Ljubljana, Slovenia

We had five nights to explore the delightful city of Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital. A few more words about pronunciation, as the Slovenian language seems to enjoy making every word a bit of a tongue twister. "j" is usually pronounced like a "y", so it's "lyoob-LYAN-nah". Sometimes you'll see a consonant with a little hat: č, š, ž. These are pronounced "ch" like in choose, "sh" like share, or "zh" like the s sound in "treasure" (or for any Green Acres fans: like "Zsa Zsa"). All the rest of the letters act like they do in English, except c. C is prounounced "ts", like in cats. So in Slovenian, "pizzeria" is spelled "picerija". Simple, right?

The city center is closed to car traffic, which makes Ljubljana a very pleasant strolling city. English is widely spoken, not so much because there are a lot of American and British tourists (there aren't). It's because most of the tourists are from other European countries and not too many of them speak Slovenian as their second language. We were able to communicate pretty easily, although the locals did chuckle and give us a thumbs up whenever we tried to use our limited Slovenian skills to say "hello" (zdravo or dober dan) or "thank you" (hvala). The city center is at the base of a hill and you can see a bit of Ljubljana Castle towering above. 

We took the funicular up the hill to check out the castle and after seeing the Predjama Castle the day before, it was a bit of a letdown honestly. Yes, it's one of the town's main landmarks and a castle has stood on this hill in some form or another since the 11th century. But it doesn't really have a typical castle "feel". There are no royal apartments because was never the home of a king; it was just used for defense (as a barracks, military hospital, and later a prison). In the 1970s they renovated and modernized it, and now its more of a cultural park -- with cafes, restaurants, and various art exhibits. Worth a stop but not a must-see.

The main thing we enjoyed doing was just soaking in the atmosphere and strolling around the city. The Ljubljanica River runs through the town and there are several pedestrian bridges connecting both sides. One in particular is famous - a triple bridge re-designed by local architect Jože Plečnik in the 1930s. The middle span dates back to the 1840s but by the 1920s it was a bottleneck -- too narrow for all the traffic trying to cross. So Plečnik added two arched footbridges on either side of the main span. In the photo you can see the pastel pink Franciscan Church which is also a town landmark.

In fact, if you are into architecture this a great town to visit. There are several beautiful Art Nouveau buildings, including this Cooperative Business Bank from the 1920s that incorporates eye-catching geometric patterns into the facade. I wish my credit union back at home was this aesthetically pleasing.

Another beautiful structure from the 1930s is the St Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Church. The interior is covered floor-to-ceiling with vibrantly colored frescoes that depict important saints and biblical scenes.

Since we were in Ljubljana for several days, we bought a couple of Ljubljana Tourist Cards that gave us free access to most of the museums in town. The modern art museum had an interesting exhibit on Harvey Gregory Prusheck, born Gregor Perušek (he Americanized the spelling), who emigrated to the American Midwest (Chicago/Cleveland) and was a prolific painter in the 1920s-40s. I really liked his use of muted tones and dreamy color palette. Apparently I was too enraptured to take any of my own photos, so here's one I found on Wikimedia commons showing an untitled Southwestern Landscape.

Our Tourist Cards also included access to the excellent Slovenian Ethnographic Museum, dedicated to Slovenian heritage and culture. One of the exhibits focused on Pust/Shrovetide, which is Slovenia's much creepier version of Carnival. It's associated with the period leading up to Lent (loosely translated both pust and carnival mean to "leave meat"). The Slovene tradition is for people to dress up in monstrous costumes (called kurentija) to scare away winter and welcome spring. Given the success of the Swedish-themed horror film Midsommar, I can't believe someone hasn't already come up with a slasher flick that incorporates these frightening traditional costumes. 

One of the most relaxing things to do in Ljubljana is to hop on an electric wooden boat and cruise the Ljubljanica River. It gives some of the best views of the bridges and the buildings bordering the riverbanks. We lucked out and a big tour group joined our boat so we had a tour guide pointing out all the interesting architectural features and giving us more of the town's history.

We specifically timed our stay in Ljubljana so we would be there for the summertime Friday food market tradition called Odprta Kuhna (literally "open kitchen"). Food stalls take over Pogačarj square, offering both local Slovenian cuisine as well as world cuisine. We shared a plate of žlikrofi - pasta dumplings filled with meat, cheese, or potatoes and topped with a sauce. We chose meat žlikrofi and that included a generous serving of pork on the side. Add a cold beer and you are definitely in comfort food territory. (Side note: Pogačarj square was named after a 19th century bishop, not after the famous Slovenian cycling champion Tadej Pogačar).

Also on Friday nights in summertime, the city serves up entertainment in the form of open-air concerts. We heard some wonderful music from a floating orchestra (literally an orchestra playing from boats in the river) and a wind section installed in the famous Plečnik Arcades near the market.

We both agreed that Ljubljana is one of those small but captivating European capitals. It's not packed with tourists and attractions, like Paris or Rome, but it has an easy-to-navigate city center, an interesting culture, appealing green spaces, and a pleasant river to walk along. We definitely enjoyed our time here, although we are looking forward to seeing some mountain scenery!

Slovenia - Piran, Postojna Cave, and Predjama Castle

We have been in Slovenia less than 24 hours and we thought “what could be a better way to get over jet lag than taking a ten-hour van tour?” We are staying in the capital city of Ljubljana for the first five nights, then spending the rest of our time driving around the Julian Alps in the north. So for today we booked a guided tour that would take us to some of parts of the country that we don’t plan to see by car. The photo above is the port city of Piran from the old city walls. 

But Piran was actually the last stop on today's tour. The first place we went was to the Postojnska Jama, or “Postojna Cave” — “jama” just means “cave” and “Postojna” (pos-TOY-nah) is the name of the town. This cave is one of the top three tourist attractions in Slovenia, and tourists have been coming to the cave since 1818. This part of the country is comprised of karst limestone and is very porous, allowing for the formation of caves shaped by underground rivers. In Postojna’s case, the Pivka River has been carving its way through the limestone for millions of years. Slovenia has over 15,000 registered caves, and between 100-200 new caves are discovered every year.

Tourism in the cave really picked up in the 1870s when rail tracks were installed. At first the guides pulled cartloads of tourists by hand, and then a small train was added. Nowadays, a fleet of electric trains are constantly ferrying visitors in and out of Postojna. The cave itself is enormous — 15 miles long (24km) — but the train only goes in as far as 3.5 kilometers. It goes at a pretty good clip, and there was no safety briefing. I guess in Slovenia if you are dumb enough to stick your arms up you deserve to lose a limb. Wheee!

After a hair-raising ten-minute ride, you disembark from the train and a guide takes you through the next kilometer of walkways, pointing out features and formations. The cave interior is immense, and this is by far the most impressive cave I’ve seen in all my travels. The variety and number of stalactites, stalagmites, columns, shields, and other formations is remarkable. Also remarkable is one of the cave’s permanent residents, the olm -- a small, blind, aquatic salamander that can live for 100 years. We got to see them in an aquarium but it was very dark and no photos were allowed. The temperature inside the cave hovers around a constant 50 degrees, so even though we only saw a small portion of it during our 90 minute tour, at the end we were ready to hop on the train and ride back into the sunshine. 

The next stop was a self-guided audio tour of Predjamski Grad, or Predjama Castle. Its name in Slovenian means “castle in front of the cave", and you can see in the photo that is an accurate description. A castle has existed on this cliff cave since at least the 1270s, although the version that we saw dates to the 1580s and has been heavily restored. Although it is called a castle it was really built as a fortified stronghold, not as a place for royal lodging. There were no kings here — for most of its history Slovenia was ruled by dukes or monarchs from other nations (like the Habsburgs who ruled the Holy Roman Empire). 

The castle interior is not very remarkable, it was definitely built for defense and not comfort. The most interesting part was the upper level where the castle connected to the cave interior. The castle’s most famous inhabitant, Erasmus de Luegg, used the cave network to keep the castle supplied when it was under siege by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Through the natural cave window you get a glimpse of the Lokva Valley below. 

Today was a day of depths and heights, and once we reached the coastal town of Piran we added even more heights. At the hill above town we stopped for a brief chance to climb the old city walls and take a few photos of the stunning views of the Adriatic Sea below us. Slovenia only has about 30 miles of coastline, with four main seaside towns wedged between the Italian border to the north and the Croatian border to the south. 

Piran originated as a Roman settlement and had a strong economy for centuries thanks to its access to sea salt pans. It had strong ties to Venice, which is just across the Adriatic sea, and from the 1200s to about 1800 it was actually a part of the Venetian Republic. We only had a couple of hours to explore, but we definitely felt that the city had a more Italian atmosphere and architecture than other parts of Slovenia. The Italian influence is especially strong in the Tartini Square, named after the violinist and composer who was born here. 

We had just enough time to explore a bit on foot, have a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant on the waterfront, and try one of the famous local desserts: Š'torta (SHTOR-tuh). The dessert is named after a native olive tree that grows in the Istria region of Slovenia. It consists of sponge cake and layers of olive-flavored mousse over a central layer of salted caramel. You drizzle a small capsule of rich olive oil over the top. It sounds like a bizarre flavor combo but somehow it all works together and is heavenly!

Video: Okinawa

Miyako and Okinawa - "Happening Days"

To get to Miyako-jima from Ishigaki is a little hop of about 70 miles. Our flight was only a half-hour, blink and you miss it. This was our plane.

I promise that we booked our hotel based on good reviews and not just because the name was "Allamanda". All Amanda, all of the time! It was actually a wonderful place to stay and we had a very comfortable villa within walking distance to the water.

From our hotel, we could access a really nice walking path that took us through the "jungle" on a loop around a small peninsula.

The well-maintained path led up to a really spectacular viewpoint. We could tell that there would be some amazing snorkeling right from the resort.

If you ever have the chance to stay in Miyako-jima I highly recommend the Allamanda Imgya Coral Village -- we loved being able to walk right down to the water and snorkel the reef.

But we knew there was better snorkeling on the reefs further out, so we booked a boat tour for Monday morning. Monday was the least windy day for the four days of our stay in Miyako. Our tour started off great — it was just us and the crew, practically a private tour. Our captain took us about forty-five minutes offshore to Yabiji Marine Park. 

It was an incredible reef, one of the best I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. The variety of corals were all so healthy and unbroken, and we saw many species of fish that we’d never seen before. We even got to see another sea snake slithering around the reef. It was an unbelievably memorable snorkel trip! 

It soon became even more memorable though, because the wind picked up and the boat’s engine couldn’t power through the waves. Eventually the engine went completely kaput and we were adrift and getting blown out to sea. Luckily the water wasn’t very deep and there was a sandy spot below to throw out an anchor. It was dicey though, and it evoked PTSD flashbacks to memories of our time living aboard S/V Solstice (Kevin kept murmuring “that’s why we bought a boat with two engines..."). Anyway, the captain hailed another larger snorkel boat to come and pick us up while he and one of the crew waited for a towboat — it was a very dramatic rescue where three of us had to swim to the other boat since it was too risky to raft up. We made it back to port safely, and our rescue boat was generous enough to share some video footage of us from their drone (which I’m sure Kevin will include in the blog video). 

One of the crew was rescued along with us -- she had been feeling seasick with the wind and waves and the captain had thought it best for her to go ashore with us. Because we'd had to swim to the rescue boat, we left in a bit of a hurry. Kevin wisely had our dry bag with all our gear, and in the scramble to leave we had made sure to put her cell phone in our dry bag but she'd forgotten to grab her house and car keys. She also did not have any shoes or a change of clothes. So the three of us arrived back at the marina, and we realized if we went back to the hotel she'd be stuck there waiting in the sun with no idea when the captain would be back because the boat was being towed to a different part of the island. She was so nice and we didn't want to leave her sitting all day with nothing, so we convinced her to at least come with us in the rental car and get something to eat for lunch. We ended up spending most of the afternoon eating poke and having a great conversation. Even though I'm sure it was stressful for her (she spoke really good English and kept saying that it had been a very "happening day"...as in an "eventful" day). But I hope we were able to take her mind off being temporarily homeless and shoeless for a few hours until the rest of the crew came back to bring her stuff.  

Whew! After such a "happening day", Kevin and I wanted a "nothing-happening day". So on Tuesday we drove to Yonaha Beach and rented some beach chairs for the day to unwind. It was great.

We got there early and had the entire beach almost to ourselves for the first hour or so. The sand was powdery soft and the blue water stretched for miles. It was an amazing and relaxing day.

Later that night, we headed to a club called the Funky Flamingo to watch a Japanese rockabilly band. They sang songs in both English and Japanese. Their act was so fun -- they played hits from the 50s and had so much energy they got the whole crowd up and dancing. 

On our last evening on the island we went out for soba and shabu shabu (hot pot). We always joke about how hot pot restaurants should be cheaper because it's just soup and they make you cook the food yourselves. But this was surprisingly rich and flavorful broth so everything was truly delicious. My compliments to the chef!

We would absolutely go to Miyako again, and despite our narrow escape from danger, I was sad to leave it. But we still had four nights in the island chain, this time on the main island of Okinawa. After an uneventful flight to Naha Airport, our stay started out in style, at the luxury Halekulani resort about an hour north of Naha town. 

We had booked here with a credit card perk and received an upgrade to one of the nicest hotel rooms we’ve ever stayed in. It had a wraparound porch and sea views from every window. Ah, this is the life!

We were planning to switch hotels mid-stay and Kevin contacted our next hotel to arrange a snorkel tour for Sunday morning. Somewhere, our guardian angels were looking out for us because the tour operator replied that snorkel tours on Sunday would be canceled due to the "approaching typhoon". Wait...what typhoon?! That was the first we’d heard of Typhoon Jangmi, scheduled to arrive on the island on Monday — the exact date we were supposed to fly to Taiwan to catch our flight home. This put us in action mode, and we spent the rest of the afternoon in our luxury suite rescheduling our flight, canceling our Okinawa hotel, and booking an extra two nights in Taipei -- yet another "happening day" for sure! We unfortunately missed out on another very nice credit card award stay at the hotel we had to cancel, but at least we knew we would make our final flight home from Taipei. We stopped by the Intercontinental Hotel's beach to see what we’d be missing out on - it was a pretty nice beach but not worth missing our flight home, let alone enduring a typhoon!

We arrived safe and sound in Taipei on Saturday (in an ironic touch, the weather was absolutely beautiful for both takeoff and landing). And we explored Taipei's Zhongshan District which reminded us a little of Tokyo’s upscale and bustling Ginza district, "scramble" pedestrian crossing included.

We managed to get a table at the famous Din Tai Fung restaurant for a delicious dinner of soup dumplings (xiao long bao). One of these restaurants just opened in Scottsdale, but I think the menu (and prices) will be a bit different. 

Meanwhile we kept an eye on Typhoon Jangmi, and as it turned out, it caused the Naha Airport to close entirely. Flights for both Monday and Tuesday were cancelled. So coming here to Taipei a couple days early was definitely the right call - otherwise we would have been stuck in Okinawa during the storm and also missed our flight home to Phoenix from Taipei. 

We had booked our final night at yet another swanky credit card point hotel so at least while we wait around to leave for our flight I can finish writing the blog in a luxury balcony suite. Never mind that our balcony just overlooks other apartment balconies with rusty A/C units and laundry drying on the lines. I won't include a photo; instead here's what the hotel looks like at night (I've concluded that in general everything in Taipei looks better at night). What a whirlwind of a trip this has been (with more "happening days" than we would have liked at the end) but I think we are both looking forward to coming home! 

Ishigaki, Okinawan Islands

From my first glimpse of Ishigaki from the airplane window, I knew it would be something special. 

We saved the Okinawan Islands for the last leg of our trip, so that we could relax and unwind after so many adventures in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Well, technically Okinawa is part of Japan, but it was once an independent domain — the Ryukyu Kingdom — until the 1870’s. 

It definitely feels different from mainland Japan here — while still very Japanese in language and etiquette, there is much more of a laidback and fun-loving vibe here.

We rented a car, and since Kevin had to endure the craziness of driving back on Jeju Island, I thought it was only fair for me to have the fun of driving on the lefthand side of the road on this leg of the trip. (I did end up getting pretty good at back-in parking, which is how it’s done in Japan). Meanwhile Kevin could enjoy riding along as the passenger for once! 

Anyway, having a rental car allowed us to really explore the island during our six-day stay. I was mesmerized by the turquoise and ultramarine blue hues of the sea, peppered with coral heads. This is the view from Hirakubozaki Lighthouse, on the northern coast of the island. 

Unlike the Hawaiian archipelago, which was created by volcanoes, the Okinawan islands are predominantly made up of limestone. Since limestone is so porous, it can be easily eroded by the elements which creates dramatic cliffs and caves. Just south of the lighthouse is Sabichi Cave, which is a pretty substantial cave with lots of stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations. 

Even though it was hot and a bit muggy outside in the sun, the temperature in the cave was a lot cooler (although still humid). You can walk through the length of the cave for about 20 minutes before exiting onto a nearly deserted beach. 

The beach looks out over the East China Sea. You can’t see it from the beach, but Taiwan is just 170 miles away as the crow flies. Surprisingly, Ishigaki island is closer to Taiwan than it is to the Okinawa main island. 

From Sabichi Cave, we hopped back into the car and drove to the eastern side of the island to see the views from the Tamatorizaki Observation Platform. On this side of the island, you are looking down the coast with a wider view of the Western Pacific. 

Another great spot for blue-water views is Kabira Bay. This gorgeous mangrove-lined bay is an iconic spot on the island because the clear water is so many hues of blue. You can’t swim here due to strong currents, but there are glass-bottom boats that will take you out to look at the sea life.

The Okinawan Islands are one of the world’s “Blue Zones”. Not because of how blue the water is, but because of the longevity of the local people — they eat a very healthy diet full of superfoods with lots of nutrients and antioxidants. And they stay very active right up into their 80s and 90s due to their healthy lifestyle. We’ve been able to try a few of the superfoods including: beni-imo (purple sweet potato), goya (bitter melon), and umi-budo (sea grapes). Surely eating like this for a few weeks will add years to our lifespans, right?! Unfortunately we have counteracted that by also eating lots of fried foods, noodle dishes and sweets. At the Kabira Bay food truck stand we had some Blue Seal Beni-imo Sweet Potato Ice Cream, does that count as a superfood or just a super-junk food?

Thanks to the rental car we were able to go to parts of the island and snorkel on our own. We particularly liked Yonehara Beach.

But we also really enjoyed going on a guided snorkel tour around the Blue Cave area, which would’ve been harder to get to without a 4WD vehicle. Our tour guide, Yuki, was great - very enthusiastic and full of energy. 

The coral reef here was in such good condition, teeming with iridescent fish and brightly colored corals! 

The water was crystal clear and our group even saw a couple of sea turtles as well as a venomous sea snake! Luckily we all lived to tell the tale. (Sea snakes are among the most venomous snakes on earth but they are notoriously shy and never swim up to humans. They only bite if you mess with them.) It was a great day out on the water!

In fact, we had such a great time with our guide Yuki, that we signed up for his Night Jungle and Stargazing Tour later that night. 

Our walk took us through the dense jungle vegetation on the far western, less-inhabited side of the island. On our walk we saw the nocturnal Habu viper. (Less dangerous than the sea snake, but still something to be avoided!) We were grateful that Yuki had given us tall rubber galoshes to protect our feet!  We also came across another nocturnal creature — the coconut crab. In this picture you can really see the indigo blue color — it almost looks fake but I assure you it was real!

Out on the beach we all turned off our flashlights and were amazed by the limitless expanse of sky and starlight above us. Kevin and I were very glad we took both of these tours to experience the natural beauty of Ishigaki. 

Speaking of Habu vipers, one "must try" on the island is Habushu sake - a liquor made by infusing awamori (a local distilled spirit) with herbs, honey, and a whole snake. The alcohol breaks down any venom, so it's safe to drink. We tried it at dinner one night. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think it counts as a superfood unfortunately. Oh, well. Kanpai!

The main industries on Ishigaki are agriculture (they grow sugar cane, tobacco, pineapples, mangoes), cattle ranching, tourism, and fishing. As I mentioned, the island has a very laid-back vibe and it isn't yet over-developed. There are only a handful of resorts on the island and unlike Hawaii none of the resorts are high-rises (yet). It is kind of how I imagine the Hawaiian islands would have been like in the 1930s. 

We were so glad we included Ishigaki as a stop on our Okinawan itinerary. It was a magical place with just the right combination of water activities and scenic beauty to completely charm us. Hopefully someday we'll make it back here!