Rogner Bad – Blumau, in Styria, Austria

We hit the road and drove almost to Graz, when we saw signs of the Rogner Bad – Blumau (www.blumau.com). Although neither of us recognized the name, the design elements of the sign were clearly that of Hundertwasser, our beloved artist and architect. So, as good travelers in any road trip, we got off the highway and visited.

The wellness spa resort with mineral springs exhibits Hundertwasser’s dream of how society should co-exist with nature. All lines are drawn from nature; they are not flat, not even the floors, they are organic and undulating from ceiling to what would be a corner. Each space is also exploited to its fullest extent to provide a growing platform for living things. Hundertwasser was seen as extreme and a fanatic during his life. But, as with many great thinkers, his thoughts are revered at present and many of his projects have flourished after his death.

Brano and I have visited his museum. His art adorns our walls and finally it was like a dream to walk through its realization. I felt awed.

(The captions are all quotes from Hudertwasser.)

"The visual pollution is the most dangerous because it kills the soul of humanity."

"When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many dream together it is the beginning of a new reality."

"The architects have lost responsibility for their doing. They are building criminal structures unworthy for men to live in, insane illusions become relaity in ferro cement. They are building concentration-camp-like cells where man's soul perishes."

"The butterflies and birds will come back."

"Some people say houses consist of walls. I say they consist of windows."

"Our real illiteracy is not the ignorance to read and write, but the inability to create."

"We live in paradise, we only destroy it."

"A person in a rented apartment must be able to lean out of his window and scrape off the masonry within arm’s reach. And he must be allowed to take a long brush and paint everything outside within arm’s reach. So that it will be visible from afar to everyone in the street that someone lives there who is different from the imprisoned, enslaved, standardised man who lives next door."

"The horizontal belongs to nature, the vertical belongs to man. Where snow and rain fall vegetation should grow in the cities."

"What we urgently need are barriers of beauty; these barriers of beauty consist of uncontrolled irregularities. Paradises can only be made with our own hands, with our own creativity in harmony with the free creativity of nature."

"Art must meet man's and nature's pace. Art must respect nature and the laws of nature. Art must respect man and man's aspiration for true and durable values. Art must again be a bridge between creativity of nature and creativity of man. Art must regain its universal function for all and not be just a fashionable business for insiders"

"If we do not honor our past
We lose our future.
If we destroy our roots
We cannot grow."

"In former times painters have painted houses. Today painters have to invent houses and the architects have to build after the paintings. Because beautiful houses are not there anymore."

"The straight line is godless."

"We must restore to nature territories which man has illegally occupied."

Maribor, Slovenia

Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia and we decided to stop there because we hadn’t felt the need to rush. So far the time traveling was not very much and we’d had a picnic outside of Graz. Our evening in Maribor began at our first hotel – the Garni Hotel Tabor. I was amazed how effortlessly we found it, with a small printed map and Brano and I looking frantically for miniscule street signs.

After we checked in we went post-haste to town in order to check things out and find a bite to eat. We traversed a lovely city center in no time and traversed it yet again. I had my heart set of having squid for dinner, so after some funny entrances and exits at various restaurants we found ourselves at a place with a menu outside that clearly stated “ligne na zaru”, so we went it. Oops. It wasn’t bad. It was funny. There first question, spelled out with gestures and a mixture of Slovak and English was regarding whether or not we had student status with “bonn”. It turns out we had entered a student “buffet”. Too tired to split, we sat and tried to order, the waitress came back several times to tell us that they didn’t have what we wanted. Finally, she essentially ordered for us and brought us what they had.

It was delicious.

We traversed the city for a drink and headed back to the hotel. A beautiful city with chic bars and a plethora of (probably) tasty restaurants ☺.

Attention to detail in Maribor

Maribor church tower

Bled and Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

In the morning we made reservations for an apartment in Trieste, Italy. But, we decided that we would drive first past Ljubljana, the capital, to see some of the natural sites of Slovenia.

On the edge of the Julian Alps, lies some fantastic hiking trails and Lake Bohinj with its three villages surrounding. Although we didn’t leave enough time for hiking, we did manage to drive there, through villages with the constant beautiful background of rolling hills and majestic mountains, and go for a walk.

Lake Bohinj was as lovely and serene as we had expected. Unfortunately, there was also a bit of construction going on at the time – reminding us that the pristine nature of this particular lake was probably on its way out, time to make money from the tourists!

After a hike, we drove to Bled.

Bled is a beauty. There aren’t too many places that can boast a castle on a cliff, next to a big lake, with an island, upon which sits a church, and in the background snow covered mountains. If there were one place where I could capture a feeling of visual perfection – this would be it. There is something so inordinately stunning about this 360 perspective, that photos simply don’t suffice. Perhaps that is why it is a popular destination.

Brano and I drove up to the castle on the cliff. Built in 1004, the castle exhibits weaponry, a printing press, and a wine cellar with a monk in attendance. We sat for a cup of coffee and enjoyed the view of the lake, island church, and mountains.

We then went down to get a closer view of the lake. The island with the Church of the Assumption is at the center of the lake. One can visit the church by skating or swimming depending on the season or by taking a ferry boat. The site is a strange one. I can’t imagine who thought to place a church on an island? Why?Village church on the edge of Lake Bohinj

Panoramic of the lake

Slovenian countryside I

Slovenian Countryside II

The city of Bled

A view from the castle of Lake Bled

The Island with the Church of the Assumption

The Julian Alps as seen from the Castle

Bled Castle Tower (1004)

Bleddy Brano

Good "Bleddy" coffee at the castle

Bled Castle as seen from the ground

Em as seen from the ground

Trieste, Italy

After leaving Bled we drove straightaway to our Adriatic sea destination – Trieste (which coincidentally has a different name in Slovenian, Croatian and Greek, showing the tumultuous boarder history of the region). The weather began to get warmer as we drove South and after crossing some mountains you could feel that we were getting closer to the sea. Ahhhhhh. The sea. There is something so wonderful about being near water when you live inland. The air is different. The food is different. The people seem more immediately relaxed. There is more sun, wind, life… it is brilliant.

Trieste’s first impression is one that perhaps many drivers feel when entering Italy. A sort of “oh my god” feeling. As co-pilot, I just kept saying to Brano, “you’re doing great, good job, that way, ok now I think, this way…. ummmm… watch out for that moped!!!” We entered the first parking garage and squeezed up the ramp, then went on foot to find the place that we had reserved only that morning.

Our walk took us past the main square “Piaza Unita D’Italia” and into the small medieval streets of Trieste. There was a moment when my hazzardly written notes didn’t make sense and I suggested that we phone the people who rent these apartments and then we turned around and it was there. We’d found another location. Yet again, without any sense for where we were. Amazing.

Our apartment was down a small pedestrian “street”, perhaps in English it would be called an ally, but it was a bit more than the width of my arm span. It was cute as can be and we were more than happy to call it home for two nights.

We began our first night in Italy at a small bar/café on the corner from our apartment. Immediately, it became apparent that we were no longer in Slovenia. People were sitting outside, laughing, gesturing wildly. The servers approached the table with an informal swagger and said “Ciao”. People drove up onto the sidewalk with their vespa, took off their helmuts, and yelled, “Caio Bella!”. I felt like I was living in a stereotype.

After our cocktail we traversed the Trieste streets. Trieste has had a tumultuous past. Its heyday and grandeur developed during its reign as a commercial port in the Austrian Empire. It became part of Italy by the end of WWI. After WWII it was briefly a part of Tito’s Yugoslavia, but then returned to Italy with the support of Allied forces. The city had its share of grandeur and downfall, but what remained is a mix of Italians, Slavs and Germans. I felt like I was in Italy. But, that is my frame of reference.

We traversed the city, climbed the steep stairs up to the 15th century castle, walked up and down the hills of cobblestone streets. The town was lively. People were out, despite the colder weather. Finally, we went to a small upscale restaurant on a quiet square by our apartment. It was great! Waiters were dressed in tuxedos and as we sat down they took our coats and ran for a little stool. I looked at the stool sheepishly and asked the woman at the next table, “Is this for my feet?” “No,” she smiled, “your bag”. Ahhh. So I placed my three-dollar-tjmaxx purse on its perch. I suppose if you have a 1000-dollar-gucci bag it does deserve a perch.

The menu was spoken to us in wonderful English and it consisted of a splendid range of hot starters, pasta dishes, and finally large plates consisting of a wide array of fish. I had an octopus salad and then sea bass with potatoes; Brano had soup and a scampi dish. The food was delicious and meticulously prepared.

A quick picture caveat... We spent most of our Trieste time there in the evening and night, thus, the pictures are a little sparse.

Town Hall on Piazzo D'Unita D'Italia

"Our street"

Inside our apartment building

An image of Trieste from the hills above

Venice, Italy

Because we had already had our fix of driving in Italy, we decided to take the train from Trieste to Venice (about two hours). Driving in Italy is an art that many foreigners shouldn’t partake in and after having figured out the car in Triete, we didn’t feel the need to try again in a different city where cars aren’t even allowed.

Our trip to Venice was effortless. Because it was Good Friday, the train was packed with youth, making a day trip from the surroundings to Venice. They were hilarious. At one point about 25 young men entered our car and stood in the aisle with no seats available. They were all wearing the trends of the moment – lower than low cut jeans, with a belt that didn’t do its job, and t-shirts with graphics on them. The were loud and rambunctious. At one point I had two boys sitting next to me – one on the other’s lap, pushing into my space. I didn’t mind. I thought they were cute.

As we debarked the train in Venice, we entered the hoards of tourists that are right outside the main entry point to the island. Ahhh, Venice. There are no cars and so people traverse the city by water taxi or boat. We decided to walk and walk we did for many hours through the winding walkways, bridges, and many squares.

It is a phenomenon and it is no secret. That day the town was packed. I think that perhaps it is packed everyday. There are people who live on this island, but again I would guess that 90% of them are working somehow in tourism. I can’t imagine traversing the streets as a local, attempting to get from point A to point B and having to constantly maneuver through hoards of people, picture taking, and those (like me often) who have their heads buried in maps and are not watching where they are going.

Venice – the island, or group of about 100 islands – was settled as a refuge in 7th century from barbarians who had been attacking the mainland cities. They were “lagoon communities” that joined forces against attackers. In its early incarnation, people were fishermen, glass and weapons makers. The city became a stronghold for commerce and developed into a center for music and culture throughout the 16th century. It also was one of the first locations to develop printing, second only to Germany.

Our trip to Venice was actually a self-guided walking tour throughout the city. We began by walking through the Jewish quarter, through winding streets to the church, Madonna Dell’Orto. Finally to the large church and civil centers of SS. Giovanni E Paolo to the main square of St. Mark.

The winding streets offer such sights that words cannot suffice. It is as if every turn offers a new image of grandeur and each canal a more splendid picture. I was full from the eye-candy and I suppose, getting a cavity by the end of the day.

I’d been warned that the Venice experience is bitter-sweet. Beautiful canals, but dirty, lovely streets, but crowded with tourists, wonderful churches and museums, but lines that take hours to get through. And that’s true. The city has succumbed to a tourism that I’ve never seen before; yet, there is good reason for that and I’m glad that we had the opportunity to see and feel was is really a spectacular feat of human ingenuity – building on piles of wood in a lagoon; what is a cultural phenomenon – the masks, gondolas, and amazing art; and what is a singular atmosphere that I have never before experienced – the sounds, smells, images…

Open canal with gondola

Brano is happier than he looks

Em is always happy

Crowded shopping street not far from the train station

It is impossible not to take myriad of pictures of canals. They are each somehow different in the first impression they give and then when you look at the pictures, hindsight blurs them together into one big canal. Suffice it to say that when you are there, you feel it differently. Every turn of the corner feels like a surprise. Every new waterway stuns the senses.

Canal and bridge

Canals and buildings, looking packed in, because they are packed in

Images of Grandeur I
notice the dilapidated facade and lit, ornate chandelier
Hey mom, is that juxtaposition?

Images of grandeur II

Gondola parking lot

Pimp My Gondola
They are actually beautiful boats and considering that they used to be the personal valets to the Veniti it goes without saying that their decor is ostentatious.

Wanna Ride?
It only costs 80 euros (we didn't do it).

Delivery
As Venice is an Island, or series of islands, all deliveries are carried out by boat. There was also some reconstruction in progress and we watched as they worked a crane that was, yes, you guessed it, on a boat!

An image that every tourist takes. The Bridge of Sighs.
Brano had to fight through the cluster of tourists who had gathered to get this shot. The bridge of sighs connects the Ducal Palace (or palace of justice) with the prison. Prisoners would walk from condemnation to incarceration on this covered bridge. I think it is because it touches on an intrinsic human feeling -- the loss of freedom and that is why people want a picture. Or perhaps they are just taking a picture because there are 100 other people there taking a picture.

The Ducal Palace Arcade

The Campanile of St.Mark's -- Bell-tower on St.Mark's Square

Agoraphobics beware! Hoards on Piazza San Marco

Images of Carnival Season

Venice quiet