
Michael gave us a recommendation for a good restaurant in Graz. Once in Graz, we faced traffic congestion and a maze of medieval streets and became hopelessly lost. We headed east just to get out of town and stumbled upon Restaurant Zur Schmied'n. We took a chance and it turned out to be wonderful. Moral of story is that you don't need a restaurant recommendation to find an excellent restaurant in Austria; because they are all outstanding!!
We continued our trek into Vienna and ended at the airport hotel. Nothing left to do but blog and pack. We are so sorry to see this wonderful trip come to an end. Now to start planning the next trip.
Miller - Kuthe Five Country Tour 2013
Austria - Hungary - Croatia - Italy - Slovenia
Friday, October 25, 2013
Day 8 - Trieste and Ljublijana
We began our day with a tour of Miramare Castle. This castle was the Trieste home of Archduke Maximillan of Hapsburg family.
The castle was completed in 1870 so Tom was impressed with the hot water heating system (state of the art). Radiator inclosures conformed perfectly with the elaborate mill work. Debbie and Bill never noticed.
We walked around the exterior of the castle to complete our tour.
As we headed towards the car we realized that once again we dodged the bullet as 5 bus loads of umbrella people (tours) converged upon the castle.
We left Trieste and headed towards Slovenia. We drove through the Julian Alps on our way to Ljublijana. Lisa and Debbie had done their homework and knew in advance to purchase a vinyeta (toll tag) for Solvenia. Good thing. As we exited the highway there was a Solvenian policeman with binoculars watching for toll tag dodgers.
We arrived in Ljublijana and were pleasantly surprised with the ease in which we found our hotel. Our hotel was conveniently located within walking distance of all the major sites. Our first stop was lunch. WOW!! We had the best soup and appetizers ever at the Cafe Most. We sampled the local wine; it was outstanding.
There was a picture of a lock on the placemat. Debbie asked the waiter what that meant and he explained that lovers bought a lock and placed it on the bridge cables of the nearby Mesarski Bridge and threw the key into the River Ljubljanica. This symbolized that the couple would remain lovers forever. Debbie and Lisa bought locks and followed the tradition.
Next stop was the Church of St. Nikolaja. The Baroque architecture was quite impressive.
After leaving the church, we headed to the funicular (lift) to reach the Ljublijana Castle. We are very glad we did not have to walk up the steps to the top. We did, however, climb the steps to the bell tower. The views of the city were amazing and well worth the effort.
We came back to the hotel and blogged in the bar before heading to Restaurant Julija for dinner. The hotel desk clerk recommended this restaurant which was in walking distance. We were able to get seated outside and had a wonderful dinner served by our waiter Gregor. We have all become enamored with truffles.
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The castle was completed in 1870 so Tom was impressed with the hot water heating system (state of the art). Radiator inclosures conformed perfectly with the elaborate mill work. Debbie and Bill never noticed.
We walked around the exterior of the castle to complete our tour.
As we headed towards the car we realized that once again we dodged the bullet as 5 bus loads of umbrella people (tours) converged upon the castle.
We left Trieste and headed towards Slovenia. We drove through the Julian Alps on our way to Ljublijana. Lisa and Debbie had done their homework and knew in advance to purchase a vinyeta (toll tag) for Solvenia. Good thing. As we exited the highway there was a Solvenian policeman with binoculars watching for toll tag dodgers.
We arrived in Ljublijana and were pleasantly surprised with the ease in which we found our hotel. Our hotel was conveniently located within walking distance of all the major sites. Our first stop was lunch. WOW!! We had the best soup and appetizers ever at the Cafe Most. We sampled the local wine; it was outstanding.
There was a picture of a lock on the placemat. Debbie asked the waiter what that meant and he explained that lovers bought a lock and placed it on the bridge cables of the nearby Mesarski Bridge and threw the key into the River Ljubljanica. This symbolized that the couple would remain lovers forever. Debbie and Lisa bought locks and followed the tradition.
Next stop was the Church of St. Nikolaja. The Baroque architecture was quite impressive.
After leaving the church, we headed to the funicular (lift) to reach the Ljublijana Castle. We are very glad we did not have to walk up the steps to the top. We did, however, climb the steps to the bell tower. The views of the city were amazing and well worth the effort.
We came back to the hotel and blogged in the bar before heading to Restaurant Julija for dinner. The hotel desk clerk recommended this restaurant which was in walking distance. We were able to get seated outside and had a wonderful dinner served by our waiter Gregor. We have all become enamored with truffles.
.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Day 7 - Porec and Trieste
We began our day with breakfast at Hotel Lone. Before leaving, we toured the hotel grounds as the setting was breathtakingly beautiful.
Our drive to Porec was somewhat uneventful. We arrived in Porec and toured Basilica Euphrasian. This Basilica is described as one of the best examples of Byzantine mosaics in the world. We were amazed with the exposed wood trussed roof; Romanesque style.
We then walked along the seawall, stopped for a drink at a sidewalk cafe and continued our drive to Trieste.
As we crossed the Croatian/Slovenian border, we decided to stop for lunch in Koper, Slovenia. After exiting the highway, we realized it would be a 2 hour stop (not on the itinerary). So we quickly jumped back on the highway and resumed our journey - but still hungry.
We arrived in Trieste and found it to be a very large, confusing port city. We GOT LOST!! With the help of a lovely Italian blond we were given directions to the San Giusto Castle and Church. We were amazed at the mosaic interior of San Giusto - nearly as impressive as Porec.
We left the city center and made our way to our hotel. We were elated when we realized that we had only one street to take to our hotel. However, since the street had no signs and the name on the front of the hotel was different from our reservation, it took us several trips up and down the Costa de Strada (Coast Road) before we finally found the hotel.
We were directed to a restaurant in "The Village" and after several more trips up and down the Costa de Strada, we finally found the village. We had a wonderful dinner sitting outside along the Adriatic at the Resturante Principe di Metternich in Porto di Grignano. Life gets no better than this. Then back to the hotel to have a drink and blog. Tomorrow Slovenia.
Our drive to Porec was somewhat uneventful. We arrived in Porec and toured Basilica Euphrasian. This Basilica is described as one of the best examples of Byzantine mosaics in the world. We were amazed with the exposed wood trussed roof; Romanesque style.
We then walked along the seawall, stopped for a drink at a sidewalk cafe and continued our drive to Trieste.
As we crossed the Croatian/Slovenian border, we decided to stop for lunch in Koper, Slovenia. After exiting the highway, we realized it would be a 2 hour stop (not on the itinerary). So we quickly jumped back on the highway and resumed our journey - but still hungry.
We arrived in Trieste and found it to be a very large, confusing port city. We GOT LOST!! With the help of a lovely Italian blond we were given directions to the San Giusto Castle and Church. We were amazed at the mosaic interior of San Giusto - nearly as impressive as Porec.
We left the city center and made our way to our hotel. We were elated when we realized that we had only one street to take to our hotel. However, since the street had no signs and the name on the front of the hotel was different from our reservation, it took us several trips up and down the Costa de Strada (Coast Road) before we finally found the hotel.
We were directed to a restaurant in "The Village" and after several more trips up and down the Costa de Strada, we finally found the village. We had a wonderful dinner sitting outside along the Adriatic at the Resturante Principe di Metternich in Porto di Grignano. Life gets no better than this. Then back to the hotel to have a drink and blog. Tomorrow Slovenia.
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