Train from Budapest, Hungary to Ljubljana then Lake Bled, Slovenia
Greetings friends, foes, freaks, geeks, dorks, dweebs, frienemies and enemies a like,
What a weird few few days, ok not so weird but kinda weird, yeah. Cough got out of control after going out in Budapest. It was “ok” but unless I’m with lovely ladies or a tight crew, going out has gotten old hat. Think an old hat that came in a 24 of beer or something. Summary is I took a train from Budapest, Hungary to Ljubljana then Lake Bled, Slovenia.
Going out in Budapest was cool but wow, there are some massive dudes there. Photo above is of one of the massive underground clubs in Budapest. So many guys with arms larger than your legs it makes you tread really carefully, only bought 1 beer at the bar, partly because it sucked though. So many dudes reminded me of my ex gf’s dad when he was younger. “JOHNNY DA BOI!!!” Got bored and couldn’t find crew so walked home in the cold rain. Went to bed late, woke up early coughing the whole time.
Took a 9 hour train from Budapest to Ljubljana, Slovenia. I was the only person on the train with a 1st class ticket and as a result, had an entire train car to myself. What’s weird is that when I got to Ljubljana, there were no rooms left so the dude at the front desk told me I could sleep in the luggage storage on after I told him I’d sleep anywhere, just don’t want to get robbed. Talk about from 1st class to street trash in a as long as it takes to type this.
Next morning went to Lake Bled. Met some cool people. Met a Finnish lady on the train which is cool as I’m going to Finland. We hung out, drove bikes around the lake even went bobsledding and fishing. Also met these cool Norwegian girls and had in depth conversations about really deep topics, indeed.
Lake Bled is indeed beautiful and indeed totally tourist central. It’s also home of some insanely large fish, the record is a 62lbs Carp. They want 330E for a 9 day pass, that is what I gathered from these English “carp enthusiasts”. The dorms are way too expensive at 17-21E a night and they are not that nice to be honest. Also the bobsledding is like 7E, the tour of the castle is 7E, bikes are 3E an hour, 5E for 2 hours and a boat is ~15E an hour or 12E an hour if you walk like 30 minutes to a more secluded part of the lake. They have these “adventure tours” that seemed “reasonably priced”. That said, what do I know? I never go on that stuff.
If you have a train pass, take the train, the route is very scenic. If you do not I urge you to take the bus. The train drops you off on the far side of the lake and it’s a solid ~2km hike. What makes things worse is that right before the train station there is a massive hill, not so bad coming but leaving… You walk 2km with your gear then have this serious death march, not worth it, you’ve been informed.
The water is incredibly clear and almost reminded me of a Thai island sorta, I said sorta ok. The water was really pristine and today, when I was leaving. I took all my gear off and just lay there staring at that church. Supposedly way before a church was there it was some “other type” of ritual stuff and they found bones dating back like 3,000 years, supposedly, who knows, who cares!?
This place would be great for a “romantic get away” or somewhere to bring the kids and or just to chill out. As a backpacker I got bored after 1 day, for real. Also I want to let you know about some stuff that simply cannot be classified as “cool, sweet or beautiful”.
Considering I write for myself and am 100% independent, let me tell you what the “Tourist Board” or some brown nosed blogger trying to get a free stay at a hotel never would. I met some Brits on a train in Poland, one of their friends got punched in the face with brass knuckles. They said these locals were looking for a fight, one gent said one thing and this guy just started knocking all of them. When I arrived, an Irish lad told me the night before the owner of “Bled Hostel Bar” got bottled by someone when he tried to break something up. That is when someone smashes a bottle on your face FYI. Talked to a hostel lady and she said this is “new”, maybe but she is biased, right?
When I was walking home at 12:30 with the ladies last night these 4 arguably deranged and definitely derelict dudes were sitting near the road and began saying incredibly rude stuff to the ladies. We all just kept walking, thankfully the ladies are veteran travelers and like me, knew this was not a good time to turn around. They were looking for something or just being jerks. Anyways now you know, yes? I get along with staff and scabs as well as bums, backpackers and billionaires so I *know* what goes on. Go check it out, do some tourist stuff but not too touristy please and then bounce. Nightlife was a joke anyways but it was a Sunday… Beer is cheap though ~2E in the bar for a pint and you can get this one brand in the grocery store for 0.44E a bottle and it’s decent sized. The Kebab I ordered made me want to try bulimia, big time.
The dorms are overpriced and the cleaning lady was so rude this morning at the Bledec place. I came in at like 2 minutes to 10 to shower before I left and she said check out is 10, you gotta leave. I was like huh? You got 6 gents in here 1 shower and I’m the guy who went for breakfast, I’ll shower then leave, thank you. She reminded me that this is not a hotel but a hostel, to which I reminded her that I was aware as it had broken down bunk beds and if it was a hotel she’d be fired or sent to customer service rehab. Suffice to say I took a long, very long shower and left.
Go with a friend and you can get a hotel room for ~60E. They want private rooms for ~60E at these hostels, ha. Also next to the Bledec this lady has a sick crib and if you have 4-6 people, she will rent out at 15E a night. It’s a cool place, own kitchen everything… Oh yeah, on the castle side of the lake, they have amazing ice cream for 1E, I highly recommend it, highly.
So yeah, there yo have it. Bled is worth visiting and is very beautiful, the nightlife is not worth it and sorta shady. Do I recommend going? Yes. That said if you want natural beauty, go to Canada, we got it all, seriously. Also I’ve found in this part of the world if you’re with a lady and just go tie your shoe, some creepo will be there thinking he has a chance in a speedo and a fanny pack before you can tie the first knot. All said though, Slovenia is very beautiful and Ljubljana is a small but cool city, real artsy scene in the club area, I’m sure some of them are very fun.
Tonight starts a 24 hour trip to Berlin, Germany. Overnight to Zurich then to Frankfurt before bombing to Berlin and arriving at like 6:30 or so. My lungs are “Hurtbag Jenkinsing”, whatever that means. Same same but different as last time, weak. Meeting a friend in Berlin and also decided time to make more “plans” on this trip as a little bit of commitment never heard anyone. Just gotta commit to the right things, for you.
You see, if you leave everything last minute, it’s like showing up and buying a plane ticket at the gate. If you book a head of time, and stick to a plan you get a discount. Also if I want to meet friends and whatnot, I need to give them more notice as most are not as flexible as a dignified drifter, ok not so dignified.
Side note, July was the biggest month we’ve basically had traffic wise. Like a stock that just gapped up, we’ll see what this month has to offer. What is cool is this, almost all the traffic is direct and search engine aka incredibly healthy and sustainable. If you like this site, tell a friend, add it into the “let’s kill time drinking coffee at work” rotation type thing. Golf clap to you, readers.
Oh yeah, there is a hostel in Ljubljana that is an old prison cell. It says “if this is too kinky for you come enjoy a coffee on our terrace”. Too kinky? Are they $@34# kidding? Anyways they have a really urban artsy area near there and some of the best underground clubs where you won’t get commercial stuff, aka the stuff I like but don’t know what it’s called / can’t find online. The Slovenian basketball team was filming some “urban bball tricks”. If I was staying and well, this would be the part of town to check out at night.
Also have a big tribute to “GURU”, RIP!
Flick of the cap,
P.S: I took so many photos at Lake Bled that I will one day post a ~50 photos from Lake Bled type thing and just get all vanilla about it. Probably when I’m not traveling. You miss a day and well you gotta keep going, if not this blog would become something writing top 10 lists or how to brush your teeth while on the road, L.O.L.
P.P.S: Looking to lighten my load, may have to jettison some equipment and clothes. Also, tip of the hat to David & Jack for letting me check their map on the train, life saver when I got to Slovenia.
P.P.P.S: Glad I update daily, lots more happened over the last ~72 hours but it’s just too long to type. Think of this blog as writing a book or you reading a book, 1 page at a time.
Search Du Jour!?: “Polish Wedding 2010” Result, here.
