Earl's Stuff: Angela, Ruth, and Haley arrive! October 15

Angela and Ruth, with Haley, planned their trip to the Adriatic area, with some advise from us. We decided that Lake Bled is the obvious choice to begin, mostly because it is near the Ljubljana Airport, which is not that close to Ljubljana.

We enjoyed staying at Vila Bled (Marshall Tito's summer home) with Bill and Barbara, so we decided to stay there again. The girls were due to land in the evening, and our car was finished at the repair place that afternoon. So, we drove our old, stick-shift, loaner car to Ptui and traded it for our shiny Hyundai. What a relief! I grew up with stick shift vehicles, and we had them exclusively until about the time Nancy was born, and both stick and automatic for many years after. But I soon learned that the muscle memory for driving with a stick had alzheimers.

So we got our Hyundai back and drove straight to Vila Bled and checked in. The girls were due by 9:00 pm. As the sun went down, I took my Nikon out to get some photos during the golden hour.

The island. From the veranda of Vila Bled, I got a good view of the steps leading up to the chapel. Clouds were lowering, so the normal view of the Julian Alps is covered with cloud in this shot.

And the castle at the far end of the lake seems to almost reach up to the clouds.

At about 7:30, we decided to go down to the restaurant and get ourselves some dinner. We ordered, and then Sam and I both recognized the voices in the foyer. The girls had arrived!

It is hard to explain the emotions running wild in me at that moment. I got both my daughters in a bear hug and just held on. I didn't even let go to take a selfie. Oh, happy day!!!

We had their luggage taken up to their room, while we all went back into the restaurant. Soon we got our food, and the girls ordered theirs. I had ordered prime rib with vegetables. I don't know what you call the green sauce on the meat, but it was absolutely wonderful. And the vegetables were just the way I like them.

We had a great visit with them, but, of course, they were jet-lagged and almost dopey from their long flight. So, we visited for a while after dinner and then they headed off to get some sleep.

Next morning, we all met for breakfast, and then headed to the lake. The plan of the day was to see Lake Bled. Then Sam and I would leave together and I would drop him off at the airport, then I continued on to Maribor. Branch Conference was that weekend, and I had to be there in the morning. Meanwhile, Liz and the girls would go on a grand tour of Istria and Croatia before joining me back in Maribor, about a week later. I was sad to be separated, so I tried to get some value out of our Lake Bled day together.

I am not sure why this ended up being a commercial for Coke Zero, but there you go. We talked to the driver of the Pletna Boat and decided to get our ride out to the island in the afternoon. You might notice that everybody was happy. We all had a great time, including Sam.

We walked all along the side of the lake, but there are SO many places to stop and take photos, or just stare, that we were all spread out. Then we'd gather up, and pretty soon we'd all be spread out again.

They all wanted to walk all the way round the lake, but I was only good for the walk to the city end of the lake.

There is a particular place with this view of the castle and church and boathouses and mountain. I've had my eye on it, but never had a chance to take photos with the tripod at this location, until just then. Notice that the clouds had lifted, leaving behind snow. I probably have a couple hundred photos of this place, and I still can't resist taking more.

We stopped for the obligatory photo in the Bled heart. Sam tried to escape, but I got him!

And the girls then settled down for a serious portrait.

I told everyone I was good for the walk to the bee house at the head of the lake, and this is it. I wanted to show it to my prospective beekeeping daughter. It was barely into the 60's, but the bees were working, to my surprise.

Liz, too, wanted to be a beekeeper for the day, so she posed by the bear.

And then she insisted that I pose with my very favorite oldest daughter, of whom I am very proud (in a good way.) After that, I went back and they continued on to circumnavigate.

This is the view of the church from the bee house. It is a pretty church, in a fabulous location.

Ruth noticed this fountain along the side of the lake in an out-of-the-way place. I had never noticed it before. Clearly not many people do notice it. I'm sure it used to be very nice, but now it has become quaint - which is not a bad thing.

On my way back to the Vila, I stopped to take some art photos, and just enjoy a beautiful day in a beautiful location.

The others got back to the hotel at about the same time as I did (because I doddled along with my cane and sore foot and knee), after having had a grand time walking around the lake. We had lunch together, and spent some time looking at all the relics in the hotel from the days of Tito's Communism. Then it was time for Sam and I to leave.

I dropped Sam at the airport, even though I wanted to leave him at a nearby hotel, because his flight wasn't until the next morning. Then I had a lonely drive home. As I drove along the wonderful scenery between Ljubljana and Maribor, I felt sad that our daughters would not see that part of Slovenia during daylight. We drive the route frequently, and never cease to marvel at it.

The girls spent another night in Vila Bled, before heading south to the Istrian Peninsula, then on to Rijeka and Hreljin for family contacts with the Benac relatives who live there. Then they drove down the Dalmatian coast, visiting Plitvice Falls, Zadar, Split, Krka Falls, and Dubrovnik, before returning to Maribor on Saturday evening. On Sunday, Ruth spoke in Sacrament meeting and ended by singing. Then Angela spoke. D.K. translated for both of them. It was a good ending to an epic vacation for them, and a wondrous reunion for us.

On a previous trip we had some time to kill and wandered along the edge of the mountains north of the Ljubljana airport. We saw a castle at the edge of the wooded hill a ways off the road, so we drove up there and found that it is now a hotel. So that is where we stayed on the girls final night in Slovenia. Actually, Ruth had an earlier flight and I took her to the airport that afternoon, and then Angela and Haley the next morning.

================================================================

As we left Maribor, we had an adventure that I want to share. When the girls arrived in Maribor, a light came on in their car saying that a tire was low. When we left town, I was riding with Ruth in the car she rented for their stay, while Liz had Angela and Haley with her. As we analyzed the tire situation, we realized it was more serious than we'd thought, so we stopped at a rest stop just outside Maribor, to pump some air into the tire. At first, I thought it was a slow leak, and that we could stop for air a time or two along the way, and it would be fine. As I pumped air, two men who were eating lunch nearby came over and offered to help. One of them was carrying a little boy in his arms.

They could hear the air escaping from the tire, but my hearing is such that I couldn't hear a thing. They found the hole and it was a significant hole. So we decided to change the tire and mount the spare. The three of us worked together and got it done in good time and without too much drama. The guy with the little boy held his child the entire time, even though he was working on the tire along with us. When we were done, I offered to give them 10 euros for their help and one of them said, "No, it is good for men to do things to help other people. It makes us better men." The other one agreed enthusiastically.

Wow! What an awesome thing for them to say! What amazing men they were! I wish I could have talked to them more, but by then Ruth was very worried about getting to her flight on time.

============================================================

The castle where we stayed that final night is only the gatehouse of a grand castle built in the 1300's. It belonged to people in the old Yugoslav royal family from some time in the 18th century until the final owners passed away some 30-40 years ago. The government then bought it and turned it into a museum and hotel.

This is the castle from down on the fields below. The moat is just beyond the row of white posts.

A closer view, with the moat just visible at the bottom of the hill.

This the view looking down from the gate, near the courtyard on the uphill side of the castle.

The view entering the courtyard from the back side.

Grad Strmol. Grad meaning castle, and Strmol is the name of the royal family who occupied the place for many centuries.

This large room is used for government and corporate meetings on occasion. The current management had the table built especially for this room.

In the entryway there are rows of antlers, artwork, and relics. One of the most interesting is this stuffed alligator. The lady who lived here before the government bought it, kept this alligator as a pet. One day it bit her, so she had it stuffed. It is about 5 feet long, or maybe a bit longer.

This photo of her is hanging just outside her bedroom, and it shows her holding her pet alligator. Clearly it was much smaller when the photo was taken. It is an unusual relationship, but the gator seems fat and happy. I think it would be a bad idea to give it a kiss on the lips, though.

I took many photos of the antique furniture in the castle. This is a good example. It has wonderful inlaid woods. The level of craftsmanship is superb, and it would have been an expensive piece at any time. The style indicates the French style of around the time of Marie Antoinette.

Liz was very impressed with this piece. Besides being atractive, it is full of secret compartments and drawers. Liz had just pushed the little pillar above her hand aside to reveal the row of little drawers.

This painting and the next are in the room where Angela and Haley stayed. It is kind of a "Where's Waldo" style, with numerous little scenes of people, many of whom are caricatures, but mostly they seem to portray significant events. I'd say it's a painting to help teach history, but I don't really know.

I had trouble taking a photo without the light glaring off it.

This one is on the opposite wall from the first one.

I had to get up very early to take Angela and Haley to the airport. I returned to bed for a while, then we went down for breakfast. What a spread! I told the woman who served us that it was too much for two people, and she said it was OK, because everybody working there got to eat.

Video doesn't seem to upload properly, so I put a photo below.

This door knocker/harp is built into the door to the dining room. I assume it was to announce the arrival of the Lord and Mistress when they were ready to eat.

This is the balcony where our rooms were located. Liz and I stayed in the closest one, while Angela and Haley were in the next one.

This was our bedroom. Even the footboard had fancy inlaying. The inlaid flooring was also pretty impressive.

This entertainment center was impressive. It was built in the USA in the 1920's. The turntable pulls out of the cabinet. It works, although it needs a new needle.

The radio lights up, but doesn't play anymore. The label indicates that there are several bands available. One says, "Police & Amateur". Others are "Longwave", "Ultra Shortwave", and 2 ranges labeled "Foreign Shortwave". The manufacturer is "Scott the Stradivarius of Radio".